30 Aug 2009

Wheelchair accessible. The Barn has been road-tested

We had our first wheelchair user staying and it seemed to work out very well. From the drop off outside the Barn door to the access around the ground floor, all seemed manageable. We found information about local attractions and eating places that accommodated wheelchairs and our guests sorted out access to disabled toilets in Pickering. We now have a key - Thank You! ... and for the kind TripAdvisor comments -
A beautiful place to stay. High level of comfort with excellent attention to detail.Everything is thought of and so you could simply arrive with your luggage!This was the first holiday my mother had been on since she became disabled and immobile. The Barn, with its downstairs bedroom and wet room, accomodated her wheelchair and she was able to move around the property with relative ease. Tim and Noelle were very supportive, providing information about accessibility in places around the area; including good accessible places to eat! They were keen to find out about ways to further improve disability access to the barn and they worked hard to ensure that we had a great holiday. We would certainly return. Our grateful thanks to them both.

Bikers are Welcome

Biking does not have to be all 'hair shirt'. Bike by day and enjoy the comfort of our cottages to get warm and dry, look after your bike and kit then slip out for a good meal in the evening. Come with a group and it can be as little as £25 a night for each of you. For that you get our usual welcome, bottle of wine, scones and provisions. Wood burning stoves and logs are provided, as well as free Wi-fi access, TV and music machines to make your stay comfortable. There is a wealth of information in the cottages and for the wet and muddy there are washing and drying machines. We have a lockable garage for bikes, we will provide a drying machine and drying cupboard and drying lines and there is a hose outside to wash the bikes off.
Pickering is increasingly biker friendly and has an excellent mountain biking shop who can take guided trips. Dalby Forest is gaining international reputation and is only about 10 miles away. All standards and challenges are available. Ryedale has a good network of routes and guides to help you enjoy your stay.

Walkers are Welcome

Pickering has been awarded the 'Walkers are welcome' status - only the 26th town in the country to be recognsised for the network of routes, the local support for walkers and for the natural beauty that surrounds us. You can google Pickering Walkers are Welcome for more information on the organisation. There have been a number of guided walks and events and there is continuing support and advice for accommodation providers.
We were delighted to be given our WaW status for Noelles Cottages when we were assessed for our stars - a full set of three five star rated cottages again.
Our cottages have washing machines, tumbler driers, hanging racks and places to dry your boots (we don't recommend you use the wood burning stoves...they end up with foot prints and your boots will be cooked!!) For those who don't take this advice, Trailblazer Outdoors in Pickering is an excellent source of all walking gear, maps and guide books.
There is a wealth of information, maps, guidebooks and even a boot brush and boot tray in your cottage and we are putting together a link with walking related information including signposting to local walking groups.

25 Apr 2009

Noelle's Cottages wins the GOLD award in the national finals


After a 'glittering' reception and dinner in York at the Railway Museum we had the envelope opening wait for the winners in our category. Noelle's Cottages won gold along with the fabulous looking, medieval accommodation - Woodhouse Farm Cottages in Herefordshire. The official description is 2009 Self-catering Holiday of the Year Enjoyengland Award for Excellence. We just like to condense that to say 'Best in England'! We were absolutely delighted and can hardly believe we have progressed so far in the four years we have been in business. We are so grateful for the encouragement and support of our guests, for our long suffering family who help out when they are available and the army of people who have come along with us in this adventure. Alice and her domestic support, Diane, Janet and Louise who has now stepped back to grow her bump a bit more. We were joined recently by Ruth who is trying to organise us better. Our builders - Halders have embraced our approach and standards while Nigel Barnes our plumber goes the extra mile and a half for us. Stephen Bean (Associates, now of Malton) has advised on our ecology and wildlife as well as landscaping our gardens and producing the bendy house which you can see on our Flickr page. We must make special mention of 'our' joiner Keith who adds his personal touches to the restorations and to the underfloor heating. He has become nearly a family member over the 12 years we have lived here and restored the Hall. David and Paul work steadily away to keep the gardens tidy while Stan visits regularly to keep an eye on my bees, I think I am a very poor pupil, 'could try harder'. Hann's butchers have made the saturday sausage run much more agreeable as I queue jump the patient gathering as also happens in Chocolart who supply the handmade chocs for the cottages. Our website designers Gary and Cheryl-ann of http://www.design-farm.co.uk/ have done a fabulous job on our communications and much more besides. Cheryl helps with styling and on all those occassions when we need to rush around for a photoshoot. Gary designs our presentation and is an enthusiastic supporter of Noelle's Cottages and Welsh football.
Ric Blenkharn had the inspiration to use the space in the Barn to best advantage and helped us slip through the planning process with ease. Edward Green - Technical Welding Services -designed and made not one but two staircases with a stunning end result. Rita and Claire have made miles of beautiful curtains and other soft furnishings while Krystyna Demkowicz styled, coloured and decorated to perfection.
Thank you all.

28 Jan 2009

Noelle's Cottages selected to be in the Sunday Times list of UK's 50 Cool Cottages

We were featured in the January 25th Sunday Times article by Vincent Crump. He mentioned the smiley welcome with home-made scones and the 'fairy-tale feel' of our cottages. More beautiful princess than wicked step-mother or the hut on chicken legs we hope!