Self-catering holiday of the year

Another surprising win! After being named self-catering holiday of the year by Cumbria Tourism in the Spring of 2009, Hall Hills has now been given the award for self-catering holiday of the year for the North-West of England. The result of the competition was announced in Blackpool on Monday September 28.

The competition in the self-catering category was very stiff – so stiff in fact that Jude and Tim Walker (the proprietors) went to Blackpool thinking that there was really nothing else to do but just enjoy the evening. So they were completely bowled over when it was announced that they were the winners.

Nest stop: the national competition organised by Enjoy England.

We wish them luck.

Northwest Self-Catering Holiday Cottage Competition

Hall Hills self-catering cottages by the Lake District are through to the northwest of England regional final of the self-catering holiday of the year competition.

As winners of Cumbria Tourism’s Self-Catering Holiday of the Year for 2009 award they have automatically entered for the even more stringent competition. The entry procedures – and they are lengthy – have been completed and we now await the announcement of the result in Blackpool in September. We wish Hall Hills well.

Self-catering holiday of the year in Cumbria, 2009

Hall Hills has been chosen as Cumbria’s self-catering holiday of the year for 2009. This is a huge (and very pleasant surprise) for a small and a new business faced with such steep competition. Monkhouse and Waitby must have dismissed Hall Hills as an also-ran but in the end it was Hall Hills that got the call to the podium. Now they automatically go through to the competition for the best self-catering holiday in the north west of England.

Keswick Romantics

Visitors to Keswick, the overwhelming majority of whom stay in Keswick’s famous guest houses, follow in the footsteps of the Romantic pioneers of the 18th century – people like John Dalton (1709-1763) and John Brown (1715-1766). Dalton certainly doesn’t fit the preconceived notion of the Romantic as a sophisticated southerner nauseated by an industrialising city. He was the son of the rector of Dean near Cockermouth. Brown also grew up in a religious family in Cumbria (Carlisle) and also had literary ambitions, and both wrote about the Lakeland landscape with an unprecedented veneration. Brown paid an annual visit to Keswick, seeing it “not as an idle amusement but as a religious act.” In his description the waterfalls in the Lakes tumble “in vast sheets from rock to rock in rude and terrible magnificence,” and the clouds are pierced by fell tops “where mortal foot never yet approached.” He described a trip to Walla Crag, where the “broken steeps form an immense and awful picture,” in contrasted to a later walk to Derwentwater by moonlight, “a scene of such delicate beauty, repose and solemnity as exceeds all description.”

Dalton’s Descriptive Poem in 1755 and Brown’s Letter describing the Vale and Lake of Keswick in 1767 show a fascination with the sublime – a fascination with what is immense, stupendous, somewhat menacing and savage. There is a curious pleasure felt when confronted by a natural scene that humbles the viewer – that reminds him of human frailty and powerlessness, and of the crushing power of Nature. Dalton saw nature in all its savagery and called it “a pleasing, though an awful sight.”

Brown analysed what drew him to the scenery around Keswick and identified three qualities: beauty, horror and immensity. To the visitor who has just parked his car in the car park and walked past the man from the National Trust with his green Land Rover trying to sell subscriptions, these early references to horror must seem a little far-fetched. But it is a common theme in the writings of early travellers making their pilgrimage to a landscape that is almost holy. Another 18th century visitor from Newcastle went to Friar’s Crag and described the view across Derwentwater to Borrowdale as “beauty lying in the lap of horror.”

Part of the attraction in the awful beauty of nature is the way it spurs the imagination; and the imagination tends to add greatly to what is seen. Here is John Housman describing a walk in October 1798. Nearing the summit, his party were astonished to see “a boiling sea of mountains, with pointed, conical and broken tops…rioting over each other in a most turbulent manner like a legion of raging monsters preparing to spread desctruction on every side.” At the top they were then impressed by the “horror” of the final ridge and the “profound precipice…chasms of enormous depth…steeps of slaty shiver.” One would think this was an ascent in the Himalayas, but no, it was just a stroll up Skiddaw on an autumn day.

One wonders how much of this sense of the sublime remains and how diminshed the chances of feeling it are, now that the area has all been fenced off and declared a National Park. Can anything within the boundaries of a National Park ever really seem to be sublime?

Web design services for guest houses in Keswick, Cumbria

Over the past year or so the team behind the Hall Hills web site have built up a fair amount of experience building web sites and promoting them. they have been especially successful getting the web site for self-catering cottages in Cumbria to rise quite dramatically up the Google rankings. With their recently acquired skills and experience they have decided to offer their services to guest houses in Keswick. The rumour from a Cumbria tourism workshop is that guest houses are not finding it easy to get a presence on the web at an affordable price. That suggested to our team that there was a niche market for their services. Guest houses are the most popular form of holiday accommodation in Keswick – far more popular than the local hotels. They offer bed and breakfast but as guest houses they have to comply with higher standards of service than the smaller BnBs. Hence the plan to target Keswick guest houses and offer cut price web packages taking advantage of the fact that our web design service for Keswick is based in eastern Europe where costs are much lower. In addition to designing web sites for the guest houses we have also created a web site dedicated to promoting guest houses in Keswick - a site which guest houses can be listed on for a very reasonable annual fee. Admittedly, this is not the best time to be setting up a new business, but the prospects for guest houses look surprisingly positive. Those who cannot afford to go abroad on holiday are likely to choose to holiday in their home country, and the English Lake District, where Keswick is situated, is probably the most attractive corner of this “green and pleasant land”, and guest houses will continue to be the first choice for people needing good quality affordable holiday accommodation.

Hall Hills Gets Its Stars!!

The self-catering cottages at Hall Hills, close to the Lake District, get their star rating from the Visit Britain organisation and are awarded five stars for some of the holiday properties and four for the others.

Hall Hills self-catering holiday accommodation in Cumbria

Cumbria, in the north west of England, has some of the most attractive and most picturesque holiday locations. Most of all it has the Lake District – home of the Romantic poets – an area of crags and lakes and tarns, now preserved as a national park. It is the ideal holiday destination for those who appreciate the beauties of the countryside and also for those who enjoy activity holidays in the hills – the area is a magnet for not only for walkers but also for rock climbers, cyclists, fell runners and canoeists.

An ideal base for a self-catering holiday in the Cumbria is Hall Hills Farm, situated in lovely rolling countryside to the east of the Lake District with convenient access from the M6 motorway. Hall Hills Farm provides luxury self-catering holiday accommodation in tastefully converted stone barns that originally date back to the 17th century. The four and five star self-catering holiday homes have their own patios with uninterrupted views across the Roe Valley and are equipped to the highest standards. They are ideal either as a relaxing retreat or as a base for exploring the region, which includes not only the Lake District but also Caldbeck, Hesket, the historic city of Carlilse, Hadrian’s Wall and the Scottish Borders.

There are four self-catering properties clustered around an attractive courtyard: Yan, Tan, Tethera and the Folly.

For further details and contact information see http://www.hallhills.co.uk

Activities in the vicinity of Hall Hills

There is a host of things to do, including the following:

Rheged Activity Centre
An award-winning centre housed in an unusual grass-covered building offers a wide range of activities for all the family. Five different films are shown on large screens throughout the day, and as well as a restaurant, shops and a children’s play area there is a national mountaineering exhibition and a multi-media look through the eyes of the native Celts at the invading Romans. There is also a helpful tourist information centre for more info about the Lakes and Cumbria. It’s on the A66 close to the junction with the M6 at Penrith.

Go Ape at Whinlatter
Go Ape is an award-winning high-wire forest adventure course with rope bridges, tarzan swings and zip slides sometimes as high as 40 feet up in the trees. Go Ape Whinlatter is about four miles west of Keswick along the A66 between Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake.

Cycling
The area in the immediate vicinity of Hall Hills is ideal for leisurely bicycle rides along quiet winding roads through rolling countryside. For more of a challenge you could head to the hillier region of the Lakes. The official Keswick.org website has details of routes in its What to see and do section.

Hutton in the Forest
This is the legendary Green Knight’s Castle in the Arthurian tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is a beautiful historic house set in magnificent grounds and situated midway between Hall Hills and Penrith.

Hadrian’s Wall
One of the highlights of the 150-mile-long World Heritage Site that stretches from South Shields to Ravenglass is the Roman Army Museum close to the ancient Roman fort of Vindolanda. The museum has real-life treasures plus fantastic replicas and an Eagle’s Eye film giving a virtual tour of this part of Hadrian’s Wall. It is situated between Brampton and Haltwhistle on the A69.

High Head sculpture valley and spa
Life-size sculptures imaginatively arranged in a natural woodland valley alongside an attractive walkway only a stone’s throw from Hall Hills. In addition to the sculptures there is also an art exhibition, tea room and farm shop. There is also a spa and sauna with a wide range of massages, therapies and beauty treatments to pamper yourself.

Keswick
The busy Lake District town of Keswick with its attractive market square is only a 20-minute drive away heading west along a scenic route through picturesque Cumbrian hamlets. On the way you could visit the Neolithic Castlerigg Stone Circle (pictured below) which dates back to 3,000BC. Coming along the A66 from Hall Hills you need to turn left along the old road that passes the stones before continuing into Keswick. 

Testimonials
Some of those who have chosen Hall Hills as the base for their self-catering holiday in Cumbria:

“The cottage, it’s amenities and location are excellent. We were made very welcome by Tim and Jude throughout our stay and we would highly recommend Hall Hills.”
Liz and Phil, West Yorks

“Wonderful cottage with all you need to a very high standard. Away from the other tourists, very quiet and relaxing but only 10 mins into the beautiful Lake District. Thanks Jude and Tim for a brilliant weekend.”
Jo and Chris – London

“We had a wonderful week. A much-needed break was made even better with such fantastic accommodation. Attention to detail was very impressive, including the blue lights under the sink! Massive ‘Thank you’ to Jude and Tim. We got engaged on the shore of Derwentwater and then finished off the 6 1/2 mile walk around the water – blisters to prove it!
“Will certainly be back next time we venture north, and will reccommend Hall Hills to every one – a perfect holiday. Thank you.”
Jon and Jenny, Leicester

“It was a brilliant holiday, the house was really comfy and it is a nice and calm farm.”
Mr Hallak and Family, London

“A haven of peace in our busy weekend of wedding celebrations. You have thought of every detail and we have loved staying in your luxurious cottage. Thank you.”
Matt and Tessa, Cambridge

“We had a great time over here. Superb accommodation in a very beautiful location. We are very impressed with the house and its interior design. This is the right place for trips to other fantastic locations in Lake District. Many thanks to Jude and Tim for providing us accommodation at such short notice. We will certainly recommend this place to our friends . A great holiday for us. Thanks once again.”
Mr Bhaskar and friends, Slough

“We loved it here and it was a wonderful base for all the activities during our short break. Thank you.”
Edward and family, Oxford

“It was our pleasure to stay in your fantastic luxury accommodation. We are pleased to have met you and looking forward to coming again. We will recommend you and your accommodation to all of our friends.”
Mr Bassam and family, Middlesex

“Business owners looking for an inspriational location to run a management or team meeting should consider Hall Hills. It’s in a quiet rural location with views that inspire, silence conducive to thinking and facilities that are first class. Service and venue in the Folly were first class and we will be recommending it to our clients, friends and family alike.”
Directors of Brillant Action Ltd

“The Walkers have pulled off a triumph – a beautiful house, lovingly converted combining home touches with hotel quality. We loved it and can’t wait to come back.”
Nigel and Rosie and Family