Guests say
Beck Steps is a charming cottage in Langdale, praised for its stunning location with easy access to local walks and amenities. Guests appreciate the cosy atmosphere, comfortable furnishings, and breathtaking views. While some minor issues were noted, the overall experience is one of a homely and welcoming stay in the heart of Cumbria & The Lake District.
Guests that stayed at this property said
Most guests found the cottage to be clean and cosy. However, there were instances of cleanliness concerns such as dirty rugs, a stained sofa, and unemptied vacuum cleaners. These issues seem to be exceptions rather than the rule, but they do impact the overall cleanliness score.
The location is highly praised for its stunning views and proximity to local walks and amenities. The convenience of not needing a car for the duration of the stay was a highlight for many guests, contributing to a high score for location.
Guests generally found the cottage to be comfortable, with cosy furnishings and comfortable beds. However, some guests mentioned issues with a loud macerator and musty towels, which slightly lowered the comfort score.
The cottage is well-equipped, with many guests satisfied with the kitchen and amenities. However, there were comments about the lack of hot water, Wi-Fi issues, and a need for clearer instructions for appliances. These maintenance issues have led to a slightly reduced score.
While some guests mentioned the lack of a welcome drink or biscuits, there is not enough consistent information about thoughtful touches or gifts to accurately score this category. Therefore, the score is set to null.
About this property
Beck Steps cottage is the gable end of the row that forms Lingmoor View, next to the steps up to the open fellside. You can hear the beck from the steps, but can you locate it? The cottages were built in the 1860s, for local slate miners and are steeped in history. They lie at the edge of Chapel Stile, a quiet village with a handy shop and a lovely country pub, with mangificant views to Lingmoor Fell, opposite, and to the Langdale Pikes, from the front field.
Once inside Beck Steps you’ll fully appreciate the traditional character and meticulous restoration including the superb fell views, original slate floor, Herdwick wool carpet, and woodburning stove. The kitchen / dining room is perfectly formed and finished with granite, sure to inspire some budding chefs, while the traditional sitting room is where you can spend your down time. Upstairs to the romantic king-size bedroom with its French antique bed, traditional window shutters and an amazing view of the surrounding mountains. The second bedroom is also beautifully furnished with a double bed. The bathroom, situated on the ground-floor, offers a bath with a shower over. There is a small coat and boot cupboard under the stairs, also housing garden chairs and a freezer. The garden is a large shared open lawn with views to the Langdale Pikes, occasionally visited by Herwick sheep. There is direct access onto the fell behind the cottage, and the back door into the kitchen is ideal when returning in boots and outdoor wear. This fabulous self-catering holiday cottage in Chapel Stile is a rare treat for walkers and lovers of natural beauty. It is in the heart of the stunning Langdale Valley, and the woodland alongside is home to native wildlife; look out for blue tits, coal tits, great tits, nuthatches, spotted woodpeckers and red squirrel on the bird feeder. There is no need to use the car all week as there are plenty of walks from the door: head down the valley to Elterwater, Skelwith Bridge, Loughrigg Fell, and over Redbank to Grasmere, with its celebrated gingerbread and the Wordsworth Museum; up the valley to Dungeon Ghyll and the Langdale Pikes, Bowfell and Blea Tarn; across the valley to the Lingmoor Fell, Little Langdale, Weatherlam and Coniston. The back path into the village of Chapel Stile passes through the old slate quarry, where the quarrymen, for whom the Lingmoor View cottages were built, once worked. Whether you are into leisurely strolls, skimming stones, spotting wild flowers or day-long hikes, you will be spoilt for choice. With all this walking, you are sure to build up an appetite; on your adventures, discover the Three Shires pub in Little Langdale or follow the valley down as far as Skelwith Bridge, stopping for fabulous vegetarian pizza and wonderful cakes at Chesters by the River. Elterwater is home to The Brittannia Inn, great for beer and food, and Lanty Slee, a wine and cocktail bar serving great sharing plates. The sister pub, Lanty Slee Langdale, further up the valley has a more extensive menu including lovely curries and pies, and even more wonderful views from the outdoor tables. Chapel Stile is home to a Co-op shop where you can pick up the essentials, plus the Wainwright’s Inn, a cosy pub which hosts a weekly quiz night. As you explore further afield, Ambleside is only four miles away and offers sophisticated shops, acclaimed Lake District restaurants, plenty of choice for an evening out and tempting delis for stocking up the kitchen. From Ambleside at Waterhead Pier, you can take a steamer cruise on Lake Windermere to visit Bowness or Lakeside - two other popular Lake District holiday destinations. There’s plenty to look forward to during a break at Beck Steps.
A charming village in the heart of the Lake District National Park, Chapel Stiles is a hidden gem nestled at the bottom of a stunning valley, flanked on one side by the River Brathay. The village has a traditional church from the mid 1800s, a café, a pub, and a village shop dating back over a century. A great base for exploring the National Park, Chapel Stile is close to many attractions, including Skelwith Bridge and the twin towns of Bowness and Windermere, each with their incredible lake activities.
Accommodation
Two bedrooms: 1 x king-size, 1 x double.
Ground-floor bathroom with bath, shower over, basin and WC.
Kitchen/diner.
Sitting room with wood and coal burning stove
Electric radiators with a multi-fuel stove which burns both wood and coal.
Electric oven and induction hob, microwave, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, washer/dryer.
Smart TV, DVD player, Sony Player, WiFi and Pure radios.
Electricity included in rent (visitor to provide solid fuel for stove).
Bed linen and towels included in rent.
Off-road parking for 1 car (There is one reserved car parking place, for Beck Steps, at Lingmoor View marked 1 just off the road).
Additional, on-road parking can be found 200 metres towards the centre of the village.
Shared lawned garden.
Shop 0.4 miles, pub 0.5 miles.
Note: Limited mobile phone signal.
Note: At times of a drought, the water supply for the cottage may be limited.
Note: There is a small freezer in the cupboard under the stairs.
Note: Check-in is from 4pm, check-out by 10am.
Note: there are three small steps inside this traditional Lakeland cottage, two in the kitchen and one in bathroom, and one low doorway.
Nearby points of interest
- Hayes Garden World Ambleside
- Lake Windermere
- Derwent Pencil Museum
- Lakeland Motor Museum
- Muncaster Castle
Reviews (30)
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Kate
We had an issue with the hot water upon arrival but it was dealt with swiftly and efficiently. Very well situated in the lovely Langdale Valley lots of beautiful walks from the doorstep-we hope to return!!
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Heather Marie
Perfect location, amazing walks from the door, beautiful views. Very comfortable (beds were lovely), really enjoyed our week. Thank you
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Alyssa
Upon arrival at the cottage, there was no hot water - not even lukewarm and the water pressure was just a tiny dribble from the tap. Due to the nature of the property, we were aware that there is sometimes low pressure and that the hot water can run out, however, we had just arrived and therefore expected there to be at least some hot water, at least enough to be able to wash our hands after a day of travelling, therefore we concluded that there was something was wrong with the water. We have a 5 month old daughter and therefore hot water was an absolute necessity for us, both for bathing her and for washing her bottles, so I contacted both Sykes and the number listed as the 'owner' to try and get this resolved. I appreciate that this was out of hours on a Friday evening (we arrived around 6pm after a full day of travelling) but I still expected to be able to get in contact with someone as this was an emergency, and after all, a holiday let is not in a lettable condition if there is no hot water and what cold water there was was coming out in drops! However, my attempts to contact Sykes on their 'emergency' contact details went unanswered and I discovered that the contact details for the 'owner' of the cottage took me through to a call centre for another holiday letting agency. Of course, this call centre was closed when we arrived, but there was a answer machine that gave another number to call for emergencies. I called this number but this was only an automated message box where I had to leave a message and they would get back to me. I left two messages and no-one responded. By this time it was getting very late, past our daughters bedtimes and we had to make a decision whether we could stay in the cottage that night. After having been travelling all day and not been able to wash our hands, clean my daughter's bottles or bathe her, we decided we needed to find alternative accommodation for the night. We felt very let down that we were unable to contact anyone on the evening to sort this. The next morning I called the 'owner' number again at 9am when their call centre opened as no-one had gotten back to me about the messages I had left on the emergency number overnight. I was told that someone would visit the cottage at some point today and to investigate. There was no apology and no sense of understanding of the disruption that was caused the previous evening, they wouldn't even confirm that it would be that day that they would visit. We had no idea whether or not we needed to check out of our hotel room or not so ended up having to pay for another night. I then had to call the 'owner' again at 4pm that day to confirm whether or not anyone had attended and whether the issue was fixed, which they were unsure of and didn't call me back to confirm they had fixed the issue until 5pm that day, when we could finally return to the cottage. I understand that sometimes things break and it wasn't Sykes' fault that something with the water supply needed to be replaced, but I do expect to be able to get in contact with someone when things go wrong! I also wondered how the cleaner was able to clean the cottage before our arrival without any hot water and the tiny amount of cold water that was coming out of the taps! We booked with Sykes and paid the premium of going through a holiday agency because of the piece of mind that it's supposed to give, especially travelling with our daughter for the first time. However we feel so disappointed by the service we received. The cottage was not in a lettable standard for the first day of our holiday and created such a lot of stress for us, not knowing when or even if someone would call us back or fix the issue! In terms of the cottage itself, the location was dreamy, we just love Chapel Stile and will continue to return to the area. However, the cottage was not clean in any sense of the word. The rugs in the living room were absolutely filthy, truly disgusting! There were three sheepskin rugs covering a larger carpeted rug but it was clear that previous canine guests had had an accident over them and had been hastily cleaned, if at all. They were stained yellow and hadn't ever seen a hoover! We of course thought we could just move these out of the way for our stay but realised they had been strategically placed to hide further stains under the the larger rug! One of the sofas also had stains all of it and the other still had crumbs on it from the previous guests. Normally we would have just gotten on with it and not grumbled as we like to be out of the house all day exploring, but because we had our baby with us (who of course crawls all over the floor!), we felt like we had no choice but to review this cottage and let the 'owners' know the state that it's in. Additionally, we went to use some of the pots and pans and the blender in the cupboard, only to find they have food stains from previous guests. The blender was particularly disgusting, it had obvisouly been used some time ago, hastily rinsed out and shoved back in the cupboard, it was full of black mould which I'm guessing was rotting food! We chose this cottage because it boasted how well equipped it was with these items and wanted to use it to make a few purees for my daughter, but there was no way I was going to use it, even after my husband had cleaned it! There were also stains over the bedding and holes in the duvet cover. The whole place just looked tired and like there was no-one really overseeing the condition of things, which is a shame because it had potential to be really lovely. In terms of the positives, the bed was comfy and it was a cosy cottage for the three of us with the most lovely fews over the fell. There was also dedicated parking which was a bonus, not something we've always had when staying in Chapel Stile. Hopefully the 'owner' will see this review and fix the issues because with the location, it could be so lovely! But we would certainly not stay again based on our experience. Luckily though the weather was glorious all week so we were able to spend most of our time out of the cottage and exploring beautiful Chapel Stile and surrounding areas! Additionally, I contacted Sykes when we returned home to share my concerns before posting this review, as I wanted to give them a chance to respond and put things right before potential guests read this review. However, unsurprisingly, a week has passed and no-one has responded to my emails and messages!