Otter and Kingfisher Lodges » Limefitt Park

Looking For A Lake District Lodge For New Year?

John Hobson — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:57:49 +0000

A lot of people seem to be leaving it very late to look for New Year availability – all three of our lodges have been booked for over 2 months now but we are still getting loads of enquiries!

If you really are hoping to find somewhere you’re probably going to have to pay the premium and book with some of the agencies now, as everyone else I know who rents privately is also booked.

If you are still looking you might want to try Cumbrian Cottages who do seem to have some availability left, even though they were only taking full week bookings when I looked at the website just now.

Of course you can always decide to come next year and book one of our lodges now

Are you looking for log cabins that are better value than Center Parcs :-)

John Hobson — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:38:17 +0000

Anne Robinson has a bit of a go at Center Parcs tonight on Watchdog for their pricing policy.

I think she was being rather naive, and ignoring the fact that if people will pay their prices then Center Parcs would be daft to charge less. They are a business after all not a charity.

Having said that, not everyone wants to fork out large sums to cycle round pretending to be Dutch, and not all log cabins cost you an arm and a leg to stay in.

So, thought I’d compare a midweek break in November at Centre Parcs, Whinfell Forest with our own prices.

Monday November 9th – Friday November 13th (lucky for some, but maybe not those booking into Whinfell Forest as we shall see )

Center Parcs
Lakeside Lodge 2 Bedroom
Executive 2 Bedroom Lakeside Lodge Double x 1 / Twin x 1
Sleeps up to 4 people
Price £579.00

When I checked they didn’t seem to have any availability for dogs, but it seems that if they did 2 dogs would cost you £80 more! (“Extra fee covers cost of cleaning and maintenance.”)

So how much are we charging?

Limefitt Park
Otter Lodge
Riverside Lodge 2 Bedroom
Luxury 2 Bedroom Beckside Lodge Double x 1 / Bunk x 1
Sleeps up to 4 people + 2 dogs
Price £255.00

That’s £215 for a riverside two bedroom lodge + £35 cleaning charge with an extra £5 if you bring up to two dogs (“Extra fee covers cost of cleaning and maintenance.”). Grand total £255 compared with £659 at Center Parcs – and we throw in free leisure passes to White Cross Bay, so you can still go for a swim!

… and Watchdog seemed to think that the Center Parcs prices after half term were quite reasonable.

Now what would YOU do with that extra £400

You could hire a boat on Windermere for a full day for 4 people from the Low Wood Water Sports centre for £100
You could take the whole family to the Aquarium of the Lakes for £20
You could get a three hour family mountain boarding lesson for £100 at Surf the Turf in Kendal
You could all do Go Ape at Grizedale for £90
You could eat all out at The Mortal Man for about £60
You could get fish and chips from The Little Chippy in Windermere for about £25

and you’ve still got £5 left

We’ve rescued the dog field bench!

John Hobson — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:34:17 +0000

Until Spring this year there was a bench in the dog field which some of us dog-friendly owners at Limefitt Park had clubbed together to buy.

It disappeared earlier this year and I was told by more than one person that it had been stolen – I was even given details like “the gate was left open and there were tyre tracks so someone obviously came in a van to steal it”

Well, on Sunday we took the dogs out for a walk around Troutbeck in the glorious sunshine. We went up Robin lane and then cut down to the two bridges over Troutbeck. Suki and Molly were playing in the beck when Suki started hunting for sticks. Linda suddenly said “look at that” and we saw that Suki was trying to dislodge a large plank from a tree. On closer inspection it turned out to be our rustic dog bench which had presumably been washed down from the dog field by one of the early season floods.

The bench from the Limefitt Park dog field

A few wet feet later Ali and I were carrying it up to the road where Linda and Wendy waited with whilst we got the car. Clipping the kerb Ali gave his car a front left puncture, which seemed a little unfair as he was being so helpful.

15 minutes later we had the bench back at the lodge where it received a little TLC in the form of some wood screws, and was de-slugged and de-weeded before being left on the deck of Otter Lodge to dry out

We’ll get some brackets fitted to it before it gets returned to the dog field so it can be attached to the concrete slabs as I’m not planning on rescuing it again!

We felt like the famous five for an afternoon though (even though there were only four of us)

The riverpool – gun dog heaven

John Hobson — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:01:09 +0000

On a beautiful Lake District morning we went past Suki’s favourite pool. In spite of the fact that it was frosty this morning after a clear night she leaped straight into the water.

The river pool- gundog heaven

She managed to totally ignore the two ducks who were swimming there as she was intent on finding waterlogged sticks in the shallows.

She looks like a bear fishing for salmon when she does this, and she obviously finds the sticks very tasty as she normally proceeds to chew them to pulp.

Sometimes she brings them to be thrown and then looks very disappointed when they sink in the middle of the beck.

10 great reasons to go self catering in our dog friendly Lake District lodges

John Hobson — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:50:51 +0000

1. You’ll have space to stretch out – no cramped hotel bedroom is ever going to equal the luxury of your own private lodge with reclining leather sofas, flat screen TVs, games machines and super-comfy beds (Our “marsh mallow beds” as one guest commented!). No worries about whether the B&B allows dogs here. We love them.

2. You will get to cook for yourselves when you like and what you like. Imagine having a barbecue beside Troutbeck with the evening sun casting dappled shade as you drink a pint of Black Sheep or Bluebird ale. Not only is it great fun but you’ll save a fortune compared with eating out.

3. You’ll have amazing views of Troutbeck and the fells beyond from your private balcony .

4. It is a complete change from home and you’ll find it hard not to chill out as you listen to the beck babbling past and the birds singing in the trees.

5. You’ll be close to Nature – have you ever seen a badger or a kingfisher or an otter? The last two are quite elusive but the badgers are an everyday sight at Limefitt. (Or as they are nocturnal maybe that should be “everynight”!)

6.Whatever the weather you can enjoy the fresh air outside under our covered verandahs.

7. Great Lakeland pubs like the Mortal man and The Queens Head are waiting to be discovered just up the hill (Less than 10 minutes walk away)

8. There are spectacular fell walks that can be done straight from your lodge door that will have your canine friends wagging their tails throughout your break.

9. We have organised special discounts with a variety of local suppliers to make your holiday money go that little bit further.

10. We love dogs and don’t charge you any extra for bringing your four legged friends with you.

A Dog-friendly Walk above Troutbeck

John Hobson — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:44:47 +0000

We took a beautiful autumn walk above Troutbeck on Thursday.

Dog friendly walk in Troutbeck

The sun was shining so I tok Suki on a two hour walk from the park up Applethwaite fell and along the top to Dubbs reservoir. This is a great walk for both dogs and humans and it was perfect day for it.

I particularly like this view as it shows tw0 of the Lake District’s best dog-friendly pubs.

Two pet-friendy pubs

The white building on the far left is The Mortal Man and the white building on the far right is The Queen’s Head. we are so lucky to have these great places within a short walk of the lodges.

At the top of the walk Suki was able to take a cooling dip in the beck that flows down from the reservoir.

Doggy Heaven

We came back along the lower path with its fantastic views of Windermere and by the time we got back too Limefitt Park we both deserved a large bowl of water (but I settled for a pint of White Witch that I’d bought from Booths that morning)