OLD HALL COTTAGE, HIGH BUSTON HALL, ALNMOUTH, ALNWICK, NORTHUMBERLAND Country House Self-catering Accommodation

The Hall The Cottage The gardens and the locality Contact details, prices and location

High Buston Hall is a Grade II listed Georgian villa set on a rocky promontory overlooking the Northumberland Heritage Coast. It was built in about 1784 on the site of an earlier dwelling. High Buston is a quiet farming hamlet which lies between Warkworth and Alnmouth, just off the A1068. The views to the south and the east are dominated by big skies and the sea. Old Hall Cottage is located in the West wing of High Buston Hall. Access to the cottage is from the rear courtyard of the Hall via a private lane. The entrance to the cottage is beside the old well which served the Hall. This is the oldest part of the building and pre-dates the 1784 building. There is a small York stone paved area outside the entrance door with a table and chairs. Your vehicles can be parked outside the cottage in the rear courtyard. We have restored the old servants quarters to a high standard with beautiful soft furnishings, Mulberry fabrics, Fired Earth terracotta floor tiles on the ground floor and antique furniture to provide an excellent self-catering cottage. On the ground floor there is a sitting room with a wood burning stove in the Inglenook fireplace, large drop-end settee, two easy chairs, antique pine dresser, digital TV with Freeview, DVD player, stereo with CD player, small table and sea grass rug on the terracotta floor. There is a huge walk-in storage cupboard with plenty of room for coats and boots. We provide an iron, ironing board and a vacuum cleaner. The Jotul wood burner warms this cosy cottage in minutes, making it a welcome space in which to relax. There is a hand painted designer kitchen with beamed ceiling above, electric oven, hob, microwave, dishwasher, fridge with ice box, breadmaker, washing machine with built-in dryer. We provide dishwasher tablets. Crockery is Spode and we provide most things that you will need for cooking and serving food from a salad spinner to a garlic press. At the end of the kitchen is the dining area which seats four comfortably. The teak table and chairs can be used inside or taken out to the paved area. An open plan winding staircase leads from the kitchen to the first floor, which has stripped floorboards. Bedroom 1 has an antique French double bed and an en-suite bathroom with Victorian roll top bath. There is a walk-in wardrobe with shelves and there are bedside tables. Pillows and duvets are goose down and the bed linen is crisp white cotton. Two white bath and two hand towels and a foot mat per bathroom are provided. Bedroom 2 has a pair of antique twin beds with mattresses that are now joined together and so this room is offered as a double bedroom. Again there is a walk-in wardrobe and bedside tables. The second bathroom is just across the corridor and has a power shower in a larger than usual shower enclosure, Lefroy Brooks fittings and Fired Earth tiles. Guests have the use of the terraced gardens to the East of the Hall. When you pass through the garden gate from the rear courtyard you will see the fields roll down to the National Trust dunes at Buston Links and the sea beyond. You can see Warkworth castle to the south of High Buston. The view to the North East is towards Alnmouth and the River Aln estuary, which is a super place for birdwatching and walking. Guests are welcome to use any garden furniture  or just sit and take in the views from the low stone walls. The planting in the long borders on the central terrace provides colour and interest from Spring through until Autumn. The lower terrace has a parterre which we use as a vegetable garden as well as for cut flowers. The cottage is ideally situated for the visiting the National Trust properties at Cragside near Rothbury, Wallington Hall near Cambo and Holy Island. There is plenty of good quiet walking locally centred on High Buston or a short drive away. We are 4 miles from Warkworth and 3 miles from Alnmouth, so a circular beach walk is a pleasant option. For the energetic the Cheviot Hills are easily accessible by car. The beaches on the Heritage Coast are clean and on many occasions deserted. The market town of Alnwick is 5 miles away. There you can visit the Alnwick Garden, shop at the farmers market or the excellent butchers and delicatessens. Barter Books, one of the largest second hand bookshops in the country, is located in the old railway station in Alnwick. We are 3 minutes from Alnmouth railway station. There are regular trains to Newcastle, Berwick and Edinburgh. You can contact us initially by e-mail at cottage@highbuston.com if you want any further details. We don’t take bookings by e-mail, we prefer to speak to our clients and take their details and requirements personally. We try to welcome all guests personally and if we can’t, we arrange for some one else to do so. Arrival time is anytime after 4.00pm on Saturday and departure by 10.00am the following Saturday. We place great emphasis on cleanliness and it takes us the full six hours to clean the cottage each week. The cottage is suitable for adults and children over 8 years of age. Because of having two full-size bathrooms it is particularly suitable for two adult couples. It is non-smoking. Sorry, but we don’t take dogs. Prices for 2013-14 range for £645 to £695 per week based on two people sharing. If the party is any larger we add a supplement of between £100 to £150 to cover extra wear and tear, cleaning, linen, laundry and fuel. Electricity, logs and kindling for the woodburner are included in the price. We provide oil fired central heating from September until May. There are electric heaters available too. If you want any further details please contact me as follows: Therese Atherton High Buston Hall High Buston Alnmouth Alnwick Northumberland NE66 3QH Phone: 01665 830 606 International 00 44 1665 830 606 Mobile: 0770343 9200 E mail: cottage@highbuston.com Last updated May 2013. Access statement Introduction Old Hall Cottage is situated in the west wing of our home, High Buston Hall. It was formerly the old servants’ quarters of the house and retains many original features. Accordingly the floors slope, the staircase is steep and twisting and there is little free circulation space. It is furnished specifically with adults in mind and we don’t take children under 8 years of age. Heating is oil fired central heating. It is accessed via a separate lane from our entrance and is very private. Pre-arrival we have a basic website www.highbuston.com which contains our contact details initial enquiries can be made by telephone or by e-mail but we do not take bookings by e-mail we take all bookings personally by telephone so that we can discuss guests’ individual requirements with them the nearest bus stop is half a mile away on the A1068, buses are hourly in the directions of Alnwick and Warkworth the nearest train station is 3 miles away in Alnmouth; there are frequent trains to Newcastle, London and Edinburgh; there is no taxi rank at the station and taxis should be booked in advance (numbers provided later) Arrival & Car Parking Facilities there is a car park in the rear courtyard of the hall immediately outside the cottage there is a 170mm step down from the car park to a York stone paved area outside the entrance door there is a 170mm step up into the cottage the entrance door is 990mm wide Kitchen entry to the cottage is through the kitchen there is a basket by the door for shoes/boots the distance between opposing kitchen units is 900 mm the dining table which seats 4 people is at one end of the kitchen; it is in a relatively restricted space at the other end is the open staircase there is a high quality fitted kitchen with dishwasher, fridge and washing machine/drier under the units the oven and hob are electric and when the oven or dishwasher is opened the space between the opposite units becomes restricted the floor is concrete with terracotta tiles Living Room the door to the living room is 830mm wide the room is fairly compact with predominantly antique furnishings covered with Mulberry fabrics there is a wood-burning stove on a stone hearth with a log basket beside additional logs are stored in a bunker 20 metres away from the cottage the floor is concrete with terracotta tiles and a sea-grass carpet square and Persian hearth rug there is a large walk-in cupboard containing drying rack, ironing board, cleaning equipment, CD player and ample space for storage Stairs the staircase is made of clear finished timber and winds through 270° to reach the first floor where the bedrooms and bathrooms are located. it is fairly steep having 14 treads and/or winders each 200mm high and has a handrail on one side Bedrooms bedroom one contains a double bed (1500mm wide) bedroom door widths are 780mm and 790mm bedroom two has a double bed (1450mm wide) sheets, duvet covers and pillow cases are cotton duvets and pillows are goose down extra blankets and electric heaters are provided there is limited free circulation space in the bedrooms walk-in cupboards are provided in each bedroom Bathrooms bathroom one is across the corridor from bedroom one and has a walk-in power shower, standard wc and washbasin, door width is 820mm bathroom two (which can be en-suite to bedroom two) has a roll-top bath, standard wc and washbasin, door width is 880mm Garden and grounds guests have the use of our extensive east-facing terraced gardens access to the gardens is via stone steps (which can become slippery in wet weather) or by sloping paths there is a selection of garden furniture for guests' use the parterre contains an unguarded 1800mm circular pond 500mm deep Shops, leisure facilities etc these are all available in Alnwick (5 miles away) or Amble (4 miles away)