Roomy cottage with sunny garden on Cumbrian coast

Of appeal to walkers, cyclists and birdwatchers, Tarn Head is a rural cottage with a contemporary, two storey extension, eco wood burning stove, and a large sunny garden on the edge of Haverigg Village - Cumbria's best kept secret. Beautiful sandy beaches and rolling sand dunes combine with fabulous views of the Western Lake District fells, Scafell and Coniston. The cottage is surrounded by farmer's fields but only a five minute drive or cycle, or a fifteen minute walk to the village and coast. This is a traditional Cumbrian farm cottage which has been enlarged with a contemporary, two-storey extension and an open plan kitchen and mezzanine, to create family-sized accommodation with different functional spaces suited to a variety of different groups - families, couples and groups of friends. The location is particularly suited to people who like walking, cycling, birdwatching and the general outdoors. The mezzanine has a light, airy space overlooking the dunes that can be used for relaxing or working. The lounge has a newly installed, eco-friendly wood burning stove. There is a large, sunny, south-facing garden with well-stocked borders, a vegetable garden and a verandah with table and chairs. There is free wifi and two smart TVs with internet-based streaming channels and platforms (Netflix, iplayer etc.). The cottage is undergoing a gradual upgrade and refurbishment as the difficulties of sourcing materials are gradually eases. We provide a thorough deep clean between stays and a minimum gap of 48 hours between bookings. Guests can choose to bring their own bedding and towels if they prefer. The short lane to the cottage from the village is a farm track linked to a working farm and quite narrow in parts. It is unadopted, with some pot holes and can get quite muddy at times. Parking is close to a hedge, fence or gate, so a tractor, or any other vehicles using the lane, can pass safely. All vehicles use a tight turning circle at the end of the lane (a cul de sac) to turn around for heading back out. Passengers generally need to alight first. It is possible to park at the top end of the lane without too many problems, but this entails a five minute walk to the cottage. If you need further information or have a specific query about parking, please feel free to email me. Haverigg is a pretty seaside village in Western Cumbria with lovely coastal walks through the sand dunes and along the various beaches. It is very family-friendly and dog-friendly and quiet compared with the overcrowded honeypots of the Lake District. On Main Street, 5/10 minutes walk from the cottage, there is a Londis convenience store, post office, two pubs and a great fish and chip shop. There is an honesty farm shop on North Lane - that runs parallel with Tarn Head Lane - that sells vegetables, bread, cheese, bacon and sausage, milk, together with locally produced preserves The Harbour, on Main Street, has a beer garden and offers inexpensive, though fairly basic, pub food. Herdwicks, LA18 4LG, is located on Port Haverigg Marina Village, and offers bistro style food and home made pizzas using a traditional pizza oven. There is an elevated outside seating area with views towards the Cumbrian Fells. Hodbarrow nature reserve - with short or longer walks - is dog-friendly and flat. The Beach Cafe LA18 4ES, next to the children's adventure playground, also has an outside seating area. Millom, 3 miles and a 10 minute drive away, and has a small Tesco, Co-op, pharmacies, bank machines, post office and lots of independent shops, together with take-aways and restaurants. Broughton in Furness is a pretty market town a 15 minutes drive away. There are several pubs with decent pub food and independent shops for bread, pastries, vegetables, cheese and meat. Silecroft, the next village along heading north up the coast, has a pretty shingle beach and fabulous sunsets towards the Isle of Mann. There are several pubs offering food. Coniston is about 10 miles away and Ambleside/Lake Windermere about 20 miles. For those interested in walking, Black Combe is the nearest fell, about a 15 minute drive away. For the more adventurous, Wastwater and the Scafell range is about an hour's drive away. Other places of interest within a 45 minute drive include the Duddon Valley, Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, the Roman Fort and Muncaster Castle. Information about these venues is freely available on the internet but feel free to text me if you have a specific question. Tarn Head is located in a rural farming area and the cottage is surrounded by farmer's fields containing sheep, cows and hens. It can sometimes be smelly when the farmer is muck spreading! This is also Cumbria - it rains a lot! Being on the coast means we get less rain that the Lake District proper, but please bring your waterproofs and a good pair of walking boots or shoes or wellies. Sorry if all this sounds a bit patronising, but sometimes people can have an idealised view of the countryside! As noted previously, we are slowly upgrading the cottage and this is reflected in the price. The utility room - though still perfectly usable as a second loo and wash basin - is currently mainly a storage room for vacuum cleaner, mop and bucket and materials etc. prior to being converted into an additional shower room. We do permit guests to bring their dogs but ask that you do not allow pets onto the furniture or in the bedrooms. We do a thorough deep clean between bookings but cannot guarantee that every single dog hair will be eliminated during the cleaning process! Finally, the cottage is a home used by family and friends as well as guests. We find it a comfortable and cosy retreat from the hustle and bustle of the town and city. Most of our guests are walkers, cylists, bird watchers and countryside-lovers who love it as much as we do, but please do not come expecting luxury, 5 star accommodation. The bedrooms are simply furnished, with shaker-style pegs for hanging clothes. We do not have a hot tub!! but we do have a lovely south facing garden and verandah for sitting out when the weather is fine.