Ghyll Bank Bungalow is a quaint little bungalow located in the hills of Staveley. Access to the property is quite tricky, as the road is single track. There are tractors frequently bombing down the lanes; your reversing skills have to be quite savvy if you’re faced with a tractor coming your way!
The property was small, but the perfect size for us. The carpet was hoovered and the rooms were lovely and tidy, fresh linen on the beds and clean towels ready for our arrival. The overall smell of the house was, well, pungent. There’s mould on the blinds and on the walls in both bedrooms which definitely needs addressing before it becomes dangerous.
In the heat that we’ve experienced this week, the house smelt hazardous when we came back from our walks in the evenings. We tried to air the bungalow as much as possible, we even bought a bottle of ‘Febreze’ to mask the scent. We also found that the water tasted a little odd too, so we resorted to drinking bottled water.
The shower screen was broken upon arrival, however when the lovely owners came to say ‘hello’ on our first day, they kindly attempted to fix this for us. It appears as though it had be installed upside down, so unfortunately the fix was only temporary. There was also no bath mat in the bath, which made it very slippy when showering.
We would’ve spent a lot more time outside, however the guests in the larger white house on the site were incredibly noisy and messy (photos attached). Their children ran riot from first thing in the morning until the evening. They left all of their toys, clothes and possessions out on the lawn/drive - a less than desirable sight to say the least! We had to pass this every day when leaving/entering the grounds.
The combination of reckless neighbours and a slightly smelly house weren’t ideal, but all in all, Ghyll Bank Bungalow is a decent base for a short trip!