“A great house” It's hard not to love this house. Brilliant attention to detail: from the fires begin laid when we arrived, the hamper of essentials left for us, the suggestion of walks (a visit to the caves and stone circle being a highlight), the pub recommended for sunday lunch (Fetherston Arms with great food and real ales - wish we hadn't taken the kids we could have stayed there all afternoon), the toasty duvets…..I could go on but I think I'd bore you. A very lovely management team who were very helpful in the run up to our stay and very low key during our stay…there was a welcome lack of 'do this' or 'don't do this' signs in the house which made it feel more like home. I don't usually write reviews so that should be a testament to the great stay we had. Hope to find an excuse to go back soon.

“Everything we hoped for.........and a lot more!” We rented the property for our daughter's enormous and extended wedding after deciding that it offered everything we required-space, beautiful grounds, stunning ground floor rooms and spacious attractive bedrooms with ensuites. The wedding was a complicated occasion which required considerable organising, but throughout the whole process the entire team involved with Melmerby Hall were helpful and answered queries and requests extremely promptly. Special thanks should go to all the housekeeping staff who keep the Hall in an exemplary manner, the groundsman Gavin, Helen who observed the registry part of the marriage in an unobtrusive manner, Charles and Christine, who dealt with our many questions and lastly Gilly who has been incredibly helpful and a fantastic advisor throughout the wedding planning and actual wedding. Melmerby Hall was described by one wedding guest as a magical kingdom, it certainly was for our special occasion.

“Wedding of our dreams!!!” There are no words to describe how amazing this property is. We stayed here in May 2015, for 3 days, with 18 relatives to celebrate our wedding. The typical British weather managed to hold off long enough for us to get married in the idyllic setting on the lawn underneath two magnificent trees. Jilly and her girls made sure that our stay was faultless with nothing being too much trouble. All of our guests were mesmerized by the venue each room lovingly restored with great thought and impeccable taste. The photos in each room to illustrate the scale of the restoration was a nice touch. A week to the day since we arrived, my only wish is that we could go back and do it all over again. Thank you to Jilly and Blencowe hall for making my wedding dreams come true.

“Absolutely perfect stay in idyllic country home.” We booked the three adjoining properties of Cazenovia Hall, Riverain and Wythburn cottage to celebrate our daughter's 21st birthday with family and friends. We had viewed the properties on the website and were expecting a very high standard, but they even surpassed all our expectations. Cazenovia Hall had all the facilities of a 5* hotel, with beautifully furnished and decorated ensuite bedrooms, an outstanding galleried kitchen and dining area and wonderfully comfortable sitting room, which led out onto a huge private patio. We had enough room to entertain the whole party comfortably for the whole weekend. The kitchen area was incredibly well laid out and had exceptional facilities for cooking and preparing dinner. I loved the aga, which heated the entire room and made it so convivial. It was so well equipped that we had no need for anything. On arrival, we found it spotlessly clean, all the rooms were absolutely immaculate and we were delighted with the generous hamper and provisions that had been provided for our stay. All the little things had been considered, such as nightlights, candles, matches, charcoal and firelighters for the barbecues, which made it into a home from home. We really had the most wonderful time and have so many happy memories of our stay. The outdoors were as impressive as the interior, with beautifully tended gardens, flowering shrubs and trees and the wonderful trickling stream. We could not have asked for a more perfect stay and would stay again at the drop of a hat. Thank you to the Rowleys and all the staff who must work so hard to keep this property at such an exceptional standard. We hope to visit your other properties and feel assured that the standard of all would be absolutely comparative.

“Home from home” A good base for walking in the lakes. Slightly too far from pub to walk due to time of year (October) but fabulous pub which we visited regularly. Barn conversion immaculate and good for two dogs and two families including teens but only downside was not enough room to dry out wet clothing (wettest trip to Lakes so far!). Would definitely recommend as had great welcome pack to get us started which included home made cake!! Also spotted red squirrels in the garden.

“Plenty to see and to do but a quiet place to stay” The views are spectacular. The accomodation is comfortable and the landlady is very friendly. It's a nice place for children. We loved to play with the dogs.