ABOUT US

Welcome to Askrigg Cottage Holidays and our beautiful self catering holiday cottages in the glorious Yorkshire Dales National Park.

We will always have a soft spot for Minnie’s Cottage, originally our second home in the Dales, and our very first cottage. We knew that we eventually wanted to live in the Yorkshire Dales, so we jumped at the chance to buy Rook’s Cottage when it came up for sale in 1999, with the intention that this would eventually be our home in Askrigg, , which we thought would be when we retired, with our first guests in October 1999.

We had a change of plan in 2000 (must have been something to do with a new century!) when we decided that we were going to do everything that we could to move to the Yorkshire Dales sooner rather than later, and managed to do that in July 2000. Rooks Cottage by then had proved so popular that it had too many bookings for us to live in it. Rooks was, and still is, a stunning cottage and we sold it in 2006 to Claire and Tony McCann, who are from Newcastle , and like us, lovers of the Dales and regular visitors with family and friends living in the area, and we continue to manage this cottage for them.

In Autumn 2005 we bought School Cottage in Newbiggin in Bishopdale, one of the tributary valleys off Wensleydale, and which as its name suggests has in the past been the village school, and the tall, stone mullioned windows from this time flood this cottage with light.

When we sold Rooks, we were lucky to be offered the chance to buy Urlay Nook, also in Askrigg, and we set this up as our first five star holiday cottage-like all of our cottages, it is crammed full of original features.

In 2002 we were asked by our friends Peter and Shirley Coates to take on their holiday cottage, Greystones, in Thwaite in Swaledale, which we did, shortly followed by Shirley’s father’s cottage, Stockdale, also in Thwaite. Both of these cottages have been in the family for generations, and have a fabulous setting in the village of Thwaite. The hay meadows behind the cottages are full of wild flowers in Spring and Summer, and are so important that they are protected.
Next came Burn Cottage from our friends Nicola and Andrew Sprake, a 3 bedroomed traditional cottage in Askrigg, and also their much loved second home, which is reflected in the many personal touches throughout the cottage, and this was followed by Number 2 in Richmond, a chic and stunning cottage in the heart of the Georgian town on one of its ancient and historic medieval wynds.
In 2007 came Croft House, also in Askrigg, owned by Mick and Joanne Wright. This was their family home, but they presently live and work abroad, so they have entrusted it to our care in the meantime.

2008 was a busy year! Honeypot Cottage came first from our friends Martin and Karen Virr, who had previously stayed with us in Minnie’s Cottage, which is where Martin asked Karen to marry him. Luckily she said Yes! Next came Jane’s Cottage from more regular guests of ours, Graeme and Jane Oswald, and dog Mutley, and they are regular visitors to their delightful cottage as they live and work in Tyneside-they have probably the best pub in North Shields, The Oddfellows Arms, so know a bit about hospitality. West End came next from Richard Jackson and Sara Humphrey, a beautifully and tastefully refurbished cottage on 3 floors. Finally in 2008 came Rose Cottage, owned and cherished by the Penrose family.

Two more cottages came along in 2009. The Manse in Keld has given us the opportunity to work with Keld United Reformed Church who own this very special property next to the village church, integral to village life. Then Faith Hill, owned by Alan and Jenny Kirkbride, our local dairy farmers and who keep us all supplied with milk, eggs and cream.

We think, although we may be slightly biased, that all of these make a very special collection of unique holiday cottages in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park, and we feel very privileged to be able to live and work in this area, and to be able to share them with our guests.