Bluebell Cottage

Picture in your minds-eye your ideal country cottage for two. Chances are you have in mind something very similar to Bluebell Cottage, a luxurious self-catering holiday cottage on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. A blissful romantic retreat situated in a peaceful wooded valley overlooking the Howgill Fells, it's recently been renovated to a high standard and like its sister property Goodies Farmhouse combines high-end interiors and contemporary amenities with a traditional and very characterful feel. Not only that, being only 6 miles from the M6, it's extremely accessible by car, so there's really no excuse not to escape here with your loved one for a few days or even a week. For lovers of the outdoors, it's ideal, and would make a cosy country retreat at any time of year.

With oak beams and stone floors, it's a characterful and very comfortable property, decorated in a classy country style with gorgeous designer fabrics and pretty antique furniture. The ash-beamed sitting room has an open fire and a squashy velvet sofa and armchair, a Smart TV with Netflix, and a dining table and bookcase with books and games. There's a small fitted kitchen with a NEFF fan oven, hob, dishwasher, microwave oven, fridge and everything else you might need during your stay, including a washing machine, tumble dryer and freezer. freezer. The bedroom has a top-of-the-range Vi-Spring king-size bed and a luxury en-suite shower room, and overlooks the cottage garden with its natural waterfall and mature plants and shrubs.

The cottage is so nice that you and your loved one may not want to stray far, instead hunkering down in the cottage and only emerging for walks into the gorgeous surrounding countryside – of which there are plenty. There's information in the cottage on the best walks, and the wildlife you're likely to see – pied flycatchers and redstarts nest in the garden and there are badgers in the nearby woods as well as the occasional deer. Meanwhile, for a bit of metropolitan life, nearby Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale are worth a trip, not to mention any number of country pubs and the other attractions of the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District.