Guests are requested to let either the Owner or Cat Hole Cottages know as soon as possible of any maintenance problems in a cottage, so repairs can be made so as not to inconvenience following guests.

Ring 01748 886366.

There are two categories of maintenance problem: Emergency and Non-emergency.

Emergency: problems such as the heating/hot water/cooker/electric/gas not working are categorised as emergencies, and as such, the Owner and Cat Hole Cottages will try their utmost to resolve such problems as soon as possible, although subject to being able to summon suitable tradespeople during normal working hours/days. In the event of a problem being outside normal working hours, the Owner and Cat Hole Cottages will try to help holidaymakers as much as is reasonably possible.

Non-emergency: problems such as non-working TV/radio/dvd player/non-essential lights/cd player/broken furniture etc are categorised as non-emergency. Whilst being an inconvenience, they cannot be termed as vital to a cottage holiday and as such, the Owner and Cat Hole Cottages will try to effect repairs, or summon tradespeople, within normal working hours. Repairs etc will therefore be subject to fitting in with diaries and appointment calendars of relevant tradespeople and neither the Owner, nor Cat Hole Cottages, can guarantee that repairs can be made during the holiday. Unfortunately, no refund for inconvenience can be made.

At Cat Hole Cottages we do everything possible to ensure you have a marvellous holiday, but we do understand that occasionally things go wrong. If a problem occurs, please let us know immediately and we will do our utmost to work with the Owner / Housekeeper to resolve it. We provide this service in our capacity as Agent, on a goodwill basis only.

Please get in touch straightaway, as you will appreciate that complaints made after your occupancy cannot be entertained.

At Cat Hole Cottages we strive to give you a wonderful holiday in a beautiful cottage. We personally inspect each of our cottages regularly to make sure they are maintained to the highest standards. We try to give as full a description, with pictures, as we can to provide you with the information you need to choose between any of the lovely cottages we have.  We also include comments, where possible, from previous guests to give you a flavour of the area and the cottage.  If you have any objections to your comments being used on this site, please let us know – they will not be used.

We listen to all comments from visitors to our cottages and pass on all suggestions given to the cottage owners to help improve both the quality of accommodation and our service to holidaymakers. Please feel free to tell us about any issues arising, either during your holiday or at any time afterwards.

Many of us go on holiday to experience the thrill of staying in a type of home very different to our own. However, you should remember that your Yorkshire holiday cottage, like all homes, may have idiosyncrasies you may not be used to. Old properties often have thick walls and small windows, and as a result may feel colder and darker than modern homes, especially in Yorkshire!

Cottages on farms (and even in villages) are surrounded by the noises of the countryside and the mobile phone reception in upper Swaledale and Arkengarthdale (EE only) is patchy. Even TV and radio reception can be poor at times.

Please make sure you check with us at the time of booking about reception etc if you have a particular requirement of this nature. If the cottage is advertised as having a ‘private water supply’ you should be aware that the water will be from a private source and has not been processed in a water treatment facility. However, all such cottages have filters in place, so the water is perfectly safe to drink.

If a cottage has a septic tank, it is vital that only organic waste and toilet tissue are flushed down the loo!

We can certainly return any item you have unfortunately left behind at one of the cottages.  However, an administration charge of £5 will be made to cover the cost of packaging and posting the item, including travel costs to the post office.  Please send a cheque for £5 (or contact us to make an online bank transfer) and once we receive it, we’ll send you the item.

However, we would recommend you make a last minute survey round the house to make sure you’ve collected all your belongings – much easier for everyone!

If there is severe flooding or wintry weather, the council will try and open the main roads ie the main route up Swaledale and up Arkengarthdale as a priority. If you have any doubts about whether the road is passable, please ring the Highways for advice on 08453 669501.

Other minor roads, including all single track roads, will not be cleared by the council.  If in doubt about whether you can reach your cottage, use discretion and care – walk ahead to look and see and, if necessary, wait for others who have come through to check and see if they think it is advisable to carry on. Please take care not to get stuck – quite apart from the damage to your own car, you will block the road for others.

If you have booked a holiday at a cottage not on a main road, please note that under the Terms and Conditions of your booking, your holiday is not refundable if you cannot reach it due to weather conditions.

We strongly recommend you take out suitable insurance to cover all eventualities when you book.

A few of our cottages are set high up on the hills, having stunning panoramic views. Access to these cottages is obviously more challenging than those situated in villages, especially in wintry weather.

Nettlebed, East Calvert House, Joe House and the Old Stable are also found along single track roads, although not particularly steep.  Nettlebed is then reached by an unmade track from the road, through 2 gates. The track can be difficult when wet and you will need to negotiate the two tight bends with 3 point turns, depending on which direction you are approaching from. You may need to either reverse 20m from the road to the first bend, then carry on forwards or leave the car on the lower part of the drive and walk up to the house (approx 100m), although most cars should be able to get up the track, as long as you go wide enough – give us a ring for a chat or advice.

Holidaymakers should also be aware that in wintry weather, the tiny roads to all the above cottages are not gritted by the council, although there are piles of salt and grit at intervals up the hills, which can be accessed by individual car drivers if necessary (bring a shovel). It may still be necessary, however, to leave the car at the main road (or as far as you can get) and walk up and down, or to and from the cottages in poor weather.

If in any doubt about access for any cottage, please ring us for advice before booking. However, we cannot take any responsibility for any difficulties with access under any circumstances and your booking is made entirely at your own risk. You are reminded that your deposit is non-refundable once a booking is made and a deposit paid.

We cannot stress enough how important travel insurance is, to cover any of these, or any other unforeseen, circumstances. It is often hard to imagine the poor weather or road conditions we get here, very close to the Pennines, especially if you’re booking when the weather is balmy!

In the event that you have to cancel your holiday, we shall try to relet it for you. If it is relet, monies received by Cat Hole Cottages for the relet holiday, less the deposit, £10 booking fee and any extras already paid by the holidaymaker, will be refunded to the holidaymaker within 2 weeks after the relet holiday has taken place. If we are unable to relet, all monies paid will be forfeited to the Agent/Cottage Owner. If you cancel your holiday more than 56 days before, the full deposit and booking fee are forfeit. Between 56 and 29 days, 50% of the cost is forfeit. Between 28 and 15 days, 90% is forfeit. 14 days or less  to the holiday, 100% of the cost is forfeit. Please note that once your holiday is booked and a deposit paid, the deposit and booking fee are non-refundable under all circumstances.

Coronavirus

If the govt says you cannot come for your holiday because you are locked down, and you don’t wish to postpone, we will refund you, minus the £10 booking fee. Unfortunately, if you have to cancel because you have tested positive for Covid, or you/your household are required to self isolate, there is no refund, as you can now take out insurance to cover you for this eventuality, so the onus is on you to do so. If the holiday can be rebooked by someone else, the normal cancellation terms apply. If you wish to cancel or postpone because hospitality venues such as pubs/cafes etc are closed, we cannot postpone or refund, sorry; the normal cancellation terms apply.

We cannot stress enough how important it is to take out suitable insurance as soon as your booking is made, which covers you against unforeseen cancellation, inability to reach your cottage due to the weather, change in circumstances and generally anything that might stop you from being able to take your holiday.

Simply give us a call on 01748 886366 and we’ll find you the perfect cottage for your needs. Or if you know the cottage you want, call us and we’ll reserve it for you there and then. Alternatively, contact us by email and we’ll give you a call back at your convenience.

Lettings commence at 3.00 pm (4.00 pm in peak weeks) on the first day of your holiday and end at 10.00 am on the day of departure. Please ensure you leave promptly, even in low season and after short breaks, to give the owner or housekeeper sufficient time to prepare the cottage for incoming guests. You are, however, expected to leave the property clean and tidy. If you would like to arrive or leave early, please contact us – it may be possible to arrange this. Make sure you are aware of key collection details, or feel free to give us a ring to check.

There are small shops at Reeth, and Muker (restricted opening hours off-season).

Hawes and Leyburn each have two reasonably-sized supermarkets and there are two supermarkets in Richmond, one of which is a large Lidl.

Catterick Garrison, 5 minutes from Richmond, has a very large Tesco’s (open early till late), which also delivers, and there is also an Aldi there.

Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s in Darlington also deliver.

Make sure when you order your delivery that you include a landline number of the cottage, or Cat Hole Cottages phone number, as it is likely that your mobile phone number will not work in Swaledale (unless it is an EE phone and even then the signal is patchy). Or include detailed instructions for the delivery team as to how to find your cottage (we will have sent you these with your confirmation of booking).

Some of our cottages accept dogs – check on individual cottage pages.  You will find information there about how many and what size of dogs are accommodated.  In all cottages accepting dogs, holidaymakers are required to leave the cottage clean and free of dog hairs.  If extra cleaning is required, you will be invoiced within 7 days of departure and immediate payment will be required.  For the comfort and convenience of other guests and the owners, dogs are not allowed upstairs or on any furniture whatsoever. You must not leave your pet unattended in the property.

Swaledale and Arkengarthdale are farming areas, with sheep and cows in fields, and on pastures and moors.  Dogs must be under strict control at all times and on a lead near livestock. However, if there are cows with calves in fields, they can be extremely protective and will chase your dog. If this happens, let go of the lead and allow the dog to run away from the cows, or you may be hurt yourself. Your help and respect for the surrounding environment is greatly appreciated. It is your responsibility to keep your pet safe as, even if the property has a garden, it may be possible for a determined pet to escape! Should your dog leave unwelcome deposits in the garden, please ensure you remove them before you leave.

We do not make an extra charge for pets, but please let us know when you book if you are bringing your pets.

Please check individual cottage details to see if high chairs / cots are available. Please note cot linen is not provided in any cottage.

All our cottages are equipped to a very high standard, with hopefully everything you could want on your holiday. If you find equipment broken or missing, please let us know as soon as you can, so we can deal with it for future guests. Most cottages provide teatowels, washing-up-liquid, cleaning materials, sponge scrubbers, foil, clingfilm and enough toilet and kitchen roll for the first two days. You might want to bring provisions/toilet rolls/kitchen roll/logs/sticks/firelighters etc with you to save a trip to Reeth on arrival.

Have a look at individual cottage pages for particular facilities you might be interested in – or feel free to give us a ring for any details you need.

Mobile coverage is very patchy in Swaledale.

EE is the best network coverage, but it only reaches to between Gunnerside and Muker, and even where there is coverage, the signal is not very good inside the cottages (thick walls!).

For more information on whether you will have signal for your phone at our cottages, please click here.

Many cottages provide all linen, which includes bedlinen, personal towels and teatowels (all cottages have duvets). Some cottages only provide bedlinen and teatowels, and you will need to bring your own personal towels. Please check individual cottage pages carefully. Alternatively, Cat Hole Cottages can provide a towel hire service – please enquire when booking. Towel hire is £2 per person. Cot linen is not provided in any cottage.

Some holiday cottages are still on Domestic Refuse Collection, while others are on Commercial Waste Collection. If you have a black Domestic Collection bin, collection is alternate Wednesdays (please put bin out on Tuesday evening). If you have a Commercial Yorwaste bin (usually blue), collection day is alternate Tuesdays (they should take the bin from where it is stored). Note, smaller green wheelie bins are ONLY for garden waste.

Most cottages have no recycling collection, as they are classed as Commercial Waste, so please take recycling to local points in Muker Car Park, Keld Lodge, Reeth mini Industrial Estate and Langthwaite car park ; they take everything except black plastic and plastic film. There are also recycling points in larger towns and supermarkets etc.