Location
The address is:
Church View Cottage
Middlesmoor
Harrogate, HG3 5ST
North Yorshire
The what3words location of the front door is:
///chilled.unusually.ferrying
Parking is on the grass verge to the south the lane that leads down from the cottage, as shown on the map. Please be considerate when parking and leave as much space as possible for other parked vehicles and farm traffic
Water & Electricity
Water
There are two cold water mains inputs into the house, one in the sitting room, one in the kitchen under the sink, as shown on the diagram. So there are two taps you will need to turn on when you arrive, and then turn off when you leave.
Please treat the taps gently and don’t over tighten when you open or close them.
The hot water system has just been upgraded to 220 litre capacity.Hot water is produced by a combination immersion heater in the corner of the master bedroom. The tank takes around 45mins to heat from cold. Our advice is now to leave the immersion heater switched on for the duration of your stay (unless you are not having baths!). The switch is just inside the cupboard door in the bedroom (see diagram) - down is ‘on’.
Emergency plumbing assistance is via HCS Services: 01609 772 001
Electricity
The mains board is in the cupboard above and to the left of the sink. You will need to switch the main power breaker switch (far right of the consumer unit) on when you arrive and off when you leave.
The two storage heaters are on a separate circuit which must be left on at all times, even when the cottage is empty. Please do not adjust the setting on the units themselves or turn them off at the wall.
There are electric heaters in some rooms but please minimise their use to keep electricity bills down.
Emergency electrical assistance is via Dave Mitchell: 07977076274
Keys to the cottage
There is a key lock box fixed to the back wall of the cottage, just above the larder window (see photo). Walk up the cobbled lane to the right of the front door as you face it, you’ll see a small paved area, look for a small window just above ground level and the box is just above that window.
Contact John (07710 44 33 47) for the current combination.
Due to the fact that the front door is so thick, the keys have long shafts, and they only just fit into the largest lock box I could find. I found the best way to close the box with the key inside is to lay the key flat on the inside of the hinged door and slowly close the box (see photo), you’ll know that the box has locked properly when the little switch pops up to reveal ‘Clear’ (see photo).
Log Burners
There are two log burners in the cottage, these will be your main source of heat, not only will they keep you lovely and warm, they are of huge benefit to keeping the structure of the house dry and happy.
Please pay close attention to the flue temperature thermometers when lighting the burners and close down the air vents as soon as the flue is at the correct temperature. This can happen quickly - within a couple of minutes - so please keep an eye on the fire until it’s burning well and you can close the vents
The manual for the fire in the sitting room is here ; light with the vents open (fully clockwise), and close them by turning anticlockwise as the flue gets up to temperature.
The manual for the fire in the kitchen is here; light with the vent (small lever to the top left of the unit) pushed to the right, close by pushing to the left as the flue gets up to temperature.
The manuals for both fires are in the top right draw of the cabinet in the kitchen.
You will need to provide your own firewood, this can be bought from the garage in Pately Bridge (although they sometimes run out), B&Q in Harrogate. As a rough guide x1 netted bag will last for 2-3 nights per fire.
We are working to set up a system that will allow you to pre-order logs to be delivered to the cottage in advance of your stay.
Housekeeping
The cottage sleeps 5; x1 twin single room, x1 single room and x1 double bed room.
All beds have mattress protectors and coverless duvets. Guests will need to bring their own top sheet (or duvet cover), bottom sheet, and pillow cases.
There are hot water bottles for each bed!
Guests will need to bring their own towels.
Guidance for guests
The cost for staying in the cottage is currently £60 per night
We want everyone to have an amazing time at the cottage. It’s worth remembering that it’s not a conventional Air B&B, there are no cleaners or gardeners other than those of us who stay here, so please can everyone make sure that the cottage is spotless for the friends and relatives who will be following them.
If we collectively keep on top of house cleaning, window cleaning, and gardening the burden will be shared fairly.
In terms of guidance for guests:
No pets please for allergy and cleaning reasons
No candles please
If supplies of cleaning materials are running low please replace
If there are any breakages, or if you see any developing issues that require attention, please let us know
In general, try to have air circulating when you are staying in the cottage - open windows, use the log burners, this really helps keep the structure dry.
We are often lucky enough to have House Martins or Swallows nesting in the corners of the upstairs windows. If there is an active nest please can you minimise disturbance and not open the upper window pane which might break their nest cup. Both Swallows and House Martins can have two broods a year, reusing the mud nest, so we’d like to make sure that the structure of the nest is left in place for as long as possible - ideally through the winter - as this will encourage nesting the following spring.
When you arrive
Water on - two taps
Electricity on - pull down breaker switch at far right of consumer unit.
When you leave
Water off - two taps
Electricity off (leave storage heater circuit on)
Close windows
Wipe down fridge and leave the door open
Fill in the visitors book!
Bin collection
There are two bins; recycling and general waste, they are kept at the front of the house. Collection is on Thursdays - alternating between the two bins. Please make sure the appropriate bin is accessible by 06.00 each Thursday morning, the bin collection calendar can be found here
Please make sure only the correct materials are placed in each bin - there is a sticker inside the recycling bin lid tell you what is acceptable.
The Crown Hotel
The Crown does great food, including take-away fish and chips on Friday, these need to be pre-ordered on 01423 755 204
Emergency Contact
If anything urgent crops up during your stay please contact John Brown on 07710 44 33 47 as the first point of contact.
If I am abroad or unavailable contact Dan Curston on 07506 243 146. Dan has keys, is based in Harrogate, and knows the cottage very well.
Emergency plumbing assistance is via HCS Services: 01609 772 001
Emergency electrical assistance is via Dave Mitchell: 07977076274
