Bonnygrass Cottage

Clitheroe struck us as a prosperous, attractive little market town, with plenty of smart frock shops and coffee shops. It’s a bit of a foodie hub, and a good base for exploring the western Yorkshire Dales and the Forest of Bowland, which is a deliciously well-kept secret. It was too small to be bombed by the Germans in the war, and too small to have been messed around by redevelopment-focused planners and architects. We stayed at Bonny Grass Cottage as guests of my sister-in-law, and I’d recommend it. It seems recently renovated, and the owner has done a decent job. The kitchen is bright, modern and functional, the beds were comfortable, and the linen and towels were good quality. There are two bedrooms and two bathrooms, so no morning queue for the shower or loo. There are pictures on the walls instead of the usual blankness, which makes it feel cosier, though they’re not high art. We all found the chesterfield sofa more about looks than comfort, but the rest of the furniture was fine. The owner left a good selection of foodie goodies. There’s no visitor book, so we don’t know what other guests think. The little outside garden has a table or two and fairly comfortable chairs. We had fine weather, and the three proper outdoor lights meant we could sit out comfortably until late, with owls in the adjacent park for company. Street parking can be tricky. All-day parkers seem to work locally, so you need to catch a gap between people leaving and others arriving home. Once the redevelopment of Holmes Mill across the road is finished, parking could get harder. The bars, restaurant and food hall there have been done superbly and are rightly popular. The mill’s hotel conversion is still a work in progress, and it’s unclear whether the site will have enough parking for everyone. As in most rented cottages, the eco bulbs are low wattage, which makes reading at night challenging. A brighter bulb in the sitting room wouldn’t add much to the power bill. We’d happily return to Bonny Grass Cottage.

Helen, the house owner, was a great host and gave us all the information we needed. The house had everything we could want. Thoroughly recommended.

Everything we could possibly need was provided in this lovely cottage, in a fantastic location.