Pele Cottage

That panoramic view from the kitchen window was lovely, but the cottage itself let us down during our two weeks at Pele cottage in beautiful Rothbury. There was a strong damp, musty smell throughout, and even the clothes we never wore came home smelling of it. The twin room mattresses looked very old and we could really feel the springs; the beds weren't comfortable. The lounge had plenty of space, though its furniture looked dated, and the curtains seemed as if they'd been there since the 1940s. We would have liked to sit outside on the bench and enjoy the view, but it was rotten and needed to be thrown on a bonfire.

The kitchen view was lovely, and the double bed was very comfortable, but neither could make up for how dowdy and old-fashioned the cottage felt overall. We kept noticing an unpleasant damp, musty smell when we came in. Cooking was difficult too: the oven tins were dirty and inadequate, there were lots of saucepans but only two very small ones had lids, and we couldn't find any microwave containers. There were magazines dating back as far as 2014, dried-up room diffusers, and bathroom air freshener with no scent, probably because it expired in 2011. In the good weather, coffee on the bench under the kitchen window would have been lovely with that glorious view, but the bench was mossy, crumbling and rotten, completely unfit for use. All that neglect added to our dissatisfaction.

Rothbury is a lovely little town, with good shops, pubs, a takeaway and beautiful riverside walks. Pele cottage was a comfortable, roomy fit for our family of four, and worked well as a base for exploring the coast and sights including Hadrian's Wall, Alnwick Castle and Newcastle. We had a great week there. It's ideally placed for walking and cycling, although the area around the cottage is fairly hilly. We'd definitely recommend it for a Northumberland trip.