“This is without a doubt the best place we have stayed in Alnmouth.”
We come every summer and winter 4 years in a row now and each time we have, we have not been 100% happy with the house we chose so have stayed somewhere different each time. This is the first ive wanted to return to.
The house is on the main street in the village and is a gorgeous place. It is literally a minute walk to the estuary and beach, not evebn a minute to the local shops and pubs and restaurants.
The house itself is bigger than i expected. All rooms are big and all furniture is very comfortable. This house was the only one we've stayed in that we haven't cleaned to some extent on arrival. It had a lovely welcome pack with tea coffee sugar milk and cookies, with washing up liquid, bin liners, hands wash and tea towel. We have stayed in previous that didn't even provide toilet roll, this one obviously did.
There was a cupboard full of dog food and treats which was lovely, a cupboard in the living room full of games, some binoculars, life jackets, plenty towels and even extra blankets. It had a large array of kitchen utensils and cutlery and crockery and trays pans etc, everything you needed with still lots of place left for cooking space and food storage. (the pantry cupboard looked very tired and dirty but i think it was just the paint wearing etc so we didnt use that).
The garden said it was not a secure garden, but in my opinion it is. It is a good size for a small cottage and had lovely big table and chairs with cover. The bins were easy to access too. There was also a small 2 seater table and chairs the little metal ones which was cute but with paint chipping and a lot of rust we didnt use as they didnt look comfortable or usable but the big table made up for that and we sat out there every day and night.
The garden is surrounded by a 6ft fence and wall on all sides so i would say secure, its just that it had a small gate on each side as this provided access to other cottages to get to their gardens through ours. This was not a problem to us as it wasnt overused by neighbours at all, i think only twice did a neighbour cone through but they were always polite and respectful and careful of our dog. We did have builders come through a lot doing work on the next door which meant theyj came through a LOT on the one day and a couple trimes on another day but again they were very respectful and careful not to let our dog out and they fussed the dog which she loved so it didnt bother us, and obviously we were outside with the dog each time so we didnt worry. I would consider it secure, just shared access, but obviously if youre outside with the kids/dogs at all times then its not an issue and it is not used much by neighbours in our experience, just by those builders but i know that wont be a regular occurrence so didnt bother us one bit.
I would of loved a washer and dryer, and I'd of loved a tv upstairs even just the main bedroom zbut these are things we havent had in anyt other cottage either so didnt expect and managed fine without.
There is a step down into the kitchen and a step down into the one bedroom and the bathroom upstairs, but the step is no bigger than the normal steps on stairs. The bathroom is the only one i will point out, as the door is very narrow too and doesnt open fully wide with the bath behind, so for somebody unsteady i could see it being a very slight problem getting in or out the bathroom bathrooms without help, however, i cant see it being a problem for anyone who could make it upstairs in the first place.
The only things i would change if it were my cottage, is id have wooden floor throughout as its a cottage that welcomes kids and dogs who can be messy and with it being right by the beach would remove the issue of sand in carpets or muddy feet/paws. Id have a washer and dryer or even just the washer, and id have a tv upstairs. Id have a larger doorway to bathroom or remove the glass of the bath screen and have a shower curtain so the door could open wider, and id have a path for the garden built across thhe back along the wall, fenced in separate to the garden space so that people passed behind rather than through, but these are tiny unnecessary things tbh, just things i think would make it 100 out of 100 rather than 99 haha.
Like i said, its amazing place, absolutely stunning, we loved it and are hoping to return but cant find booking now until 2026 which is extremely unfortunate as it means I'll have to book another, and to be honest i cant imagine another as perfect as this from my experience so far.
