Gelderslack Barn

The Eden Valley sits in a triangle formed by three of England's most walked landscapes. Gelderslack Barn, a renovated conversion a mile outside Kirkby Stephen, puts you within reach of all three: fell walks across the high open country, riverside paths through gentler terrain, and quiet lanes threading through the North Pennines. Closer still is The Black Bull at Nateby, 200 yards away. Kirkby Stephen itself—a proper market town with independent shops, pubs and restaurants—is a mile's walk, and Appleby, the former county town with a leisure centre and pool, lies 14 miles south.

The barn is ground floor throughout, arranged as one open-plan living space with a kitchen area, dining area, sitting room with a woodburner, and a bedroom with a double bed. The shower room has a walk-in shower and heated towel rail. Essentials are covered: electricity, Wi-Fi, bed linen, towels, and initial logs for the stove. You get parking for one car on site, an enclosed garden with furniture, and the whole place to yourself. The property suits two people looking for a quiet break without fuss or pretension.

Steam trains run high in the Pennines a few miles away, and the famous Settle to Carlisle railway line—known for the Ribblehead Viaduct—is five miles off. For a different kind of day out, Ullswater's steamers and water sports sit about 20 miles west in the Lake District. Note that there is a slope from the patio down to the car park, and the property does not permit smoking.