Stanley Cottage

Couples and small families will find Stanley Cottage works well for a Lake District break. The property spreads across four floors and sleeps four, with two king-size bedrooms and two bathrooms plus a separate toilet, so there's space to move around. Essentials like heating, electricity, wifi and bed linen are included, and there is parking for one car on site.

The living spaces centre on the ground floor, where a sitting room with an electric fire and dining room with a gas fire connect to a kitchen equipped for cooking proper meals. A lower ground floor adds another sitting area with access to a private terrace. A study on the second floor gives anyone a quiet corner if needed. The cottage is no more than a moment's walk from Windermere's centre, which means shops, restaurants and the lake itself are easily reached without the property feeling hemmed in. Note that the staircases are steep, as they typically are in older Lake District cottages. No smoking inside.