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Child Friendly Cottages and Family Weekend Breaks

 
 
 
 
 

All, apart from one, of our properties are child friendly, particularly welcoming children and babies.  Most of our child friendly cottages can provide a cot, highchair and other baby equipment, but many of our child friendly cottages, owned by ourselves or our owner friends who have children, provide a range of things to entertain children from toy boxes, books and dressing up boxes to garden play equipment and games rooms (great for big kids too!) In short, some are more child friendly and toddler friendly than others!


In order to help you make a more informed choice of property for your luxury holiday, we have our own star(fish) rating system for child-friendliness ranging from 1 to 5. Whilst no two cottages have exactly the same facilities, they all fall within the parameters set by the following categories:

5 Starfish 

These properties are suitable for children of all ages, have their own private garden space, some outdoor play equipment and some, even a games room. Some have a specially designated children's bedroom. In short, these are ideal child friendly holiday cottages.

The Croft, Moo House, Beadnell Beach House, Beach38, The Granary, Nook End, Driftwood, Mariner's, Smugglers' Hide, Garden Cottage, The Lodge@ Shirewater, The Hemmel, Cowslip, The Bamburgh Beach House

 

 4 Starfish

These properties are very child-friendly but may have one or two features which mean they don't quite make 5 starfish rating such as steps in the garden or no enclosed garden

Craster Retreat, Coral Cottage, Craster Rocks, The Well House, Sailors Snug

 

 

   3 Starfish

These properties are equipped with games, toys, children's DVDs, dressing up box and such, but may lack a garden and perhaps are more suited to those aged children who don't need an enclosed space with swings etc. Some have a specially designated children's room

Seafarer's, Harbour Master's House, The Look Out, Coastguard's Cottage, Bluegrass and Feathergrass apartments

 

  2 Starfish

These properties welcome children but have no private garden or limited outdoor space and as such may be more suited to either babies or older children

The Plaice, Pampas our one bedroom apartment @The Viking, Budle Bay Penthouse

 

We don't have properties with just one starfish as we feel that even our 2 starfish properties are welcoming to children and families. The only property in our collection not to accept children is The Studio at Tughall - this is exclusively for couples

These ratings are intended as a guide but if you have a specific question or need please feel free to discuss this with us.

http://pettyfour.blogspot.com/2011/01/two-if-by-sea.html

" .... we pulled into the drive of our glorious home-away-from-home, Nook End. I cannot explain how wonderful this house was. It was gorgeously furnished, immaculately clean, completely kitted out, well insulated, and spacious (and space isn't easy to find in the UK).  We made a roaring fire every evening. We cooked dinner all seven nights at Nook End and enjoyed every minute of it. We did a dozen loads of laundry. Our host provided a welcome basket with milk, eggs, bread, butter, tea, coffee, and bubbly -- all locally made. It even had a Christmas tree.  But best of all, it was positively loaded with toys, dress-up clothes, books, travel cots, high chairs, etc for our girls. So many hotels/apartments/cottages in Europe claim to be child-friendly, and few rarely are.  If you are ever -- and I mean EVER -- considering a trip to the coast, please book through Coastal Retreats."

 

 ''We had a fabulous February half term week in Nook End. The cottage has spacious living accommodation internally as well as a great garden and Wendy House filled with toys. The weather hindered our full use of the external facilities but the rest of the house more than adequately made up for the snow and cold. Our 2 girls (aged 2 and 4) were easily amused by the toys in the house; the plentiful videos; and the layout of the house meant that they were able to chase each other; play hide and seek etc.

 For the adults, the very comfortable king sized bed ensured 6 nights of very good sleep (crucial); the files full of information on child friendly and other places to visit meant that our days were planned easily; and the very competent babysitters who looked after our girls one evening meant we were able to go out to meet friends one evening. Fantastic. Our next visit to Northumberland will definitely include a booking of Nook End or its neighbouring cottage owned by the same couple.''

 

We offer child friendly holidays and think we've thought of everything when it comes to children and babies (please tell us if we've missed something). It's easy enough for self catering cottages to provide a cot and a highchair and then to call themselves child friendly! We think we go a step further and incorporate a fundamental child friendly approach to everything we do at Coastal Retreats. We welcome children and families and will provide anything that may be required (within reason!). We can provide your little ones with travel cots, high chairs, stair gates, night lights, steriliser, plastic crockery and cutlery, children's videos/DVDs, toys, books and games to suit the age of your child and we also have the very popular dressing up boxes in each cottage - guaranteed to please children and adults alike! We try to make it as easy as possible to come on holiday with children and are pleased to hear from our guests that some of the little things we do, have made such a difference to their stay.


There is no doubt that our Northumberland cottages are designed, furnished and equipped with children and babies in mind.

With two young children of our own, we have learnt over the years, that if our girls are happy, then we're happy!     

Many of the younger guests write messages in our visitors books and these make great reading. Some as young as five are commenting on our interior design scheme or telling us how they don't want to go home at the end of their holiday!

' I really like the funny bunk bed in Driftwood with the stripey curtain. It made me feel I was sleeping in a boat' ...Julia aged 7, stayed at Driftwood

'This has been the best holiday ever and me and my sisters don't want to go home'...Ben aged 10, stayed at Moo House

' It was really kind of you to leave us the chocolates and the sweeties'...Harriet, aged 6, stayed at Glebe Cottage

 

 

Our self catering properties are all non-smoking, we don't allow pets in most and we have reliable cleaning teams who leave everything spotlessly clean, so you can rest assured if your child is asthmatic or suffering from allergies.

We can even arrange a babysitter or a nursery place for you should you fancy an evening or a day out without the children. This may give you an opportunity to book a restaurant for dinner or enjoy a couple of hours to yourselves in the Ship Inn at Newton or take an evening stroll along the beach.  The Lucker Private Day Nursery at Lucker near Bamburgh, will take holiday makers children, aged from 2-5 years, on a daily basis. They will take children up to the age of 8 during school holidays. Have a look at their website www.luckerdaynursery.org.uk

We have an exciting relationship with the private Ocean Club in Seahouses. This enables our guests to use the facilities of the Ocean Club at any time of day and for any length of time, for a reasonable price (there are some protected times when the pool is for adults only but you will find a timetable in your cottage). It is not open to the public and so doesn't get exceptionally busy, which is nice if you are taking your children for a leisurely swim. The club welcomes children of all ages, has a separate children's pool, play pens, baby changing facilities, 'Splash Times' and serves a selection of children's meals and snacks in the cafe/bar. It is an ideal venue for the odd rainy day!  If you are staying at our new apartments@ The Viking, then you receive FREE access to the Ocean Club and could take the children every day without paying a penny!

Even though our properties are exceptionally child and family friendly, you will find that we haven't compromised on design and style. Our properties are equally appealing to those guests coming without young ones!

Useful Websites If You Are Travelling With Children

Down loadable games for the journey

  • The Trakkies website (for kids who love trains) has a whole host of pictures to colour, brain teasers and things to make on a train journey - www.trakkies.co.uk

 

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