Christmas Greetings

Hello everyone 

Hope you are all keeping well.  Here is a quick update of what has been happening at Skiddaw Croft recently.

We have had some spectacular sunrises; Steve took this photo at Portinscale earlier this month whilst out for his early morning walk.

We also had some snow a couple of weeks ago.  There are just a few patches left on the very tops.  This morning there was a sharp frost so we may yet get a white Christmas.

The most exciting thing for us recently has been that we are now Grandparents.  Sue’s daughter Katie had little Harry at the beginning of November and we are delighted to welcome him to the family. 

We are currently offering a 15% discount if you book direct via our website www.skiddawcroft.co.uk/book-direct The discount will automatically be applied when you book.  Bearing in mind the uncertainty regarding Covid we will be continuing with our usual Covid safety measures in the meantime.

Christmas is now only a week away.  Our tree is up and we are pretty much sorted ready for family arriving in a few days (Covid dependent!)  As our regulars will know we close over Christmas and the New Year and spend some well-earned time with family. 

We wish you and your loved ones a lovely Christmas and a happy & healthy 2022 and we hope to welcome you all, both new guests and regulars to Skiddaw Croft soon.

Sue & Steve

Welcome to the Lake District

Hello to you all

We hope you are keeping well. 

We have been open again for almost 2 months now and time has flown by.  We have welcomed returning guests and met lots of new guests too.  It’s always lovely to welcome people back and also great to introduce the area to people who have never been before.

As you will have heard, Covid 19 restrictions are lifting in England from next Monday 19th July.  We have given this a lot of thought and, as Coronavirus hasn’t gone away and we do get vulnerable/at risk guests staying with us, we have decided that we will be keeping our current procedures (wearing of masks/socially distanced breakfasts/use of hand sanitiser/Covid cleaning etc) in place for at least the rest of this year.

We hope this reassures you that everyone’s safety is our top priority. 

Steve has been creating in the kitchen. We now offer our own home made Tomato sauce for you to enjoy with your breakfast. It has been added to the menu for our smashed avocado option, but guests are really enjoying it with other dishes instead of the Heinz offering.

The forecast for the next week or so is for fantastic weather which we are looking forward to.  We still have some availability in the next couple of months if you fancy a last minute break away. Remember we give all direct bookings a 10% discount.  September is already starting to book up so don’t miss out 

We hope you all stay safe and look forward to welcoming you back to Skiddaw Croft soon!

Sue & Steve

2021 Re-Opening!

Greetings from Skiddaw Croft

We hope everyone is keeping well.

This latest lockdown has seemed longer hasn’t it, and the house has been very quiet so it will be great to hear it filled with chat and laughter again. We are very much looking forward to welcoming you back when we re-open on 17th May!

Steve and I have been keeping ourselves occupied as best we can and even though the weather has not been as amazing as the first lockdown we have been out for some low level walks (as recommended by the local mountain rescue) and last week we saw our first lamb of the season. 

We have had a few gorgeous days with bright blue skies and snow on the tops and some amazing sunrises.

Steve now has a date booked in for his Covid vaccination which is a relief.  I am too young to be allowed it yet!

Until we are advised differently by the Government we will continue to keep social distancing within the B&B. When we have more than 3 rooms occupied we will still be staggering breakfast service to ensure social distancing is maintained then as well.  We will also be sticking to our Covid cleaning routines as per last year to keep you and us safe. 

Single room 4 remains closed to allow Single room 7 sole use of their shower/wc.

The local pubs, restaurants and cafes are making preparations to re-open and Keswick will be welcoming visitors back with open arms. You can feel the buzz of anticipation in the air!

Hope to see you soon!

Sue & Steve

Covid-19 Update 2021

Our Covid Procedures

We want you to relax and enjoy your stay with us so here is some information to let you know what procedures we have in place to keep you (and us) safe.

We are following Government guidelines when cleaning and sanitising the B&B and a risk assessment has been undertaken.  We have been awarded the “We’re Good To Go’ accreditation by Visit England which means we meet or exceed Government COVID-19 guidelines.

We have hand sanitiser in the main entrance for you to use before entering the building and also at the entrance to the breakfast room.

You'll notice we will be wearing protective masks when we greet you and during breakfast service.  Breakfast tables will be located to conform with social distancing guidance and breakfast times will be staggered. 

We won't be doing our usual welcome handshakes either and there are notices reminding you to maintain social distancing in communal areas.

Frequent touch points in communal areas including, but not limited to, banisters, light switches, door handles etc will be sanitised on a regular basis.

We have removed items such as some books and games from our guest lounge and the landings to reduce risk of infection.

To help reduce any risk of cross contamination we will not be providing a full daily service for private guest rooms during your stay. Normally we would provide a daily service of your room but for safety reasons this is suspended until further notice.  

We will simply ensure that you have replacement tea tray items each day and empty your bins as required. We will carry this out when your room is unoccupied.

We will wear appropriate PPE when handling items for your room and will use fresh PPE for each room.

Guest rooms will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitised between guests' departure and new arrivals.

Frequent touch points within your room including but not limited to door handles, table tops, light switches, tv remotes, kettles, tea trays, hairdryers, wardrobe and drawer handles, window openers and radiator controls will be treated with antibacterial/antiviral spray conforming to EN14476.

Soft furnishings including curtains, chairs and blankets on beds will be treated with an antibacterial/antiviral spray proven to kill 99.99% of bacteria and viruses

Bedding is outsourced to a local laundry where it is professionally cleaned and sanitised

Please continue to wash your hands as often as possible, as per the Gov advice.  Liquid soap is available in each room

Guests should not come if they, or anyone they live with, are showing symptoms of Covid-19 - temperature and/or new persistent cough and/or loss of taste and/or smell. Please see our T&Cs regarding cancellation of bookings in these circumstances.

We will regularly review the latest Government guidelines to ensure we are up to date

We hope the above reassures you that we are taking all appropriate actions to keep you as safe as we can. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Covid-19 Update

Time for an update! 

We hope you are all well and managing to cope with lockdown.  We just wanted to let you know where we are with re-opening in regard to Covid-19 and what we have been doing to amuse ourselves while we are closed.

We are waiting for the Government to announce a date when we will be allowed to reopen.  The only thing we are sure of right now is that the beginning of July is the earliest this might be allowed.  A lot depends on what happens in the next few weeks in terms of infection rates.

As soon as we have a date we will be emailing you again and announcing it on our Facebook and Instagram pages. 

In the meantime we are researching what protection we need to put in place to make sure your next stay with us is as safe as we can make it.  We are expecting guidance to be published over the coming weeks to help with this.

Skiddaw Derwentwater

Jetty at Hawse End Derwentwater

Skiddaw Croft has seemed very quiet since lockdown however we have tried to keep busy by catching up with all the little jobs that we don’t normally have time for.  Steve has repainted the garage, which was long overdue, and we have done other maintenance jobs.  I have been baking to pass the time, when I can get hold of ingredients.  The only problem with this has been we have been eating and, along with a lot of the population, putting on those dreaded lockdown pounds!  I had a ‘lockdown birthday’ at the beginning of May so of course a birthday cake was needed J.  In an attempt to balance this we have been out walking most days and below are some photos from our walks over the last few weeks. 

We have been lucky enough to have some amazing weather, which has meant everything has looked particularly good.  We have kept to low level walks, following the advice of the local mountain rescue teams, trying to average 5 miles a day.

One of the positive effects of lockdown has been on the local wildlife.  The birdsong seems much louder and the animals are much more confident to be out and about.  We had a sparrowhawk sat on our top step in the garden for 20 minutes recently, which was amazing. On one of our walks last week we saw deer in the woods and a couple of hares playing in a field.  Bird wise on our walks we have seen the usual suspects and also nuthatches, sandpipers, tree creepers, geese with goslings, ducks with ducklings, moorhens, wagtails, warblers and we even saw the cuckoo we had had been hearing for weeks. 

Skiddaw from Nichol End Marine Derwentwater

Cloud Inversion Derwentwater

Finally, thank you to all of you who have called, emailed and written to us to offer your thoughts and support.  They have meant so much to us and helped us through those tough moments during the last 10 weeks.

We hope you enjoy looking at our photos and we will be in touch again when we have more definitive information about opening up and being able to welcome you all back again.  We are looking forward to seeing you soon.

Sue & Steve

Covid-19 Information

We hope that you are doing well and staying healthy during the current situation.  None of us knows what the next few months will bring with the Coronavirus - Covid-19 outbreak but right now the sky is blue and the sun is out and we are open and taking bookings. 

Have you had a trip abroad cancelled?  Why not spend a few days with us instead?  Lots of fresh clean air available here!

We are offering 15% discount on all bookings for March and 10% for direct bookings for the rest of the year. Availability is up to date on our website https://www.skiddawcroft.co.uk

I walked into town this morning and these ladies were there as always to watch me go by.  They don’t seem too worried or stressed!

Sheep in fields next to the Howrahs footpath between Portinscale and Keswick

Last week Steve and I had a wander and just outside Stonethwaite we found an old water mill called Old Mill Cottage.  It’s tucked away at the end of the Borrowdale valley but worth seeking out.

Old Water Wheel at Old Mill Cottage Stonethwaite

Stream Next to Old Mill Cottage Stonethwaite

Actions we are taking Against Coronavirus - Covid-19

We pride ourselves in always having the highest hygiene standards but want to let you know that during the current Coronavirus pandemic we are taking extra care to make your stay a happy, healthy and relaxing one. 

• All door handles and light switches in public areas are cleaned with antibacterial products at least twice a day. 

• When cleaning we will continue to change our protective gloves when moving from room to room to avoid any cross-contamination. 

• All bedrooms have tissues provided so guests can ‘Catch It-Bin It-Kill It’ as per Government guidelines. 

• Whenever we can obtain stocks there will be anti-bac gel available for guests to use when entering and leaving the building.

We have also made temporary additions to our cancellation policy which you can view on our website.

We hope to welcome you to Skiddaw Croft soon.

Sue & Steve

Sue and Steve at Stonethwaite