Unwind and be inspired in our cosy, rustic, restored barn, nestled in a gorgeous valley on the edge of a small village in the North Pennines AONB, 35 mins from M6 over the very scenic Hartside Pass. We've lovingly decorated this unique space with a palette of hand mixed colours and incorporated lots of wonderful, quirky features. With outstanding walking right on your doorstep, and an abundance of nature to enjoy, it's the perfect base from which to explore this remote, wild part of Cumbria. We hope you'll enjoy staying in our big, beautiful barn as much as we've enjoyed letting our imaginations rip restoring it! Our beautifully lit, colour drenched, spacious self contained barn next to our cottage is full of cosy features and all the character you'd expect from a building that's 150 years old. It is such a great space for unwinding and thinking freely, so perfectly suited to people who are looking for something unique and a bit different. You'll be inspired by the tranquil scenery right on your doorstep and enjoy the peace and quiet. In summer you can open the barn balcony doors and soak up the outside ambience such as the gentle, relaxing trickle of the nearby stream/waterfall or the incredible range of birdsong. The balcony is a good vantage point to spy a dashing red squirrel or two, who often scamper across the courtyard. A feast of warm hand mixed colours greets you when you first enter the barn, where to the right you'll find a cosy, colourful kitchen cobbled together with lots of natural wood and re-cycled furniture. The frame for the kitchen sink was constructed from our daughters chunky climbing frame. The cupboard with the orange formica top was our old sideboard in the cottage opposite for many years. It's been re-vamped to house all your essential kitchen gear, including a good wok for a tasty stir fry. The bathroom is also on the ground floor and is fitted with a powerful rain shower over a large double-ended steel bath. The funky colour changing LED lights provide the perfect atmosphere for a relaxing, romantic soak. The first floor is a lovely big open-plan, living space, with comfortable, cosy seating around the wood burning stove and a dining area at the other end. It's the perfect place to make a fire, close the shutters and chill out after a day exploring the stunning surroundings. There is a good bluetooth hi-fi, so remember to load some fave sounds on your phone to enjoy, as the barn makes a perfect listening room (we use it to assess our music) and has great acoustics and thick walls so if you fancy, you're welcome to pump up the volume. Or why not take advantage of the projector that you can hire to project films on to the gable end wall for a fab cinema experience. The master bedroom on the cosy loft mezzanine level has a very comfy king-size bed from where you can gaze up at the night sky or watch the white clouds float past on a summer sky. For a complete immersive artists self contained studio/ barn experience, there is a room downstairs which we're in the process of developing into an art room complete with big wall drawing board etc. There's still loads of DIY to complete on the cottage across the shared courtyard, but we're still determined to realise our long-term dream of turning it into a multi-discipline creative retreat.