Howscales Cottages

For this weekends guests……Bakewell tart❤️
Posted to tease! 😉😀

A new vacancy has arisen at Askham Hall for a Maintenance and Grounds person.

Your main base will be Askham Hall, located south of Penrith and nestled beneath the Cumbrian fells (CA10 2PF). Askham Hall is an award winning Hotel and Private Hire venue, complete with Michelin starred restaurant. We boast stunning Grade II listed gardens covering a site of 6 acres.

We are looking for a Maintenance and Grounds person to help with various tasks across the site. Specific responsibilities to include maintenance of the swimming pool and hot tub, preparation and distribution of firewood, feeding and husbandry of livestock (pigs) and a multitude of practical DIY tasks within the hotel itself. We can guarantee that no two days will be the same.

At certain times of the year you will be asked to assist the Head Gardener with lawns, strimming and maintenance of borders and trees.

You will also carry out maintenance work across our other sites, all located within a short distance, so a current driving licence is necessary.

We are a seven days a week operation so flexibility with your working pattern is essential. This is a full time role (40 hours per week) but we are open to discussing part time options / job share for the right candidate/s.

If you're interested to work with us then apply on Indeed: https://uk.indeed.com/cmp/Askham-Hall-2/jobs?jk=0a7d939ea8af4ddf&start=0&clearPrefilter=1

That “human being” is me 😀 thank you to everyone that books direct ❤️

Worthy of a visit - Lowther Castle and Gardens never disappoint when they do something like this.

8 years ago today we moved into Howscales, and what an amazing journey it has been!
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey, we wouldn’t be where we are without you, and we hope you stay with us for the next leg.
Here’s a few photos from when we first viewed Howscales, as our favourite singer said “you don’t need eyes to see, you need vision”, and a lot of energy!! 😆

A ‘Before and After’ series to follow, what do you think? 🤔

Here’s a great Monday or Tuesday night option, and each time we have been the food has been delicious 😋

2 adults dine for £50 when ordering from our main menu on a Monday and Tuesday including a carafe of house wine, lager or ale.

Don’t worry, we’ll still be running our kids menu and everyone is welcome.

It’s National Pet Day today - so let’s see lots of lovely photos of your pets.
Here are all our Howscales pets, past and present 💕🐾💕🐾

A helpful picture to assist with identifying swifts, swallows, house martins, and sand martins.
Not sure whether we get sand martins at Howscales 🤔

**NO LONGER TAKING APPLICATIONS**

After three wonderful years the lovely Harriet has left us for pastures new. Thank you for all your hard work Harriet and good luck in the future, you will be missed! 🐶❤️

We are now therefore looking for a student to work at Podgy Paws on Sundays, minimum age 14yrs. We are looking for someone who is a lover of dogs and confident to engage with customers. We are a busy shop and our team need to be prepared to work hard and be on their feet all day, along with kneeling to fit dog harness & coats etc. On the job training will be given to develop your knowledge of pet accessories, food and medicines. Excellent Customer Service is the core of our business and training will focus on this area also.

Additional hours available during school holidays. Pay £6.50 per hour. Staff discount and uniform.

We like to think Podgy Paws is a fun place to work. We are a team of 13 people and we endeavour to make our place of work a good place to be. We particularly value the younger members of our team and do all we can to invest in developing their confidence and work ethic. We appreciate we may be their first ever job and we love to see them flourish in their new work environment.

If interested, please call into the shop and ask for Ashley with a CV and a covering letter as to why you would like to be part of

I’m so pleased with the new wet room (was shower room) in Ravendale cottage. It’s still small, but it’s no longer dingy.
What do you think?

Not many of you will know this but as a kid I used to love the Ghost Train, the combination of fear, excitement, adrenaline and sheer stupidity of the Ghost Train was like a magnet.
So we’ve decided to convert the Dutch barn here at Howscales to a Ghost Train 😃
The one hurdle to overcome is that Murphy would prefer a Log Flume 🤔😆

Happy Easter everyone - with love from Team Howscales!

What an amazing sky, and changing every second 💕

Wow, sun and rain, beautiful 😀

Well I didn’t expect to see snow on top of the fell this morning ⛄️

What a gorgeous day it has been 🌞 I’ve made a start in the main garden today.
Who else has had sunshine? ☀️

Another reason to visit Lowther Castle and Gardens, it really is a stunning place.

For many years now at Lowther, there has been a heronry in the gardens. The birds nest high in the spruce plantation close to the adventure playground. If you are sitting having lunch at the outdoor benches below, you can hear them as they chatter and grumble to one another.

Herons nest early in the season. They generally lay 3-4 eggs which hatch after 27 days. The birds live on a diet of fish and small mammals and have been seen feeding in the recently improved wetland area in the Lowther Valley.

This last week, the conservation team did a survey of the nests in the heronry. There are 17 nests, five already with eggs. The survey of the heronry at Lowther will be shared with the British Trust for Ornithology who have been running a Heronry Census since 1928.

In total, across the UK, there are thought to be around 63,000 birds and 13,000 nests. The largest existing heronry known in England is in Kent – it is home to around 250 nests.

What a beautiful morning. Who else has a covering of snow? ⛄️

UPDATE - we have passed our Visit England inspection !!!! 😀😀
And, technically Ravendale now scores just enough to be 5 star, but until we smash through the grading, we will be sticking with 4 star Gold 😀😀

Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement 🤗

It’s that time of year again….our Visit England inspection, fingers crossed…..

Beautiful sunset - photo doesn’t do it justice.

Peanut butter and jam flapjacks! That’s bonkers, but I think it could work 🤔
Thoughts please 😁

There’s a definite peanut butter theme for tomorrow’s tray bakes…peanut butter brownie and peanut butter and jam flapjack 👌🏼 come along to and let us know which one is your fav!

Everything will be all right in the end….if it’s not all right then it’s not yet the end.

A very appropriate quote for Ravendale cottage, but from which film?

These look delicious 😋

Chloe Wilson ... has baked gorgeous cakes today. .. all ready for the weekend... come along and enjoy a treat .... 😋

Busy day today….painting inside Ravendale and then jet washing. I am now jiggered 😆

Happy Valentines Day!
I've only just realised - I'm sure my card and flowers from Mr C will be hidden in the house somewhere!....

We have just received a cancellation in the very lovely Hazelrigg cottage for week commencing Saturday 18th May.

A lovely cosy cottage for two, set in the gorgeous Eden Valley, Cumbria. Genuinely dog friendly too.

Please follow the link for more details, photos, and booking.
https://howscales.co.uk/hazelrigg/

I feel like I’ve been sanding and painting forever!
Time for a glass of wine I think 😊

We have half-term fun for children aged five to 12 at our weaving with willow workshop with a local artist at Visit Bowlees. Just £3 per child - booking is essential.
https://northpennines.org.uk/event/wild-wednesday-weaving-with-willow/