Kirkwood Cottages - Real Farm Holidays & Experiences

Apr 18th, 2023

I have been a regular visitor to Kirkwood holiday cottages for more than 10 years. Normally visiting in the spring for a week and then again in the late summer for 10 days or a fortnight. The main reason for my visits is to go fishing for salmon, sea trout and brown trout with often really spectacular results. But this is fishing and more particularly salmon fishing where all bets are off. You can sometimes do no wrong and there are plenty of fish caught and at other times no matter what you do the fish remain elusive. What I have learned though is that the chances of hooking up is largely down to the river conditions on the day; when the river is up and coloured, it is mainly good but when the river is low and clear the chances are low. Anyway, enough of fishing and I will now continue with my review about Kirkwood for those who are not anglers. Firstly, the surroundings are outstandingly beautiful and peaceful. Just to wander through the woods or to stroll in the fields down by the river is a fantastic and relaxing experience with plenty of wildlife in evidence. Apart from the farm livestock there are otters, deer, foxes, badgers and a myriad of other animals and birds to see. Also, because the land is not farmed intensively the flora is diverse and abundant. - A large proportion of the estate is woodland with some other areas that are not cultivated at all making for a rich environment of biodiverse habitats. The cottages are excellent being well appointed, clean, quiet, comfortable and homely with all of the equipment one might need on a self-catering holiday. The owners and staff are amazingly friendly, helpful and welcoming. If you need advice, ideas or assistance with anything it is but a phone call or conversation away and that personal touch is worth much. To conclude, anyone looking to get away from it all in a tranquil and beautiful part of the country will not be disappointed. I certainly will be returning again soon!
Apr 17th, 2023

Booked in for three days fishing recently with a pal Walked the Kirkwood beat approximately one mile the first afternoon Did no see any sign of fish The river is quite shallow and clear had there been any fish in the river we would have noticed and spooked them Fished for a total of eighteen hours from the following day on various methods and different parts of the river and neither of us saw or caught a fish,had a bite or retrieved our tackle with damaged bait We were fishing for Chub and Grayling as advertised on the web site The beat is devoid of fish perhaps due to the family of five or so Otters that live in this section of river !!! We cut short our stay and left feeling cheated We paid 90 between to fish. The owner who is a fisherman himself although away during our visit must surely know that there are no fish in this length and yet is happy to advertise for paying guests to fish
Mar 26th, 2023

Aug 9th, 2022

Originally had a tractor experience gifted to me but made a weekend of it and booked quad bikes for the next day. I'd recommend both the activities to anyone. We had Jack teaching us and he was amazing, both at teaching and leading the activities but also giving ideas of places to go in the area or places to eat. The tractor driving was super hands on and way better than I had imagined. Not just driving the tractor but using the loader, picking stuff up and loading the trailer then attaching and pulling the trailer too. On the 2nd day we were booked to do quad biking. The weather was a bit wet but we were supplied with excellent branded water proofs. The quality of them was amazing. These were most welcomed as we would have been drowned rats otherwise. Jack took us touring over the farm on the quads and we had a go at hearding the sheep too. There was an excellent variety of terrain from track roads, short grass field and long grass fields. I have done quad biking before but this was a new and improved experience enriched with the farm lifestyle giving it a whole new feeling.
Jul 17th, 2022