Five star luxury self-catering cottage for two – Douglas’s Barn
‘If we could only come to one cottage again (and again and again) for the rest of our lives…it would be this one.’ April 2012
Douglas’s Barn is a Five Star (Gold Award) luxury self-catering cottage for two in the Peak District: it lies next to open countryside with glorious walks in every direction but also within only a short stroll of the village pub, shop and church.
Our guests love the ‘quirky but gorgeous’ contemporary interior with all its funny nooks and weird crannies; they love the calm, still atmosphere and soothing colours which make one feel instantly sheltered from the stresses of the outside world. They also appreciate all the ‘little extra” touches and the fine quality of the furniture and equipment of the superior holiday accommodation in the Peak Park that they have come to love.
(They also seem to like the homemade cake and the Orchard Farm marmalade!)
Romantic escape for two: luxury self-catering accommodation in the Derbyshire Peak Park
What pleasures await: Five Star comfort within
Relaxing break: recharge the batteries in comfort
Marion’s own version of Bakewell Tart
Many a gourmet meal from local produce
Quirky comfort - up the spiral stairs to bed
Keen cooks will love the beautifully equipped kitchen
Romantic luxury...Douglas's Barn's extra-wide and extra-long king-size bed with Vi-spring mattress
An essay in weird shapes and quirky angles: spiral stairs, especially made to fit into the wedgy space
Douglas's Barn bathroom for a relaxing soak
...or even a power shower, over the whirlpool bath
Douglas's Barn kitchen and sitting room
The two holiday cottages, across the front of our house
Douglas’s Barn is the (relatively) newer of the two Orchard Farm traditional limestone farm buildings/ now Five Star holiday cottages. Tom’s Barn is probably somewhat earlier than Douglas’s Barn; we suspect that the space between the two buildings was joined up to the house in a fairly ad hoc way by a late 18C Parwich farmer, with more concern for his cows than architecture. But we love the resulting odd angles and weird nooks and crannies, which add so to the character and charm of our ‘quirky but gorgeous’ holiday accommodation.
We originally converted Douglas’s Barn 1999/2000, at the same time as Tom’s Barn, but initially as a home for Marion’s father Douglas. Eventually, after Douglas’s death in 2004, we re-converted it in 2006 to form our second luxury cottage for two, consciously making it as different from Tom’s Barn as we could so people had a real choice between two equally lovely romantic cottages for two.
Douglas’s Barn quickly became very popular. Several of our first guests have by now been back five or six times already! Our guests flock from all over the country to enjoy walking holidays in the Peak District, eating holidays, just pure ‘chilling out’ relaxing holidays, special celebrations and satisfying self-indulgent treats.
Several of our guests like to come twice in the year – perhaps once in the summer and another in the winter: the comfort in the barn doesn’t change but there is a wonderful contrast in the village of Parwich and the surrounding Peak Park countryside from the luxuriant greens of the summer to the barer but beautiful and bracing winter scenery.
Recent Comments from Douglas’s Barn Visitors’ Book
‘“Lovely to return for our third visit! Great weather to enjoy the beautiful countryside.” October 2011
“Fantastic cottage with great walking and cycling on the doorstep…Thank you John and Marion for all the little extras.” September 2011
‘Absolutely brilliant! From the moment we walked in, we loved it! So well equipped and tastefully decorated. An absolute delight. Thank you so much. Can’t wait to come back soon!’ July 2011
‘Idyllic third visit. 10 walks from the barn, plus one at Ilam. Such a perfect place to relax.’ July 2011
‘We booked our first stay in Douglas’s Barn a year ago – a long time to wait but it has far exceeded all our expectations. From the moment we were greeted by Marion and John everything has been more than perfect (including the weather!). So many extra touches – we both really loved our Bakewell tart – we will return for that alone! The week has gone far too quickly and it will be sad to leave this gorgeous cottage in the most idyllic surroundings, but we will return.’ June 2011
‘Our second stay at Douglas’s Barn and it’s still as wonderful as ever. It has been a thoroughly relaxing and welcome break.’ June 2011
“We really had an amazing week in Douglas’s Barn and will definitely be recommending to all our friends. The most relaxing and soothing holiday in years!!” April 2011
