Miss Rankin's cottage retreat-sunny patio, firepit

DISCOUNTS FOR 3+ NIGHTS. Self-catering cottage sleeping up to 7 people in 3 bedrooms, with woodstoves for cozy relaxation & a sunny patio with firepit. In a beautiful Scottish Borders valley, surrounded by sheep farms & many walks. The Whiteadder River runs nearby, and beaches are a short drive away. We are next to one of the most important oak woodlands in the Borders. Come and visit to learn more! Also, the Woodlands Café has opened and it’s just a short walk down the road (weekends-only). The space Miss Rankin's is a renovated cottage based upon an original structure that is a few hundred years old and was originally a small 2-room "bothy". We have restored the old bothy, raising its original roof slightly, and the original section now includes a new kitchen and a bedroom with twin beds. A modern extension has been added and includes a second bedroom with a king-size bed, a bathroom, and an afternoon-sun-seeking sitting room. A ladder from the kitchen leads you to a loft with a king-sized bed and a great den space, with a seating area that can sleep an extra person if need-be (must be booked). The cottage is well equipped with a new kitchen including induction hob, electric oven, fridge-freezer, dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer, and an espresso/cappuccino machine. In the living room there is a Bluetooth speaker for your gadgets, and a TV/DVD player for rainy days and/or families. We have a super patio area in front of the French doors, and this is a wonderful sun trap below the orchard, with a Kadai firebowl to allow you to enjoy outdoor evenings, even in winter. The Kadai has a fitted grate and so can also be used as a barbecue. There are different lawn areas to enjoy, including the orchard with young apple, plum and cherry trees, and the greenhouse triangle which is flat and good for games (although note glass greenhouse!). The garden is enclosed by gates and fencing, with low stone walls along the roadside, so please keep and eye on dogs and children if they might climb/jump over the wall. There is a stile to cross into our large field (or you can go around the barn and through the gate), where you can play with your children/dogs/frisbee/football, have a bonfire, or access our bit of the hillside to gather sticks for the cottage fire pit. We are only 1-hour from Edinburgh and this makes our area easily accessible for a wonderful weekend getaway, but as there is so much to do and the cottage is also great for relaxing, we hope you will consider staying longer ... perhaps the full week! To encourage longer stays we offer discounts for 3 or more nights - check it out! Short-term Let Licence number: SB-00814-F Guest access Miss Rankin's is a separate cottage just down the road from our house. It has its own parking area for 2 cars, as well as a separate garden area. If you have more than 2 cars, there's a layby across the way. When we know you are coming, we will tell you how to find the key so you can access the cottage the moment you arrive. Other things to note We provide a few essentials to get you started, and there will always be tea, coffee, and sugar ... but remember this is a self-catering cottage. There are no shops nearby and so we recommend that you bring everything you need. Here are a few shopping suggestions that you may not think of: - tablets for the dishwasher - charcoal for the barbecue - matches / firelighters (although there will be a starter pack) - espresso coffee for the cappuccino machine A number of supermarkets offer home shopping delivery here (Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda), and they are very reliable. If you are going to place an order, let us know and we will send you the full address that they will need. The Woodlands Café is a wonderful attraction for us and all our guests. It is a lovely space, dog-friendly, and just a short walk down the road. They serve light lunches, tea & coffee, and baked goods. Opening hours vary so always good to check their social media for updates. We are very concerned about the environment and promote as close to ZERO WASTE as possible. We want our guests to recycle as much as possible and compost all food waste. Our heating is primarily with wood burning stoves and we supply wood as well as a small amount of HotMax eco-logs that work well to get fires going. We have more firewood available, or you are welcome to bring your own as long as it is well seasoned. In cold weather we will try to have the stove going when you arrive, to warm the cottage up and also to demonstrate how efficient it is to use the stoves! There are electric heaters in the ground floor rooms as backup, but given the recent massive price rise in electricity, and to avoid having to charge for electricity use, please use the heaters only sparingly, and please ask for more wood if the supply is running low. We have just installed an air source (air to air) heater in the kitchen - it seems to be working well for guests and it warms the kitchen up very quickly, and so it shouldn’t be left on when you go out. We will probably have it on a frost-protection setting in the winter. For the Kadai/fire bowl outside, we allow guests to forage for downed wood and sticks on our hillside - this wood should not be used in the woodstoves indoors as it may be wet and smoky and could damage the flues, not to mention being difficult to burn. However, outside on the Kadai it will be fine. Any wood you find on our bonfire pile in the field is also fair game for the Kadai. If you find that previous guests kindly left you a generous supply of sticks for the Kadai, please feel free to gather more to replace it for the next guests. The loft space (bedroom 3 and a den area) is accessed by a ladder and is definitely not suitable for young children and people with mobility issues. We recommend that people with young children keep the ladder folded up out of reach of the little ones. There are Velux roof windows in a low-ish ceiling so parents should inspect the loft before deciding if any children should sleep/play in the loft.