Taking a Baby to Jasmine Cottage
As a new parent, the thought of travelling with a small baby and all of her baby essentials was daunting! However after a successful trip to jasmine cottage, it was a lot easier than I’d imagined. It was our longest trip in the car so far, so we’d planned some stops, but she was a dream and slept until we got there.
Day 1
We had a look around all the shops, our personal favourites being Parma Violet and Boo and Belle but there is lots of choice. After realising we had needed nappies, we popped to the local Boots the chemist, which had a good selection of baby essentials and very friendly staff. For a food shop, Booths is a short walk and has a wide selection of food and drinks. We were feeling hungry so decided to grab a drink and some small plates in The Sun Inn and enjoy the open fire. They were very baby friendly and have a brilliant baby changing facility. Then we headed back to Jasmine Cottage to relax in front of the fire. As you can imagine, our car was packed full of baby essentials but the cottage has a brilliant travel cot which was very easy to assemble! We slept in the twin room which was set up as a super king size bed and was so comfy. We were a little worried our baby would be unsettled but she was happy in the cot and had a great night’s sleep! We decided to have a night in and ordered takeaway from the Water Lily which was very nice.
Day 2
After a lie in(well 8am is a lie in these days) we had breakfast in the cottage. The kitchen is fully equipped with everything you might need and we particularly liked the coffee machine! It was a lovely crisp autumn morning so we wandered along to Ruskin’s View which is a must when you visit. The main walk is suitable for a pram but we put baby in her sling and did a slightly longer walk. After another coffee in the cottage, we decided to try the Royal Hotel for lunch. We sat in the lounge at the front besides the fire and ordered the sharing platters which were delicious! Again the staff were very friendly and they too had good baby changing facilities. After that, baby was due for a nap so we took advantage of putting her in her sling and got some Christmas shopping done which was a huge benefit as the thought of shopping in city centre at home fills me with dread and it feels nice to shop local and support small businesses! We decided to eat in on the night time but rather than cook we opted for a fish pie from the cook range at Booths which was delicious! After getting baby to sleep, we picked a film from the vast selection and lit the fire so it was nice and cosy.
The cottage is so nice so we had a lazy morning in before heading out for the afternoon. Sizergh castle is a short drive away, so we had a walk around the gardens with baby in her pram. The house was closed for winter but the gardens looked beautiful with all the autumn leaves and they were pram friendly. We visited Low Sizergh Farm Shop and bought some goodies to bring home. You can watch their cows on site get milked every day and buy fresh milk from them, a great outing for anyone with little ones. Once back to Kirkby we had lunch at Plato’s in front of the open fire, delicious! As everything is within a short walk, we popped to a few more shops and chilled at cottage. We gave baby a bath, lit the fire and watched another film.
Day 4
We were sad it was our last day so decided to take full advantage. We walked to Devils Bridge, which is another must when visiting, via the bakery for breakfast. On the way back we had coffee at The Royal Barn as it was too early for beers! Baby loves it there as there’s so much to look at and was fascinated by Bolt, a cute puppy. We then had a final shop for gifts before driving 8 minutes to the Lunesdale Arms at Tunstall which has a superb lunch menu and was a treat! Earlier in the week, we spotted the Milking Parlour ice cream shop which we just had to try before we left; they have a variety of flavours and the scoops are very generous! It’s worth noting that they are only open Thurs- Sun so make sure you don’t miss out.
All in all Jasmine Cottage is a fantastic place to stay with a baby or children as it is so well equipped and a home away from home. Kirkby Lonsdale is a beautiful town that is friendly and welcoming and extremely baby friendly, we will be back!
Written by a guest November 2019