Accessible holidays

The Tranquil Otter is small, offering just nine peaceful lakeside holiday homes in a 60 acre private nature reserve. All our lodges are single storey and each lodge is designed with wheelchair access in mind.  If you or a member of your family is a wheelchair user then please read on for more information about our facilities.

If you don't find the information that you are looking for then please send us an e-mail or call us.

Access statement

Download our Access Statement (PDF 12MB).

Pre-arrival

We provide through our website information about self catering accommodation and facilities available at the Tranquil Otter, on site and locally. If you require any further information then please send us an e-mail or call us.

Getting here

The nearest railway station is Carlisle which is five miles away with direct trains from London, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle. A pick-up service is available by arrangement though a local taxi company run by Barry Haden and contactable through his website or directly on 07766 700 020.

General site information

The lodge next to the house is Arctic Skua, followed by Buzzard, Chiffchaff, Dunnock, Egret, Fieldfare, Gadwall and Heron. The Perch apartment is near the house also. There is a notice board which lets you know the hours to best catch us on site and we offer a 24 hour laundry service.

The Tranquil Otter site offers excellent facilities for all. There is a 1½ mile walk through the woods around the lake which is also accessible by wheelchair, mobility buggy and push chair. The bird hide is provided for guests and authorised specialists only and can be accessed using the key with a purple ring.

Luxury lodges

We have one-, two- and three-bedroom 5 star lodges sleeping 2, 4 or 6 people respectively. All lodges are within five metres of the lakeside and have their own rowing boats moored out the front. The Perch apartment is set back from the lake.

The luxury lodges are spacious, comfortable and well equipped with stunning locations and spectacular views. Each has a spacious open plan dining and lounge area with patio doors opening out on to a large area of gated decking and the lake beyond. The majority of the bedrooms have superb lake views to enjoy from your bed! All have log burners, dishwashers, digital TVs and DVD players. All lodges have WiFi access.

All luxury lodges have private lakeside decking with hot-tubs and Egret and Heron also have saunas and whirlpool baths. Each lodge has a well equipped kitchen and en-suite master bedroom; the two and three bedroom lodges have family bathrooms with bath and separate shower as well.

There is a parking space by each lodge. All are wheelchair accessible and offer what we believe to be very well laid out and spacious facilities for the disabled. Dunnock, Egret and Heron achieve mobility level 2 in the National Accessible scheme with Buzzard achieving mobility level 1 in this scheme. Pets are welcome on site and in most lodges. If it’s tranquil lakeside comfort that you want, “The Otter” is the place for you. You couldn’t stay closer to the water without sleeping in your boots!

Information on individual lodges

• Buzzard NAS Graded M1 and Visit Britain graded 5 Star
• Dunnock, Egret and Heron; these three lodges are fully accessible for wheelchair users and have been awarded the National Accessible Scheme's level M2 and 5 star by Visit Britain

Accessibility information for each of the lodges and the apartment is provided in the Accommodation section of the site.

Arrival, reception and car parking facilities

The site is accessed by a discreet sign off the B5307 and it is important that guests read the directions and not rely entirely on their Satnav systems.

Once you turn into the drive marked “The Lough” there is a turning to the right, ignore this and continue to the end. Park at the bay on your right, next to the brick house, we make arrangements to meet all our guests. There is a notice board with a bell, please use this to let us know of your arrival and we will meet you and take you to your holiday accommodation.

For each lodge, the entrance from the parking space to the lodge is accessed via a ramp and handrail and guests are accompanied to and around their lodge. All lodges have a wide stable-type wooden door with a light over the entrance.

The Perch has its own parking space and is accessed via a single flight of stairs.

There is a single key for all external doors which can be opened internally using a latch. There is a second key to the bird hide.

Public Areas - General (Internal)

All lodges are single storey and made of wood with wooden floor boards. The entrance to each self-catering unit has a door mat.

The decking to each lodge is regularly treated and cleaned so that it is not slippery. Every lodge has outside lighting, firewood store and recycling bins.

Information and help

All our accommodation has a comprehensive handbook for guests with details of practical matters such as bus and train times and market day, doctors, hospitals, church services, places to eat and things to do. There is someone on site for advice and help between 10.00 am and 3.00 pm for non-urgent matters. In emergencies guests can get help by knocking on our door at any time. Each lodge has a folder that provides full information during your stay and details of how to access help. There is a public telephone in the village which is 200 yds away. There are no telephones on site and mobile reception at the site is generally poor.

Dogs

Well behaved dogs are welcome in most lodges and guests are provided information on rules concerning dogs.

Public Areas - WC

There are no public WC facilities.

Restaurant Bars, Take Aways & Cafes

We provide a guest handbook that sets out contact details for local restaurants, take away providers and local cafes.

Laundry

There is a laundry service available, details are provided in the guest handbook.

Shop

There is a local butcher/grocer two miles away in Great Orton and a farmhouse shop/cafe 5 miles away.

Spa Treatment

Health & Beauty treatments are available in the lodges and apartment and details of this service are provided in the pre-arrival letter.

Leisure Facilities

Full information is available in the guest handbook and we have wonderful walking and bird-watching on our land and in the surrounding area; the Lake District National Park only ten miles away. There is a private swimming pool available for hire two miles away in Longburgh (details in the pre-arrival letter). Guests can hire bicycles on site. A boat is moored near each lodge for the private use of guests. Guests can also fish but will need a National Rod Licence which can be purchased from any Post Office or sporting goods shop. There are opportunities for beginner and expert alike to fly-fish, shoot, swim and climb locally.

Outdoor Facilities

The Tranquil Otter is a nature reserve and site of special scientific interest. Guests can walk around the site (1½ miles). There are opportunities to stop by the weir, kingfisher viewing point and at the bird hide. Guests who have limited mobility can, and frequently do, make use of the mobility buggy available at no charge for their use.

Additional Information

All units are No Smoking. Smoking is permitted on the external decking.

We welcome medium size dogs with a maximum of two dogs per lodge.

There are two exits from each lodge, through the main door to the car parking area or through the French doors in the lounge to the picnic area.

The apartment has a single exit.

Future Plans

We have recently installed hot tubs in Egret and Heron and provided each lodge with its own brick built barbecue in the picnic area.

We have, with Natural England's consent, created ponds to contain run off from surrounding fields to grow willow which we plan to use to provide heat to all the lodges, including the hot-tubs.

We welcome your feedback to help us continuously improve. If you have any comments, please contact us.