We listed most frequently asked questions by guests. Please do take a look. If your query remains unanswered, please email us and let us know how best to get back to you.
All bookings are on our standards terms of occupancy, please do read these as these will answer most queries regarding your booking.
The Tranquil Otter is an unspoilt rural site with a lake (Lough) and woods in their natural state. The site is accessed by a single track with eight lodges on the south bank of the Lough, each self-catering lodge overlooks the lake, has its own boat, has high-speed connection to the internet, a private deck with sunken hottub. Egret and Heron lodges have a sauna too. Other facilities can be in local villages or in Carlisle (5 miles away).
A pre-arrival email (sent to the email address used for the booking) provides guests with details of arrival and departure times. See “Booking” tab for more information.
Guests arriving at the Tranquil Otter will see a gate, to the right of which is a notice board. Please press the bell and one of us will come out to receive you and take you to your lodge.
Please note: the path beyond the lodges and over a small bridge is suitable only for tractors and heavy duty vehicles and a couple of our adventurous first-time guest have needed to be towed out.What
Two of the lodges at the Tranquil Otter have saunas, these are coin operated and guests will need to pay to use the sauna. Everything else is included for guests to enjoy a self-catering short break and holiday.
Guests may choose from a list of optional extras, which we purchase from selected local suppliers. Optional extras do need to be booked ahead of your stay.
The nearest shop is in Great Orton, R&J Mulholland – a traditional family butcher with a passion for quality. Shop for locally sourced meats, cold meats, Cumberland sausage, quiche, pies and some convenience store items.
Cranstons Farm Shop with wide range of meats cuts, prepared meat (ready to put into the oven), pies, game and a deli selection. Also stock fruit, veg, olives, oils, cakes and beer.
A selection of supermarkets are within five-mile radius, with Asda and Morrisons near J44 of M6, Sainsbury’s in the centre of Carlisle and Teso’s at J43.
Guests can stay a minimum of two nights from Friday or three nights from Monday outside of school holiday. For an overnight stay we recommend the Crown Hotel at Wetheral – more information at www.crownhotelwetheral.co.uk
Short break choices during school holidays are:
Friday Arrival – 3 nights or 7 nights
Monday Arrival – 4 nights or 7 nights.
Christmas and New Year break choices are:
20th December – 7 nights.
27th December – 3 nights or 7 nights
30th December – 4 nights
Guests can check in between 4 pm and 6 pm.
Not sure how long it might take by car? Google maps is a pretty good indicator of travel times, use the handy “Get Direction” tool on our website. Add your postcode and the map will provide an indication of distance and time.
If you do arrive earlier than planned, we recommend the Drovers Rest in Monkhill (CA5 6DB) or The Cafe at Orton Grange (CA5 6LA).
Guests can choose an earlier check in of 2 pm, this is subject to availability and can be selected when booking online. Earlier check in charge is £30.
Guests can choose a later check in from 6 pm to 9 pm, this is subject to availability and there is a charge of £30.
Guests may not check in later than 9 pm.
Departure is between 9 am and 10 am. Please let us know if you plan to depart before 9 am.
The standard departure time for Sunday is 11 am. If you wish to extend your Sunday stay, please request a later departure. Additional charges apply.
A guest with a booking that is more than six weeks away may swap the booking for a holiday of similar or greater length for a fee of £75, if the booking to be moved is more than 12 weeks away, the fee will be reduced to £30.
We strongly recommend that guests take out cancellation insurance, either with their own bank or with Booking Protect. There is an option to add insurance when booking online.
Please see details of our Cancellation Policy, this can be found in the footer of each page of our website.
All lodges are set along the access lane to the site and benefit from natural screening. Most guests, once inside the lodge and on the deck, are not aware of guests in other lodges.
You can sure of being able to enjoy the hot tub in private.
This is the top FAQ – shower, plan your use and be aware that sounds travels much further over water than is usually realised.
We ask that you use the hot-tub in accordance with the guidance provided when we show you around the lodge.
The hot tub is best enjoyed in half hour sessions.
FAQ about showering, why do you need to shower before using the tub? We carry a lot on our bodies, using a hot tub without a shower is like taking a bath, not advisable when you are sharing the water with family and friends. Showering will maintain the water quality and give you maximum enjoyment.
We ask that the hot-tub is not used after 11 pm at night. Our approach at the Tranquil Otter is broadly guests should be virtually unaware at all time of each others presence and ask our guest to bear in mind that sound travels much further over water than is usually realised.
The hot tub stays on all the time. There is a control panel on the side of the tub, this engages the pump(s), sets the maximum temperature and the light. We recommend that you turn off the pumps and leave the tub on. We can explain all this to you when showing you how to use the hottub.
We use Bromine to maintain the water quality in our hottubs.
The floating device in the tub that contains bromine tablets which dissolve slowly over time.
The Tranquil Otter is not run as a fishery. Each lodge comes complete with a flat bottomed boat. You are welcome to take a rod out, you will need a current rod licence.
There are a couple of fisheries locally and places where one can fish on the local rivers, http://www.lakedistrictfishing.net/where-to-fish/where-to-fish.html is a good place to take a look, our postcode is CA5 6HB.
The local coarse fishery is Crofton Lake, CA5 6PX. Day permits are available from either Geoff Wilson Sporting Guns and Fishing Tackle in 36 Portland Place, Carlisle, CA1 1RL, 01228 531542 or from Eddies Tackle in 70 Shaddongate, Carlisle, CA2 5UG, 01228-810744.
Fly fishing is available at New Mills Trout Fishery and Fish Farmhttp://www.newmillstroutfarm.net/ contact James on 01697 741115 or [email protected] for more details.
There is a circular walk around the Lough, which differs depending on the time of day. As you can see the lodges are all on on section of the site – with the rest of site being woodlands.
Mobile reception is very poor. We do have wifi in each lodge.
The nearest shop is R&J Mulholland at Great Orton, great meat and a small shop – bread, milk and supplies as well as the best Cumberland Sausage you’ll get for miles.
The next shop is Cranstons at Orton Grange. Through Great Orton and straight through until you get to the A595.
The nearest supermarket is Sainsbury in Carlisle, the Asda and Morrisons is about the same heading towards J44.
There are a number of taxi companies that will come out from Carlisle to pick you up. The numbers are up on the notice board by the main entrance. Please note that you may need to book the taxi in advance at popular times.
Your lodge includes:
If you are planning to connect your laptop to the TV then you’ll need to pack an HDMI cable.
Egret and Heron Lodge have a coin operated sauna off the main bathroom. The sauna operates using £1 coins or tokens. A minimum session is £3 and includes an hour to heat up the sauna and 30-minute sauna session.
We provide bath sheet, Handtowel and towelling robe for each guest. In the bathroom you’ll find:
Each lodge has a fully fitted kitchen with:
Each lodge has an iron and an ironing board.
Each lodge has at least one hairdryer.
It is easy to bring your pet on holiday with you at the Tranquil Otter. We welcome well-behaved dogs. We’ve found the following basic rules enable us to meet the needs of guests accompanied by their dog as well as guests without pets.
Please note rules that enable us to welcome dogs:
There is a fixed charge of £40 per one dog and £60 for two dogs per short break.
Many of our guests have asked us to provide information about Leah.
She is mostly Collie and we have often wondered about her heritage. Looking at her colouring we think that there may have been a bit of Rottweiler or Alsatian, based on her intelligence we think mostly Collie.
How old is she? We don’t know the exact date of birth, Leah became part of our family in May 2008 and was a month old, so that would make her 7 nearly 8. She is ageing well, don’t you think?
Yes, Leah would love to take you around her woods?
Please do not feed Leah. You may stroke her, take her round the woods, but please do not feed her. If you’d like to give her treats, please let us have them and we will incorporate them into her diet. Leah has become ill in the past from having too much to eat.
Leah is not allowed to visit guests in their lodge. She’s happiest taking people for a walk.
Leah is at home and does not get lost, she has a range of faces, including “Feed me”, “Cuddle me”, “Let me in”
Leah is a very friendly dog in most circumstances. We never tested the limits of her patience.
Each lodge comes complete with a log burner.
Your lodge comes complete with a basket of logs, kindling, firelighter and matches. Additional logs may be bought on site.
Each lodge has wifi.
Each Lodge comes with a flat bottomed boat that you can use on the lake.
7 Great ways to experience Cumbria and glories of the Lake District https://t.co/oZHKFPYFSM
Enlist in the Roman Army this summer at Birdoswald Roman Fort. Great fun for little soldiers. https://t.co/qBNuEtVIjj
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