We are super excited to have won the Great British Holiday Legend award.
The Great British Holiday Legend award is one of three categories within the Great British Holiday awards which originated to celebrate the very best of self-catering across the UK.
The awards are supported by the Professional Association of Self-Caterers, of which we are a proud member.
Wondering what the best part about the awards is? It’s not just about the businesses – it recognises the people, the businesses, the guests, and the stories that rarely get told.
A guest that has been coming to Howscales since 1997 wrote a ‘scribbling’ titled ‘My Happy Place’ which I thought perfectly summed up the essence of this award category. So, with their kind permission, I submitted an edited version. And we won!
Again, with the guest’s kind permission you can read the full ‘My Happy Place’ scribbling below…
My Happy Place
This isn’t a formal writing, just a personal reflection on what “My Happy Space” means to me. It’s about the feelings those words evoke and why they matter in my life.
Happiness is different for everyone. For some, it’s found atop a mountain; for others, it’s a fleeting memory or a comforting sensation. My own happy space is rooted in a physical place.
For me, it’s defined by natural beauty, the warmth of its people, and a quiet serenity that brings peace. In this space, I feel both joyful and grounded. It’s where I can unwind, recharge, and reconnect with myself. And when I leave, I carry a renewed sense of energy and optimism, at least for a while, until I find myself clashing with twenty-first-century Britain.
Background
I first discovered the county of Cumberland in 1964. A decade later, its boundaries were redrawn, and it became what we now know as Cumbria.
That same year, my wife-to-be Kath and I travelled on the overnight coach from London to Glasgow. We boarded in Baldock in Hertfordshire, aiming to reach Carlisle by around 04.30 a.m. Up to this point in my life the furthest point north I had ever been, was Nottingham just 100 miles away. One moment from that journey remains etched in my memory: waking around 3.30am to a moonlit landscape unlike anything I’d ever seen. Hills rose at least 200 feet into the sky, bare of trees, with stone walls climbing their slopes. No buildings, save for the occasional stone animal shelter. To my southern eyes, it looked like a barren wilderness.
We were on the A66, a major road stretching from the A1 at Scotch Corner to Penrith and Carlisle. Much of that landscape remains unchanged. There are more buildings now, and the M6 has diverted some heavy lorries from the A66. Parts of the road have been upgraded to dual carriageways, and new houses dot the roadside. But the essence of the place endures.
Come on, where Is It?
Simply put, my happy place lies in a physical location: the northern reaches of the Eden Valley in Cumbria. On the map, it’s marked by an orange boundary, roughly 30 miles from north to south and 12 miles from west to east.
Nestled within this tranquil stretch is Howscales, a former farm now comprising the original farmhouse and four holiday cottages, each thoughtfully converted from the farm’s outbuildings. Howscales sits two miles east of Kirkoswald, along the road to Park Head and Renwick, surrounded by rolling pastureland dotted mostly with sheep.
It is owned by Liz and Adrian Cave, whom we’ve known for nine years. Originally from Leicestershire, they’ve become thoroughly ‘Cumbrian’ in that time.
One of the cottages, Hazlerigg, is a cosy one-bedroom retreat. It offers a spacious bedroom and bathroom, along with a generous open-plan kitchen and living area.
Why Is It special?
Though the ceilings are slightly low, they add to the cottage’s charm, creating a sense of warmth and enclosure, like a comforting embrace. The living room boasts a wood-burning stove, perfect for cold winter nights.
The front door opens onto a cobbled farmyard and faces west, offering stunning sunset views over the northern edge of the Lake District. At the back, double doors lead to a private garden and patio, blending indoor comfort with outdoor serenity.
Inconvenience: mobile signal is virtually non-existent at Howscales. However, if you walk to the entrance gate and stand precisely one foot from the lawn’s edge, facing west, you’ll catch just enough signal to make a call. Thankfully, the internet is reliable, so the outside world can still reach you, gently.
Howscales, and Hazlerigg in particular, offer a peaceful escape nestled at the foot of the Pennines. It’s a place where comfort, nature, and quietness converge, a true happy place, where time slows and the soul finds rest.
Conclusion
Staying at Howscales gives Kath and me a base from which to visit her relatives of all ages. Seeing them brings us great pleasure. Their warm welcome and our conversations make the long car journey north worthwhile.
Once I’ve tuned my ear to the local dialect, I enjoy the craic and the humour that flows so naturally. When I step back and observe their lifestyle, I see people who, for the most part, are content with their lot. The older family members rarely travel outside Cumbria from one year to the next. They stay in touch, look out for one another, and like the rest of us, grumble about politics, and hospital services but otherwise just get on with life. Basically, they are hefted to Cumbria.
These visits and the journeys around the northern Eden Valley bring me peace. The villages, with their buildings of local stone, speak of strength and welcome. Take Cumrew, for example, a hamlet just 200 yards off the B6413. On every Cumbria visit, I turn off the road and travel the mile through the village, admiring the varied stone houses lining the road, with the church standing proud at one end, it feels like a self-contained community where everyone looks after each other.
Maybe I am showing my age by thinking, ‘things were better in my younger days’. Probably, but I see nothing wrong given the warm feeling I feel I need in, what to me at 81, are turbulent times. Yes, I need my Happy Place.
