Sykes Owner Stories - Hare's|Badger's|Owl's Shack

Hidden around the stunning views of the fells and the river Sprint and a prime location for the Lake District National Park sits three charming lodges, named after the animals living in them whilst they were being renovated, the Hare's Shack, Badger's Shack & Owl's Shack.

Owners Chris and Julie sit down with us to discuss their story, the history of the land and any tips and words of advice for any potential holiday let owners.

What Attracted you to this Area of the UK?

Chris: It was a very old, virtually dilapidated converted farm that had been rented out for 20-30 years and needed an awful lot of love. When we first walked across the bridge, across the river Sprint, we saw these buildings, I don’t think a penny had been spent in 35 years.

They were desperate for something to be done but the thing that really attracted us was the location, half a mile of the river Sprint, fenland, pastureland, it was just idyllic. Cocks’ Close goes back to the 1830s, it was primarily a chicken farm and we think it then started to manufacture, using the power of the river Sprint and the timber that was in Garnett Bridge woods, they started to manufacture bobbins for the Lancashire cotton industry.

We officially viewed the property about 3 times, unofficially we viewed it about 15 times, we sneaked in the back and had a look around and our imagination was inspired by what these properties could become, it took about a year to negotiate the purchase.

What Made you Choose this Design for the Lodges?

Chris: We’d always been attracted to homely, cosy environments, probably the opposites of the fashions, the contemporary feel to a lot of buildings wasn’t what we enjoyed and we felt there was a demand for cosy, rusty but luxurious properties, with high-speed internet, power showers and under-floor heating, so we thought, we could really make something of these properties.

The nature attracts wildlife, with the help of the Woodlands Trust, we have planted 450 trees around the place, making these conduits of wildlife, to move from the woods to the riverside and really embrace the shacks with wildlife.

How Long did it take to Renovate the Properties?

Chris: It was going to take us two years to renovate 5 properties, it took us 6 years, in the middle of that, there was covid, which destroyed our plans completely and so the renovations took a lot longer than we anticipated, one of our main contractors went bankrupt, so getting hold of contractors has been a problem in the Lakes. So, it’s not been without its trials and tribulations.

We designed the properties to be part of the landscape, the three shacks are clad in waney-edge larch from Grizedale, so it’s part of Cumbria. In the Hare’s Shack, we built a double-sided fireplace, so there’s a long burner that one side of the log burner is in the lounge and on the other side of that same fire is the bedroom.

Where did you get the Inspiration for the Shack Interiors?

Julie: I suppose my own gravitation to the cosy welcoming feel of the rustic style was key to the inspiration for the Shack interiors. Growing up in Canada, I loved the mountain lodges and huts that people holidayed in. I also wanted to reflect the natural beauty of our surrounding woods, fells, river and pastureland with tumbling stone walls. Hence the wood-clad ceilings, rustic wood doors and large stone fireplaces with log burners.

The brief was to create a cosy, welcoming “home from home” retreat to escape from the racing world. Hence lots of mixed textures from Thick Wools, Natural Jute, Plaids and Ginghams, reflecting the colours of local nature. The furnishings are a mixture of old and new with pieces collected over the years from sale rooms and antique shops to give the sense of time passing. The aim has been to create the feel of a “Shack” on the edge of woods, next to a river and under a mountain with all the luxuries of modern living.

It’s such a beautiful area, it just lent itself to short-term lets and people have been coming to this site for 40 years, firstly in caravans and now to the shacks. We just wanted to take it to the next level.

What Made you Choose the Name of the Properties?

Chris: We named the shacks after the animals that were living in them whilst we were renovating them. The Hares Shack, we had a hare living by the fireplace actually and a certain point in time when we had to seal the building, we had to put the windows and doors in, we had to evict Harry as he became known but he hasn’t gone far, he just lives behind the barn and he is very active, we see him in the morning quite often.

There is also a couple of deer, we call them Daphne and Derrick, that our quite partial to our Portuguese laurel trees.

What Made you Decide to go with Lakelovers?

Chris: We held a beauty parade for marketing companies, and we spoke to Sykes and Lakelovers and we got a feel for what the market would be attracted to and that was part of our design decision. We knew what we liked and what we didn’t like, we had this gut feeling that people just liked nature and did not want to leave the contemporary world and just relax in an environment that they don’t normally get access to.

We recently to the annual general meeting in Harrogate and we were so impressed with all the effort that goes into the marketing and the search engine optimisation, we thought these are the people for us. We initially went with Lakelovers and when Lakelovers was taken over by Sykes, we thought, was it going to happen here. But the truth of the matter is we ended up with a marketing powerhouse.

How Important are Guest Reviews?

Chris: The reviews that guests leave are important to us, it’s literally feedback on what we are doing, how we are treating them, and how they are enjoying the experience they we have created. The first thing we do when we do a changeover is to look and see what people have put in the book, we are just delighted, it reinforces what we thought all those years ago before we started.

Do you have any Tips or Advice for any Potential or Current Owners?

Chris: If I was doing it all again, I would do the development differently, I would probably get another contractor involved, it took too long, covid didn’t help as that stopped the job for a while.

If I was to give some advice to someone that wanted to do something similar, I would say, start the other way round, go to the experts, Sykes and Lakelovers, they will guide you as to what the market wants, what’s attractive and what’s not. I am sure they do not want 50 properties that all look the same.

Getting the guests to click is an art form, Sykes is a big player, a big hitter and it shows. If I was to sum up the relationship I have with Sykes, I would say Sykes is an integral part of my business, I couldn’t do the marketing and the search engine optimisation and get the message across, and show the product that we have got without Sykes.

So, there is plenty to do here, plenty to entertain you, if you like walking, it’s perfect, if you don’t like walking, its perfect, you can just do nothing.

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