Crosskeys Cottage

Lovely, well equipped cottage in a small village. Handy shop and community pub within walking distance. Good base for exploring the area.

Excellent, well equipped property in an ideal location for exploring Dorset.

This is a second review as we had stayed at Crosskeys Cottage in mid-March 2022; based on the wonderful time we had then, we rebooked for end of April 2022. The village was just as pretty, friendly but livelier; the community shop well stocked as before and a soon to be opened community venture in the White Lion pub looks very promising if the shop is anything to go by. A matter of weeks made for a different type of holiday, volume of traffic and noise (mainly tractors) had increased, although not continuous or unbearable, it was noisier in the day but still quiet at night. It made a difference to us personally because we had rebooked based on our experience in March. It was different to the cosy, relaxed holiday we'd had just a few weeks before. The house is on a three way main junction; in March it was relatively quiet (as it is everywhere) so didn't bother us at all; at the end of April it was a busier, again, the same as it would be everywhere because of longer days more activity etc. Getting off the drive was not so easy because of traffic which, at times, came from three directions. This is a house of two holidays: Autumn to spring, cosy and relaxing. Spring to Autumn a lovely base with easy road access for enjoying a beautiful area of Dorset. Yes, we would definitely book a Autumn to Spring holiday in the future.

When we saw Crosskeys Cottage on the road junction we were concerned, but that didn’t last long; the parking was ample and easy to access at all times. There is occasional traffic noise but nothing like you would imagine and it certainly didn’t disturb our peace in the cottage or rear garden. The minute we walked in the door it felt peaceful and so inviting. The reception rooms have been furnished well (the settee is the most comfortable bed settee I have ever sat on!) with ample seating for a large family. The kitchen is well equipped and the beds were comfortable with warm duvets and nice bedding; blackout curtains block light from the streetlight in the master bedroom but not the other front bedroom . The pressure in the en-suite shower is amazing. There is a good sized, clean empty shed in the garden if guests have bikes. Once we were tucked away behind the large gates we felt private. Few minor (personal) downsides; there is only one wardrobe (in the master) shared by 3 bedrooms: there are hooks for clothes which are on the back of the door in the 2nd bedroom but when clothes are hanging on them it prevents the door opening properly: only one small mirror for hairdrying (shared by 3 bedrooms) which is in the small bedroom on the opposite side to the socket. No full length mirror.
The village is lovely to stroll around, it’s so pretty and the people are very friendly; there is a well stocked community store, plenty of places to walk; the craft centre is only a five minute walk away with a great restaurant (gluten free was catered for without a problem) and lovely craft shops. With all the above combined, we think this is the perfect retreat so we have rebooked for our next escape.

We had a lovely week here in what was a very comfortable and well equipped cottage. It was well heated (we stayed in February) and very clean. The beds were very comfortable, although that's a subjective thing! And the kitchen was well stocked with everything required for those completely self-catering, with a lovely large fridge/freezer and a good range to cook on - electric ovens and large glass electric hob. There's two bathrooms and an extra wc downstairs for when there's larger parties staying. And in the summer I'm sure the large conservatory would be used more than we did in the middle of winter. The cottage was a little more on the main road than the description led us to believe, but the traffic was not a problem as the village is quite rural with few vehicles at night. Overall, a delightful place to stay and we'd come back.