Perfectly pretty, Pentland Cottage is a small, one-level home with everything you’ll need for a Borders break. Found in the teeny-tiny village of Horndean – a sleepy, leafy place ringed by countryside – it’s less than a kilometre from the River Tweed, and thus the English border.
Solo travellers or a couple, plus anyone who struggles with stairs, can expect to feel very content. The cottage’s rooms branch off a central hallway (look out for its bench seat). To one side is a spacious, modern kitchen containing vanilla-hued cabinetry and tiled walls, with all mod cons, including a natty espresso machine.
An open archway connects to the bright yet cosy lounge, whose comfy armchairs and sofa frame an old red-brick fireplace, its log burner and a Smart TV. The pretty cottage garden is visible through large windows as bookcases and a woven rug ramp up the homeliness.
With super-fast fibre broadband (up to 70MB) available, it’s easy to stream films each evening during lazy nights in. Along one wall here, below pheasant-themed print wallpaper, beckons a dining table for two.
The cottage’s other half contains a rear-facing bedroom and a generous bathroom. The latter pairs a deep bathtub – plus a stand to support candles or iPads as you soak – with a walk-in shower. In the sleeping quarter, tartan throws and curtains accompany a dressing table. The design remains stylish yet snug.
As well as a small front garden, Pentland Cottage boasts a larger lawn flanked by colourful, extremely attractive herbaceous borders. There is a bird feeder and nesting boxes to entice birds and other wildlife, and guests are encouraged to top up the feeder during their stay. A dining table allows for guests to dine outside too. Anglers will also find rod racks (the owner is a keen angler), and a secure outside shed can shelter bikes or golf clubs.
Horndean has no shops but Norham, three miles south-west and just across that border, has a pub, a post office and an excellent butcher’s, while supermarkets accompany many independent stores in Berwick-upon-Tweed, nine miles east.
Norham also has a ruined 12th-century castle and a church devoted to St Cuthbert, while another local sight is Paxton House: a Palladian-style stately home promising Chippendale furniture and a good tearoom. Within a short drive are Kelso’s magnificent market square, Cheswick Sands’ beach, Holy Island, waterside Bamburgh Castle or hikes and wild-goat safaris in the often-empty Cheviot Hills. Then again, you may just fancy a stroll along the Tweed.
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