FAQs

You can telephone Knockerdown Cottages on 01629 540525 or the main office on 01283 734453 to pay your balance. Your balance is due six weeks before arrival for cottage holiday bookings, different terms and conditions apply for events that include one of our function rooms.

We will normally acknowledge booking within 48 hours of payment of your deposit. We will send your booking confirmation to you by email, if you have not provided your email address then we will send by post which usually takes 5 to 7 working days. The documentation will include your contact details and when the final balance is due.

We will normally send the contact details and directions to the property with your booking confirmation either by email or post.

Provided you have paid for your holiday in full you can "Check in" from 3pm on the day of your booking. If you are arriving after 6.30pm we will arrange to leave a key for you in one of our key safes, you will be provided with the code for this safe in the week leading up to your arrival. If you do not receive anything and are expecting to arrive late please call the booking line on 01629 540525.

The normal arrival time is 3pm. If you wish to arrive earlier this may be possible depending on other bookings and our cleaning schedules. If you wish to arrive early please discuss this with the owner/caretaker by ringing the booking line in the week leading up to your arrival and they will confirm whether this will be possible or not.

On your departure day you are required to leave your property by 10am, This is to allow the owner/caretaker sufficient time to prepare the property for the next arrivals.

All our properties are equipped with cutlery, crockery and cooking utensils, an oven and hob, fridge with a freezer compartment, toaster, microwave, kettle, iron and ironing board, washing machines are available if not fitted in the cottages. Dishwashers are fitted in some of our cottages, please see the individual descriptions on the website to confirm this. A colour TV and DVD is a standard feature unless otherwise mentioned. The quality and standard of the holiday cottages is high. If there is anything you specifically require please telephone the booking line on 01629 540525 so that you are not disappointed on arrival.

A housekeeping deposit is where you would provide card details upon arrival or before your stay if not already provided when making the booking. We will hold these details throughout the duration of your stay. This is normal for every booking made to ensure that the property is respected, the keys are not mislaid or any damages occur. We will contact you within 14 days of departure when the property has been inspected if there are any deductable expenses. If a payment is necessary because of any mishaps then we will contact the card holder for authorisation.

All properties, unless otherwise stated, have bed linen and one bath towel and one hand towel per person provided. If your property has zip and link beds please ensure that you inform us on booking how you would like these beds made up. If we are not informed of this the beds will be made up as a standard mix of double and twin beds.

We do offer cots and highchairs free of charge. If a cot and highchair is available it will be written in the property description on the website but please request on booking the property as often these are not kept in the properties. Please bring your own cot linen as this is not provided. Property owners who provide cot and highchair facilities may not necessarily offer other infant equipment. Please check when booking.

Pets are not permitted. You may want to look for local kennels in the area should you wish to bring your pet on holiday with you.

We work very hard with all the properties to ensure that you will have an enjoyable holiday. However, in the unlikely event that you are dissatisfied with your accommodation, then it is very important that you register this straight away with the owner/caretaker and do not wait until you return home, when the chance of actively helping you has passed. Even if you think nothing could be done to make your situation better, please inform us whilst you are on holiday so the Manager can inspect the complaint. If you have booked through an agent they must be notified of your complaint during your stay. In the majority of cases the owner can resolve the issue.

None of our properties are suitable for disabled guests; however we do have a few properties that have ground floor bedrooms that are suitable for less mobile guests. Please contact the booking team for more information.

We will do everything we can to help those in your party with special requirements by suggesting properties that are especially suited - just let us have all the relevant information at the time of booking.

On arrival you will find a "Guest Book" in your property with all the contact details that you will need throughout your stay including emergency phone numbers and details of the nearest hospitals and medical centres.

We're good. But not that good. What we can offer is a warm cosy welcome in one of our specially selected properties. In each property we leave lots of information about things to do whatever the weather as well as suggested days out with your booking confirmation. You are most welcome to either come and see us at the office, or telephone as most of our staff live locally and will be happy to share with you their favourite walks and activities. As some of our cottages are in a "remote" location we will notify our guests if we are aware that the property is likely to be inaccessible due to bad weather.

Don't worry. You will not be left on your own. A full information pack is in each property which will tell you everything you need to know. Emergency contact details are provided if you need to ring our caretaker to come and help or speak to you on the phone.

Upon booking full instructions will be given regarding keys, directions as well as useful information. If a member of staff is not available on site your keys will be left in a secure safe for you to collect and you will be sent the codes in the week leading up to your arrival.

Not at this moment in time but there are local shops and supermarkets within 5 miles. We hope to implement a grocery delivery soon so you can pre-order some basics prior to your arrival. sign up to our newsletter to see when this new service is introduced.

This is a great way to start your holiday as it saves all the hassle and time of going to find the nearest supermarket. So "yes" by all means use the online service with Tesco, Sainsbury's etc but make sure you are there to collect the order as we cannot guarantee staff to be on site to take delivery for you.

We offer barbeques free of charge. At Nether Burrows Farm there is one BBQ per cottage and at Knockerdown Cottages there is a limited amount of BBQ's available for all cottages to use. You will need to provide your own charcoal and lighters.

Please check on booking if there is space in the kitchen or lounge of the property to seat the number in your party. You can hire extra tables and chairs from us should you so wish or we have additional rooms that you could hire for those family gatherings, reunion with friends or that special occasion.

Please ask when booking as we have a list of local caterers, wine merchants etc that you could use as a guide to help with the planning of your stay whether it be a cosy night in or that special party with friends and family.

There are local restaurants and pubs within the area which you will find in your property information pack or you can plan a local caterer to come to you so you don't have to move from the comfort of your property.

For Knockerdown Cottages there is a pub across the road called Knockerdown Inn and for Nether Burrows Farm there are two local pubs The Black Cow in Dalbury Lees and The Three Horse Shoes on Long Lane both within 3 miles. Phone numbers and details of these pubs will be in your cottage information but please just call us if you need the information prior to your arrival.

The Games Room is open 24hrs and the Swimming Pool is open daily from 8.30am to 6.30pm. Please note the Swimming Pool is closed on Christmas Day and New Years Day.

At Knockerdown Cottages we provide one hand towel and one bath towel per person in all our cottages so please feel free to use these for the swimming pool or hot tub. If you think you will require an additional towel please bring one with you. Note: The pool is only available at the Kockerdown cottages site.

For Knockerdown Cottages use Ashbourne town for Marks & Spencers, Waitrose and Sainsbury's approximately 5 miles away. For Nether Burrows Farm use Mickleover village for Tesco's and Kingsway Retail Park in Derby for Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencers both within 5 miles.

We "start you off" with essentials like toilet rolls, j cloths, washing up liquid, tea towels, tea, coffee, milk portions and sugar but for health and safety reasons we do not provide salt, pepper, condiments etc.

You will find information on local taxi firms in the property information pack. If you need details of this prior to your arrival please call our booking line on 01629 540525 and we will be happy to provide you with the details.

We are in the middle of the Peak District with paths and routes all around us. Please ask on arrival or you will find local information in your property or in the Games Room at Knockerdown Cottages.

WiFi is limited in some of the properties so please ask on booking. Currently Knockerdown Cottages only has WiFi access in the Games Room. Properties at Nether Burrows Farm all have WiFi access.

All our properties are non-smoking. We kindly ask you to use the outdoor areas and sand pots provided.

All our properties are available all year round either for short breaks, weekends or week bookings. Some of our properties are limited to week bookings at certain times of the year.

All our properties are surrounded by countryside and our sites have plenty of land for children to play. Knockerdown Cottages does have a childrens play area where we ask that children are supervised. Please ask on booking if you need specific details.

Some of our properties have laundry facilities. If laundry facilities are available it will be written in the property description on our website. Knockerdown Cottages has a guest laundry room for cottages that do not have their own facilities, which is coin operated. You will need to provide your own detergents.

We inspect all our properties to ensure that they are well maintained for your comfort and safety. When you stay in unfamiliar surroundings, you must take special care of yourself and your family.
In particular:
Check the layout of your property so that in an emergency you can get out quickly and easily.
Check for a fire extinguisher and fire blanket. And read the instructions on their use.
If the property has open fires make sure you use the fireguard, keep children under close supervision and ensure that the fire is out before you go to bed.
If you are unsure of how to use any electrical appliance, check your information pack or ask the owner/caretaker.
If your property has storage heaters, these must never be covered.
Take special care when moving around the property at night.
If there is a lake, garden pond or other water features, ensure that children or anyone at risk cannot access it or make sure you supervise at all times.
Look for any steep drops or steps, ensure that children or anyone at risk are supervised at all times.

At Knockerdown Cottages we have two function rooms; Brackendale Room caters for a maximum of 100 people and the Carsington Room caters for a maximum of 20 people for a sit down meal and 30 people for buffet style. Our maximum number of people attending an event at Knockerdown Cottages is 100. At Nether Burrows Farm we have a barn that can be used for uses ancillary to the holiday cottages, please talk to our events team to see if your requirements can be met. The maximum number of people allowed on the site is 52. Egginton Hall is more of an outdoor venue and therefore more suited for a marquee event however we do have an indoor garage area that can be used and our maximum of people attending the site is 120.

We have many guests with groups of between 10 and 30 who just want to go away for the weekend and sit down and have a meal together. Knockerdown Cottages has a few cottages that would accommodate you in their dining areas but also the Carsington Room can be hired as a private dining room with facilities for you to do your own catering and drinks or to get a caterer to come in and do the hard work for you. Nether Burrows Farm has a number of large cottages and can cater for groups of up to 14. In addition to this we can provide you with a Party Pack for parties of up to 52.

For groups hiring a function room with a few cottages yes you can hire the function rooms just for one night of your stay. Function room bookings run from 3pm to 10am the next morning so we just ask that you have tidied up and removed your belongings by then! All our cottages are subject to a minimum of 3 nights. If you take exclusive use hire of our sites you will automatically have use of all the function rooms available for all 3 nights.

Let us know which venue, time and date is most convenient for you and we will try our best to accommodate. Evening and Saturday viewings can certainly be organised however Sunday viewings are subject to staff availability.

Yes we do have plans to help with the organising of your event, site plans are included in our brochures but if there is anything else you need please just ask. On booking you will receive an accommodation form with full details of each cottage booked on site. We ask that this is returned at least one month prior to your arrival with bed arrangements, cots, highchairs etc. to ensure the smooth handing over of the venue to you. We will be happy to put names of your guests on each cottage door prior to arrival to help if required.

If you have a specific date in mind we can reserve this for 2 weeks to give you time to view the venue and decide if you would like to book. At this point a deposit must be paid to confirm the date otherwise it will be released. On paying the deposit you will be asked to sign the relevant booking form and in doing so agree to our terms and conditions.

A deposit of 30% of the total cost of the booking will need to be paid to secure the booking across all of our venues.

After the initial 30% deposit, 30% of the booking cost is then payable six months prior to the arrival date, followed by 40% three months before the arrival date along with any extras/equipment that has been hired.

Monies paid as deposits are non-refundable by the Owner and will be forfeited if the Guest cannot take up the booking for any reason whatsoever. However, we do recognise that sometimes things cannot be helped so we would do our best to move your booking to a different date if necessary or try to re-let the property. If we do manage to re-let the accommodation then we will refund the monies minus a £25 administration fee and any difference in the booking amounts.

We accept all debit and credit cards except American Express (there is a 1.5% charge for all payments made by credit cards). To pay by BACS our account details are as follows: Gainsborough Leisure Limited, sort code: 30.92.59, account number: 03650176 using your booking reference or name as a reference. Cheques can be made payable to: Gainsborough Leisure Limited and sent to either our booking office or head office.

The earliest that you can arrive is 3pm on your arrival day or as quoted at the time of booking; if you need to arrive early please ask and we will do our best to accommodate you subject to other bookings and cleaning schedules.

Yes we do have a wedding licence to perform civil ceremonies at Egginton Hall and at Knockerdown Cottages. Please call us to find out the times when you can have your ceremony and we can put you in touch with the local registrar to find out more information.

Knockerdown Cottages does have a licence to serve alcoholic beverages and our Bar will be staffed by Gainsborough Leisure Limited or an approved sub-contractor. For an event our bar is subject to a minimum spend of £250. Guests are allowed to bring in their own alcohol to give away to their guests free of charge on the premises subject to a corkage charge of £7.50 per head. Please refer to our terms and conditions for more details. Egginton Hall and Nether Burrows Farm do not have liquor licences and therefore you are welcome to bring your own alcohol provided it is for the consumption of your guests and you are not charging them. If you do require a pay bar you should hire in a bar or catering company to run this for you who will be able to apply for the correct licences. We will require a copy of the contractors personal licence and the temporary events licence that they will be required to get for the event.

At Knockerdown Cottages any live or amplified music can only take place in the Brackendale Room and must terminate at 12 midnight. All doors to the Brackendale Room must be closed at 11pm. At Egginton Hall any live or amplified music must terminate at 12 midnight and the site must be vacated by the Guests by 12.30am. At Nether Burrows Farm any live or amplified music can only take place by prior arrangement with the permission of a Director of Gainsborough Leisure Limited. Unfortunately we do not allow amplified music to be played on Sundays on any of our sites.

We are child friendly on all our sites and we do supply highchairs for our cottages so please ask on booking how many you require for the function rooms and we will do our best to accommodate you.

We prefer all events to be booked through one nominated person for ease of accounting and administration. If the venue has been booked for exclusive use then the guests would pay the nominated person responsible for the booking. If the venue has been part booked and additional guests are booking the remainder of the cottages then it would be the responsibility of those guests to book directly with our booking office; this would be on a first come first served basis. Please note "other" guests (i.e. not guests in your party) could book the same weekend as your event if you do not take exclusive use which could potentially restrict your plans for your event as we must consider our "other" guests on site throughout your event.

Each property on each site has an individual electricity supply; an allowance is made of 200 units for each supply for the total duration of the booking. Should any of the supplies exceed the 200 unit allowance a charge will be made on vacation of the site for the excess electricity used. Please refer to the terms and conditions of the booking for more details.

At Knockerdown you can sleep a maximum of 90 people and at Nether Burrows you can sleep 52 people. At Egginton Hall we do not have accommodation but there are places close by that could accommodate you and Nether Burrows Farm is within a 15 minute drive away.

Yes all of our venues have parking for the maximum amount of guests allowed per site.

It may be possible for the function room to be available prior to the day of your arrival, please speak to the Events Manager who is dealing with your booking. Confirmation of early arrival times cannot be confirmed until one month prior to your arrival date.

We do provide tables, chairs and crockery for the two function rooms at Knockerdown Cottages. At Egginton Hall you would need to hire these with your marquee or for use in the Garage. At Nether Burrows Farm we offer the hire of our "Party Pack" with additional chairs, tables, crockery and glassware; please ask for details when enquiring.

We encourage you to choose and bring your own entertainment. We do have certain terms and conditions relating to noise but please ask when you enquire and we will send you the guidelines.

We do not have a marquee on any of our sites but we do encourage you to hire your own should you need this for your Event. At Knockerdown and Egginton Hall there is ample space to site a marquee; however this does need to be notified to us at the time of booking as we are restricted by planning constraints.

Yes you can bring your own food or choose your own catering company. We do have a list of recommended local companies who know our sites, please ask when you make an enquiry. At Knockerdown Cottages we do have a catering kitchen in the Brackendale Room however we do ask that this is only used by professional catering companies who are familiar with the equipment.

Yes there is ample space for this type of catering on all our sites as long as you have exclusive use of the venue. If part use of the site is booked then there maybe restrictions on the location of a BBQ or hog roast in order to accommodate guests not in your party.

All our sites are in rural countryside locations so there are more than enough picturesque areas to wonderful photographs. At Knockerdown Cottages you could use the backdrop of Carsington Water for a real treat. At Egginton Hall you could use the Hall in the background, pictures by the lake or on the "Petite Iron Bridge". At Nether Burrows you have the surrounding countryside and the fishing lake set in beautiful grounds.

Yes we have no objection to you putting up decorations; however if part use of the site is booked then there will be restrictions on decorations to the outside of the room and the site as we will need to consider guests not in your party. Please discuss your requirements with us and we will accommodate you as best we can. We do have an additional hire list of items which you might like to consider for your event such as lanterns, vases, signs etc. Please ask your events coordinator for a copy.

Yes within reason and as long as the safety of all your guests is considered. This would need to be discussed with the Events coordinator and subject to the terms and conditions of the booking.

Unfortunately we do not allow Chinese lanterns or fireworks on any of our sites as they may cause disturbance to neighbouring properties or surrounding farmland. We can allow a campfire or bonfire within reason and provided this is discussed with your Events coordinator prior to your arrival.

We ask that the Guest removes their own waste or recycling from the site over and above that which fills the existing waste bins provided. Please refer to our terms and conditions for more details.

We do not allow smoking in any of our indoor areas but we do supply sand pots for people to extinguish their cigarettes.

All cottages and function rooms need to be vacated by 10am on departure day so that we can ensure that the cottages are cleaned ready for the next guest arrival.