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Two cosy, dog-friendly holiday cottages beside Gouthwaite Reservoir in beautiful Nidderdale. Up to three dogs stay free.

Each sleeps four, with an enclosed garden, log fire and walks from the door. Explore the Yorkshire Dales or simply enjoy the peace. Covill Cottages are located on the edge of Gouthwaite Reservoir in beatiful Upper Nidderdale- one of the most scenic Yorkshire Dales and rightly enjoying it's AONB status. This pair of charming characterful stone cottages have many original features including stone floors, exposed wooden beams and log fires. Each cottage has two bedrooms and will sleep 4 guests. It is an ideal location to explore the Yorkshire Dales with Wharfedale to the south and Wensleydale to the North. The bustling little market town of Pateley Bridge is only 6 miles away with its selection of independant stores and galleries. Located on the Nidderdale Way, it is situated in an enviable position to explore the many walking and mountain biking opportunities that Nidderdale has to offer. At the front of the cottages is a pretty patio area with furniture where you can enjoy your morning coffee or dine alfresco in the summer months. There is also shared use of a lawned area with a picnic table where you can listen to the sound of the stream babbling by and soak in the panoramic countryside views.

24/10/2026

A taste of Nidderdale in autumn 🍂

One of the pleasures of a cottage break is deciding what to have for supper with no particular hurry.

Spend the afternoon browsing the food shops in Pateley Bridge. Pick up some good Yorkshire cheese, fresh bread and something for dinner, then head back to the cottage as the light begins to fade. There’s plenty of room to cook if you fancy it, but a simple spread on the table can be every bit as satisfying.

Pour a glass of w**e, light the log fire and settle in. Outside, autumn might be doing its best to remind you that you’re in Yorkshire. Inside, you’ve got everything you need for a lovely evening.

What’s the first thing you’d put on your Nidderdale supper table?

18/10/2026

A holiday where the dogs are invited too 🐾

At Covill Cottages, we know a break is better when the dogs can come along. Both Lakeview and Dalesview welcome up to three dogs at no extra charge, so there’s no need to choose which member of the family gets a holiday.

Each cottage has its own enclosed garden, and we provide dog bowls, towels and treats to help everyone settle in. Then, when it’s time to explore, you can head out into Nidderdale straight from the cottage door. There are country paths, waterside views around Gouthwaite Reservoir and plenty of new smells to investigate.

After a day outdoors, the dogs can snooze while you put your feet up by the log fire. Muddy paws, happy dogs and no rush to be anywhere else: that sounds like a proper holiday to us.

Please keep dogs close around livestock and follow any signs on local paths.

How many dogs would you bring along?

https://covillcottages.com

17/10/2026

The Nidderdale village with its own cinema… that disappeared

If you’ve walked around Scar House Reservoir, you’ll know how quiet and remote it feels today. It’s hard to imagine that, a century ago, a whole village stood just below the dam.

Scar Village was built for the people constructing the reservoir and their families. And it had rather more than a few workers’ huts: there were shops, a school, a post office, a hospital, a fish and chip shop, tennis courts and even a concert hall and cinema.

Perhaps the most surprising detail? The village had electric lighting, hot and cold running water and flushing toilets at a time when many homes in Pateley Bridge had none of those luxuries.

Once the reservoir was finished in 1936, the village was sold off and dismantled. Today you can still spot traces of it near Scar House. Next time you’re up there, pause for a moment and picture children heading to school, workers coming home and families going to the cinema in what now feels like the middle of nowhere.

That’s one of the things we love about Nidderdale: even the quietest places have stories to tell.

10/10/2026

An autumn walk from the cottage door 🍂

There’s something lovely about setting off for a walk in October without having to get in the car first. Pull on your boots, step out of Covill Cottages and you’re straight into the Nidderdale countryside.

The views around Gouthwaite Reservoir change with the season: trees turning gold and rust, hills fading into the mist, and the water reflecting whatever the Yorkshire sky happens to be doing that day. Bring a camera, take your time and enjoy the excuse to stop and look around.

And if the weather turns halfway through? That’s part of an autumn walk too. Head back to the cottage, hang up your coat, make a hot drink and settle in beside the log fire. The best walks often end that way.

Who else thinks autumn is one of the loveliest times to visit Nidderdale?

04/10/2026

Rainy days in Nidderdale? We’ve got a few ideas.

A grey forecast needn’t mean staying in all day. Some places are even more memorable when the Yorkshire weather gets involved:

Explore Stump Cross Caverns. Leave the rain behind and head beneath Greenhow Hill to wander through limestone passages, stalactites and sparkling crystals. The caves stay at around 7°C all year, so bring a warm layer. There’s a café for a hot drink afterwards, too.

Unwind at the Turkish Baths in Harrogate. For a completely different sort of rainy day, spend a few hours among the heat and steam of these beautiful Victorian baths. It’s one to book ahead, especially if you’re planning a weekend visit.

Take a tour of Whittaker’s Distillery. This local Nidderdale distillery offers a behind the scenes look at how its gin and wh**ky are made, with a tasting to round off the visit. A particularly good choice when the clouds show no sign of clearing.

See a Yorkshire Dales waterfall in full flow. You’ll need a waterproof for this one, but rain can make the waterfalls spectacular. Aysgarth Falls is a favourite, with three sets of falls to explore. Enjoy the view from a safe spot and take care on wet paths and rocks.

Tour Black Sheep Brewery in Masham. Learn how the brewery makes its Yorkshire ales, then settle in at the visitor centre for a drink or something to eat. It’s a lovely way to spend a damp afternoon.

And when you get back to Covill Cottages? Dry off, put the kettle on and enjoy a cosy evening by the fire.

Do check opening times and book tours or bath sessions before you set off. If you’ve brought your dog, check each venue’s rules too: Stump Cross welcomes dogs in its café and visitor centre, but not in the caves.

03/10/2026

Step inside Nidderdale’s past

When you’re exploring Pateley Bridge, Nidderdale Museum is well worth a visit. It’s tucked inside the Old Workhouse on King Street, a building that has its own story to tell, and its 12 rooms are full of the objects and everyday details that bring the dale’s history to life.

You can look around a Victorian parlour, complete with a vintage music box, and see how different a schoolroom was for children in years gone by. There’s a general store packed with things you’re unlikely to find on today’s shelves, and the contents of a cobbler’s shop dating back to 1820. Across the museum, thousands of objects show how people in Nidderdale lived and worked over more than 200 years.

It’s a lovely place to visit early in your stay. Afterwards, as you walk through Pateley Bridge and travel around the dale, you may find yourself looking at familiar places with fresh eyes. The museum is entirely run by volunteers who help keep these local stories alive.

From April to October, it’s usually open Tuesday to Sunday, 1.30–4.30pm. Admission is £5 for adults, while accompanied children aged 5–15 go free. If you’re staying with your dog, please be aware that only assistance dogs are allowed inside the museum.

27/09/2026

How to Speak Yorkshire – A Beginner's Guide

Visitors to Nidderdale occasionally discover that knowing English doesn't necessarily mean you'll understand everything that's said to you. So, as a public service to guests at Covill Cottages, we've put together a very brief Yorkshire phrasebook.

“Now then” means hello and isn't necessarily an instruction to do anything now. Or then. “Aye” means yes, although it can also mean “I've heard what you said but haven't yet decided whether I agree with you.” “It'll be reet” means everything will probably be fine and no further investigation is required, while “put wood in t'hole” simply means please close the door – particularly important once the log fire is lit.

Then there's “nesh”, used to describe someone who feels the cold, usually by someone wearing a T-shirt in November while you're wearing a perfectly sensible coat. “It's a bit fresh” means it's extremely cold, while “not bad” is actually high praise and can mean anything from quite good to absolutely outstanding.

And perhaps the most important Yorkshire expression of all is “How much?!” This can be used in shops, pubs, restaurants, garages and anywhere else that money changes hands. It doesn't necessarily mean the person won't pay. It simply means that, as a matter of principle, the price must first be questioned.

Of course, you don't need to speak Yorkshire to enjoy a stay in Nidderdale. But after a week here, if somebody asks whether you've had a good holiday and you find yourself replying “Aye, weren't bad”, we'll consider our work done.

26/09/2026

If These Walls Could Talk…

You can't travel very far through Nidderdale without seeing them. They climb hills that look far too steep to build on, disappear over the horizon and divide the landscape into the patchwork of fields that we now think of as typically Yorkshire.
But why are there so many dry-stone walls in the Dales?

People have been building walls from local stone for centuries, but many of the walls we see today date from the 18th and 19th centuries, when large areas of previously open land were divided into individual fields. And because stone was one thing Yorkshire certainly wasn't short of, it made rather more sense to build with what was lying around than bring in something else.

The clever bit is that a traditional dry-stone wall contains no mortar at all. Carefully selected stones are laid so that they lock together, with the wall usually wider at the bottom and narrowing towards the top. Built properly, it can withstand decades of Yorkshire wind, rain, frost and the occasional sheep determined to prove otherwise.

Look more closely and the walls tell you something about the landscape too. Different areas have different types and colours of stone, while gateways, old sheepfolds and field patterns can offer clues to how the land was farmed generations ago.

They are also surprisingly important for wildlife. All those gaps and crevices provide shelter for insects and small mammals, while lichens and mosses gradually colonise the stone.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing is how much work they represent. Mile after mile, every stone picked up, selected and positioned by hand – often on hillsides where simply walking up them feels like quite enough effort.

Today, dry-stone walls are as much a part of the Yorkshire Dales landscape as the sheep, barns and moors themselves.

We probably wouldn't suggest trying to build one during your holiday.

But next time you're out walking in Nidderdale, they're worth a second look.

20/09/2026

Dark Skies Fringe Festival 2026 – Just Look Up

One of the compensations for the nights drawing in is that we get our dark skies back – and here in Upper Nidderdale, dark really does mean dark.

From 23 October to 1 November, the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors celebrate the Dark Skies Fringe Festival, with stargazing experiences, night walks, photography and other events celebrating some of the finest night skies in the country.

The Yorkshire Dales is an International Dark Sky Reserve, recognised for the quality of its night skies and low levels of light pollution. On a clear night you can see thousands of stars, and if conditions are right the Milky Way can be visible stretching across the sky.

Here at Covill Cottages, we're fortunate to experience this without having to go anywhere at all. We're surrounded by the open countryside of Upper Nidderdale, with no street lights outside the cottages and very little artificial light nearby. Step outside on a clear autumn evening, give your eyes a few minutes to adjust and the difference is remarkable.

You don't need a telescope, specialist knowledge or even to know your Plough from your Orion. A warm coat helps. So does a clear night. After that, you really only need to look up.

And when you've had enough of contemplating the vastness of the universe, there's always the rather more immediate attraction of going back inside, putting another log on the fire and making a cup of tea.

Dark Skies Fringe Festival: 23 October – 1 November 2026.

Sometimes one of the best attractions in the Yorkshire Dales isn't on the ground at all.

Address

Covill Cottages
Pateley Bridge
HG35RS

Telephone

+447702581493

Website

https://www.covillcottages.com/

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