This cosy bijou cottage with wood-burning stove and private hot tub is nestled in a traditional farming area once frequented by Emily Brontë. Enjoy the private garden with its panoramic views across Ponden Reservoir and the Pennines or strolling in our 7-acre wood. Midden Cottage is a quaint one-up-one-down with an extension bathroom and has been renovated over the years using pine and warm fittings, to contrast with the old and give it a feeling of light and warmth. The downstairs has part-mullioned casement windows, period Yorkstone flooring with an Indian rug in the centre of the living/dining area and a wood-burning stove to cosy up to in the evening. The pine open plan staircase leads up to the bedroom/upstairs lounge area, which has two exposed wooden beams and a high (for its size) apex ceiling with skylight. The upstairs is a light airy room with a raised pine, built-in, king size bed - with a step stool. The upstairs room is carpeted and also has a thick cream Berber wool rug for additional comfort and a cast iron electric fire provides instant heat for when needed. A super comfy mattress, luxurious down duvet & pillows and, a duel controlled electric blanket add the finishing touches of comfort for your stay “The bed was like heaven”. The cottage has been renovated to keep its traditional features with comfort whilst keeping a simple rustic quality. This isn’t a ‘show home’. It has all the necessary amenities and more however, with certain quirkinesses of an older conversion and there are still things on our ‘never ending’ ‘to do list’. The extension bathroom, on the ground floor, has a bath and shower & electric towel rail. The cottage has a well equipped kitchen space with hopefully everything you would need, for those who enjoy 'home-cooking' whilst away. There is also a range of dried herbs and some fresh ones growing in window boxes - and there is a BBQ/fire pit in the garden for those who like alfresco meals.

I take pride in providing whatever guests may require for when staying in a self contained cottage, and making the cottage a home from home - having all the simple necessities along with the odd luxury. I provide a 'welcome hamper basket', including a treat for your arrival and provisions for a "Continental" style breakfast for you to help yourselves to - including fruit, a choice of cereals and croissants and a loaf of bread, for toast - along with free range eggs from our neighbour's hens (when available!) We also provide a selection of jam, marmalade, honey and marmite. Tea, coffee, sugar and a pint of fresh milk will be at the cottage for you to have refreshments when you get there, and during your stay - and there is also a cafetière for ground coffee. The cottage comes with access to 7-acres of broadleaf, deciduous woodland* which I love - it includes Beech, Ash, Birch, Oak, Alder, Rowan & Sycamore which my family and I re-planted 35 years ago and also has the odd veteran tree in excess of 300 yrs old. We're currently engaged in a programme to increase the woodland's biodiversity and allow natural rewilding to occur. It is listed as a conservation area and has its own stream & is ideal for picnics. Ponden Wood is a venue where you can book sessions in archery, axe-throwing, foraging or woodland well-being. Look online for "withinthewood Stanbury" * Access to the woodland is allowed when sessions aren't taking place. The hot tub is a favourite of mine, it has an airjet massage system and is on the patio area of the private garden adjacent to the cottage. It is filled with spring-water and has an optional built-in coloured LED lighting system and we have fairy lights in the garden for a magical evening ‘under the stars’. (If you aren't wanting the hot tub let me know and I can remove the cost.) 60s Rock legend PJ Proby lived at the cottage in the mid-80s.

Midden cottage is off-the-beaten-track with spectacular walks on its doorstep, being on both the Brontë & Pennine Way. Ponden Hall, next door, was a regular haunt of the Bronte's. Walk on the Brontë Way to Top Withens, The Brontë Falls and continue on into the historic village of Haworth just 3 miles away with its cobbled main street with independent shops, cafés, micro-bars, galleries, restaurants, the Brontë Parsonage and a steam train. • Top Withens, reputedly the atmospheric inspiration for “The Heights” in Emily's novel, is a 45 minute, invigorating walk away across the moors. • Stanbury is just over a mile away, with three pubs - the nearest is just a 20 walk from the cottage. • The Victorian spa town of Ilkley is half-an-hour's drive away, where the renowned Betty's tearoom, riverside walks, and, Ilkley Moor with the famous Cow & Calf Rocks. • Harrogate, a bit further along, is home to the old Victorian Turkish Baths, and Betty's renowned tearooms and Harlow Carr gardens. • Revitalised Bradford, 14 miles away, offers the National Science and Media Museum & a wide range of Asian shops and restaurants. The exciting David Hockney exhibition at Salts Mill Gallery 1853 at Saltaire, A World Heritage site. • Market town Skipton, gateway to the Yorkshire Dales, is 15 miles away. Attractions include a mediæval castle and narrowboat trips. Hot air balloon rides can also be booked through Balloon Journey, Skipton. • Halifax is a superb example of a Yorkshire mill town: visit the Piece Hall to see galleried terraces of shops and cafe's or drop into Eureka, the National Children’s Museum. Dean Clough art gallery and cafe is housed in one of the largest old mill buildings in the area. • Hebden Bridge offers a wide range of alternative shops, cafés and the fabulous restored cinema “The Picture House”, tucked below towering terraces of houses built into the hillside. Heptonstall, an unspoilt weaving village, is just a stone’s throw up the hill.