The Old Forge - an "Heritage' house♡

Freezing home in mid-winter, hard to heat. Frozen water pipes. Evidence of mice in kitchen.

4.0

Location very near to central area and Fairlie Bakehouse. An impressive collection of vinyl records and CDs to listen to on the audio system. There are also board games to play. Plenty of parking on property which has a large back garden area which would be perfect in summer if you have young kids. Plenty of utensils in the kitchen and a well stocked wood shed. Bed linen was clean and good quality. Electric blankets on all beds. Freestanding log burner in kitchen throws out the heat when roaring. Decent fridge and freezer. Plenty of hot water with a large hot water cylinder.

− Very cold in mid-Winter and hard to heat even with 2 x wood-burners, heat-pump and electrical heaters. On the first morning we woke to 2.3°C in toilet/shower/laundry area and 5°C in the front bedroom (we had some temperature sensors with us). The house hemorrhages heat and is hard to keep warm and it seems like there is no insulation anywhere in the home. However, we did close off the kitchen and get the free-standing log burner roaring and we did feel cosy in there, but it was not practical to be holed up in one room, and anytime someone came in or out of that room we would lose a fair amount of heat. The lounge log burner that is set into the wall did not heat the lounge up sufficiently. There is a significant gap under the front door and under the back door, due to the age of the house, which have stuffed "sausage dog-type" draft excluders, but we are not sure if they made much of a difference.The cold water pipes froze overnight so we couldn't flush the toilet or cool the hot shower water on the first morning. We found fresh mouse droppings on the kitchen food preparation area by the sink the following morning, even with many sonic pest repellent devices installed around the house. Front bedroom beds were very creaky. Could not turn over in bed without waking up the other person in the room. Mattresses in single beds very uncomfortable. We had to abandon our stay after the first night as we couldn't get warm, had frozen cold water pipes and could not face another 3 nights of the discomfort. The proprietor did partially refund some money for the remaining days after we contacted her. We felt that the price asked is way over-priced for what it is (based on our experience in July). The discomfort was synonymous with being at a boy scout camp where everything is in need of TLC and it is impossible to stay warm.

Great place to stay and experience the history

9.0

It’s an interesting place with many old amenities. The host was very friendly, sharing all the needed information before check-in, and also put a folder in the house to introduce the history of this place.

− There was no ac in the toilet, a bit cold in the morning.

Great wee place for a short stay, the fires keep the house warm and toasty

7.0

Great location. The fires are great and lots of firewood which was much needed during a cold snap. Such a quirky old house, loved the history and the decor.

Nostalgic experience of how we lived in our childhood. A/C for people who can't lit a fire.

9.0

It was an authentic experience of how the original owners (working people) would have lived. The old ice box was still attached to the side of the house. The wash tubs were metal although they reminded me of the concrete ones my parents used in the laundry. We shut the doors to the childrens' bedrooms to conserve heat and Tom lit both fireplaces with wood for the shed out the back. There were some concessions to modern ideas of comfort: a refrigerator, a large hot water tank (hidden in a cupboard), air conditioning and TVs. The wooden, floor-to-ceiling cupboard in the kitchen was like I remember from my childhood. We re-lived the cold mornings we woke up to in our 1950s childhood in Australia, waiting for the fire to get lit and using two taps to get the water temperature just right. It was nostalgic to see a piano in the dinning room and a pull-string light switch in the toilet. We had forgotten all that.

− Re-living the cold mornings we woke up to in our 1950s childhood.