Why Temple Croft?

Built largely in the late 18^th century, Temple Croft is a fascinating, quirky property on a plot of land with a mysterious history, possibly connecting back to the ancient order of the Knights Templar. The present property comprises the main Georgian house and an earlier much smaller dwelling, perhaps dating from Jacobean times. The two wings are now linked by a (presumably) Victorian arch spanning a public footpath.

With inevitable changes made over the centuries, Temple Croft today is a warm and welcoming property restored with a glorious mixture of old and new, including some rather eccentric nods to Georgian extravagance, added in the 20^thcentury, in the spacious salon/breakfast room. More recently, a large and cosy log burner has been installed here to supplement the newly renovated central heating for extra warmth and ambience during cooler periods.

Temple Croft is positioned at the heart of the beautiful and remote market town of Alston partially secluded within a large walled garden. Tranquil and picturesque, with centuries-old trees and attractive mature shrubs and lawns, this is the perfect area to stretch your legs or sit and take in the pure Alston air with a cup of tea or coffee. The vegetable ­­patch and greenhouse will hopefully soon be producing our own organically grown vegetables, berries and herbs, helping to reduce our carbon footprint and making a delicious contribution to our home-cooked breakfasts and evening meals.

Located in the wild and wonderful North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and right on both the C2C  and Pennine Way long-distance routes, Alston is a busy hub for cyclists, walkers and bikers for much of the year. Uniquely, Temple Croft boasts a purpose-built and secure bicycle lockup with maintenance area, e-bike charging points, outside hose/washdown facility and pressure washer. A through door reveals a spacious, centrally heated dry/wet room equipped with drying racks, washing machine and tumble dryer, plus a walk-in shower room and WC.

Immediately adjacent (and connected by a door) to the main house, the dry room will come as a godsend for our more intrepid guests who have cycled or walked many miles over the moors to reach us in inclement weather.

We also provide a small private parking area for cars and motorcycles.

We currently have four newly renovated rooms available to book: The Bunkhouse, Laburnum, Yew Tree and Cherry Plum. All have modern en suites with fluffy white towels and complimentary toiletries, plus tea and coffee-making facilities, hairdryers, mini fridges, flat screen TVs (except The Bunkhouse) and boosted Wifi.

Envisioned for solo travellers and those travelling on a budget, the Bunkhouse can also accommodate larger families or groups, sleeping up to eight guests in comfortable, adult-sized bunks. The large private bathroom is comprised of a shower bath and a separate cubicle shower, both with rainfall heads.

Laburnum is a family room which sleeps four in a super king or full size twin singles and a full-sized bunk bed so is also ideal for sharing adults. The en suite has a shower with rainfall head.

Yew Tree is a triple room with en-suite shower bath with rainfall head, sleeping two to three, configured either as a super king and single bed or three full size singles.

Cherry Plum is our double/twin room with an en-suite shower. This can be configured as a super king or full size twin singles.

Hotel-grade, 1000-pocket sprung mattresses and crisp white linen provide an extra degree of luxury for the discerning traveller.

Alston, although small, has a wide range of local amenities. Within a few minutes’ walk of Temple Croft, you will find a choice of great pubs (serving a wide range of fine local ales), grocery stores (including an excellent wholefood shop), gift shops, cafes, a post office, fish and chip shop, sweet shop and a hardware store.

Our aim is to be as eco-friendly and sustainable as we can, hence we try to shop and source our free-range meat and eggs for our Cumbrian breakfast and evening meals locally, to help reduce our carbon footprint. We already recycle wherever possible and have reduced our waste and single-use plastic usage by serving cereals, toiletries, sauces, water, etc., in reusable materials such as glass and pottery.  We compost appropriate food waste and collect rainwater for the vegetable garden, and use eco-friendly cleaning and sanitation products where possible.

Like most of us, we still have a long way to go, but we are trying to do our bit.