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Booking Terms & Conditions

1.0    The Contract

1.1    The Contract for the use of self-catering and bed & breakfast accommodation will be between, Brian & Dorothy Jackson and Catherine Stones (hereinafter referred to as “us”, “we” or “our”) and the person making the booking and all members of the holiday party (hereinafter referred to as “you” or “your”) in the following booking terms and conditions.

1.2     Our properties are located in the UK and we agree that the laws of the UK will govern our contract with you. If any individual term or clause stated in these terms and conditions is held to be invalid, impermissible or unenforceable permissible by law, the remaining terms shall be unaffected and shall remain valid.

1.3     The properties used for holiday accommodation, forming part of this contract are:

  • Bilton Barns, Alnmouth, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 2TB including the farmhouse, Catherine’s, Emma’s & Jenny’s Suites and Stephen’s, Brian’s & Dorothy’s Cottages.
  • Jackson’s Cottage, 9 Northumberland Street, Alnmouth, Northumberland, NE66 2RS
  • Fisherman’s Cottage, 8 North Street, Seahouses, Northumberland, NE68 7SB

(hereinafter referred to as “the property/properties” or “room”).

1.4     The Contract will not come into force until:

  • We have received your deposit, referred to in section 3 below.
  • You have received a booking confirmation from us. It is your responsibility to check that the details of the booking are correct and must notify us if you have any concerns, and  
  • The party leader must be at least 18 years of age at the time of booking.

1.5     The person who makes the booking will be responsible for all people staying/visiting and should ensure that they are all aware of the booking terms and conditions.

2.0     Breach of Contract

2.1    Completion of the booking form (on-line or hard copy) states that you agree with these terms and conditions. A breach of any of the conditions of this contract shall entitle us to resume possession. You will indemnify us against all damages, losses, costs and other liabilities incurred by us arising as a result of the breach of the terms and conditions detailed herein.

3.0    Deposit and Payment

3.1    Your booking may be placed over the telephone, by email or directly on our online reservation system.  Where your booking is communicated to us by telephone or by email, we will enter it onto our online reservation system, which will automatically generate a summary by email to the email address you provide. However, that does not mean that your booking is yet confirmed or that a Contract is yet in force between us and you.

3.2    Your booking will only be confirmed and our Contract will only come into force once we have received payment in cleared funds of a deposit.

3.3    Subject to the acceptance of the booking by us in respect of a self-catering booking, you will become liable for the balance a minimum of 4 weeks before the holiday commences. If the booking is made within 4 weeks of the holiday start date the amount should be paid in full.

3.4    Subject to acceptance of the booking by us of a bed & breakfast booking, you will become liable for the balance, which is to be settled at the end of your stay.

3.5    The Deposit must be paid within 7 days of the booking being placed.

3.6    If for any reason we do not receive your payment of the balance by the due date we will be entitled to treat that as your intention to cancel the booking.

3.7    No entry to our properties will be allowed without payment, in full, being cleared    beforehand.

3.8    We accept payment by most major credit or debit cards via our online booking system (Holiday Rentals), bank transfer, cash or cheque.

4.0    Cancellation

4.1    Should there be a need to cancel your booking, notification must be given to us immediately and must be received by us in writing (preferably by email).

4.2    We will endeavour to re-let the property/room, and to the extent that we are successful, we will refund any monies paid (up to the amount of the new let, for example, this may be for part of the original booked period only) at our discretion, less an administration charge. However, if the property/room fails to re-let you will be liable for the total payment for the period booked.

4.3    Any request by you to transfer your booking to another property and/or a change of dates will be treated as a cancellation by you.

4.4    We strongly recommend you take out your own travel insurance for UK holidays which covers booking cancellations. This will give you the peace of mind that you will get your money back if you need to cancel your holiday. If you choose not to then you accept responsibility for any loss that you may incur due to your cancellation.

4.5    Every booking is made on the understanding that the property/room is available for the dates requested.

5.0    Cancellation by us for Reasons Beyond Our Control (“Force Majeure”)

5.1    We won’t be deemed to be in breach of this Contract, or otherwise liable to you, by reason of any delay in performance or non-performance of any of our obligations in this Contract to the extent that such delay or non-performance is caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control (for example if access to and use of our property is prevented by fire, flood, exceptional weather conditions, epidemics, pandemics, destruction/damage, internet or other communications failure, blocked roads, war/terrorism, nuclear/radioactive disaster affecting us or our property) (these are sometimes referred to as “Force Majeure Events”).

5.2    If for any reason beyond our control we are forced to cancel your booking (or bring it to an end early) due to a Force Majeure Event affecting us or our property we will refund you the full amount of your remaining lodging costs based on the time of your booking remaining. This will be the full extent of our liability and no additional compensation, expenses or costs (such as travel or replacement lodging costs) will be payable. 

6.0    Additional Covid Terms & Conditions

6.1    If your booking has to be cancelled because any of our properties is placed under Government Restrictions and has to close and the period of closure covers your booking, you will be entitled to a full refund or alternative booking dates will be rearranged and monies held (new dates may incur an additional rental charge).

6.2    In the event that your given address is placed under Government Restrictions rendering you unable to travel, and the period of restriction covers your booking, you will be entitled to a full refund or alternative booking dates will be rearranged and monies held (new dates may incur an additional rental charge).

6.3    In the event of Government Household Number Restrictions impeding your booking, alternative booking dates will be rearranged and monies held (new dates may incur an additional rental charge).

6.4    In the event of you being unable to travel or stay in one of our properties for any reason, which includes, but is not limited to, illness (including Covid), a requirement or recommendation to self-isolate or quarantine, shielding, a call to jury duty, military service, incarceration, change in personal or work circumstances, family emergencies, travel delays, vehicle breakdown and delays with public transport, these remain at your risk and do not give rise to a right to cancel or to receive a refund unless we are able to re-let the property (see section 4).

6.5    You are strongly recommended to take out UK travel insurance to cover these eventualities. If you do not take out UK travel insurance then you accept responsibility for any loss that you may incur due to your cancellation. Covid is a known risk and it is possible for you to insure your holiday against it. This can include you or any of your party having Covid, having to isolate, quarantine or shield.

6.6    Please do not arrive on site if any members of your party have Covid symptoms or have tested positive. If any member of your party develops Covid symptoms or is asymptotic but declares they need to self-isolate, they must inform us before isolating to minimise risk and request a test. The whole party must check out immediately and return home to self-isolate, using private transport. If any member of the party is unable to return home (if they are too unwell) the circumstances should be discussed with a health care professional/local authority. In the unlikely event that you need to extend your stay as a result of this you will be liable to pay for all affected bookings – this also covers other cancellations where other guests leave because of the presence of a Covid sufferer on site.

7.0    Period and Other Terms of Hire

7.1    The period from the Holiday Commencement Date to the day of departure set out in the booking the Holiday Departure Date is the “Holiday Period”. 

7.2    Unless expressly agreed by us in writing, you should not arrive before 4pm on the Holiday Commencement Date, and you must leave and vacate the property by 10am on the Holiday Departure Date. Failure to do so may result in you being charged a further day’s rental.  Should you wish to arrive after 7pm on the Holiday Commencement Date, you must notify us.

7.3    The Contract to stay in the property for the holiday period, does not create the relationship of Landlord and Tenant between the parties.

7.4    This Contract relates to a “holiday let” the purpose of which is to confer on you as a holidaymaker the right to occupy our property for a holiday only.  You shall not be entitled to any private residential tenancy or other tenancy, assured shorthold or assured tenancy, lease, licence or other right to occupy, nor shall you obtain any security of tenure under any applicable law now or at the end of the Holiday Period.  You may not sub-let the property.

7.5    You must not use the properties for any dangerous, offensive, noxious, noisy, illegal or immoral activities or carry on there any act that may be a nuisance or annoyance to the owner, other neighbouring properties or the farm.

7.6    Access to the farm and steading at Bilton Barns is strictly forbidden to you, without express permission from us. Children and dependants should be supervised by you at all times during your stay and are your sole responsibility.

7.7    If we consider you are causing a nuisance, harm, damage or not treating either the farm, accommodation, other guests, farm/wild animals with respect, the contract will be discharged and we may re-possess the property immediately. You will remain liable for the whole cost of the hire and no refund will be due.

8.0    Third Party Suppliers

8.1    If you would like to engage the services of a third party supplier whist staying in one of our properties you must seek and receive written permission to do so. You will be responsible for ensuring that the said third party has the necessary third party liability insurance and other related/required certification. We accept no liability for the activities of these third party suppliers.

9.0    Number of Persons Using the Property

9.1    Under no circumstances may more than the maximum number of persons stated on our website occupy the property, except with our express written permission in which case we shall be entitled to charge an additional fee. We reserve the right to refuse admittance or require you to leave our property if this condition is not observed. No other persons, other than members of your party, can use our accommodation.

10.0    Right of Entry

10.1    We, and our representatives, shall be allowed the right of entry to the property at all reasonable times for purposes of inspection or to carry out any necessary repairs or maintenance.

11.0    Our Liability

11.1    Your vehicles, their accessories and contents, and any other property and valuables you bring with you are brought entirely at your own risk. If you leave any property behind we will use reasonable endeavours to return it to you, although we reserve the right to charge you in advance for any reasonable postal or courier costs.  We may dispose of any unclaimed property after 6 months.

11.2    We, our employees, contractors, cleaners and other representatives shall not be liable to you or your party for loss or damage to your property howsoever arising. You must take all necessary steps to safeguard yourselves and your property.  Nothing in this clause shall exclude or limit any liability that we are unable to limit or exclude by applicable law, such as liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

12.0    Care of the Property

12.1    You are responsible for the property and are expected to take all reasonable care of its furniture, pictures, fittings and effects, in or on the property. You must leave them in the same state of repair and in a reasonable clean and tidy condition at the end of the rental period.

12.2    Smoking is not allowed in any of our properties.

12.3    You must ensure the property is securely locked when not occupied by you.

13.0    Damages and Breakages

13.1    You are legally bound to reimburse us for replacement, repair or extra cleaning costs on demand. Any damages or breakages will have to be paid for in full on demand within 7 days of notification in writing (although we would not charge you for the odd glass or plate). We recommend that you have appropriate insurance in place to cover this.

13.2    If you lose a key we will replace it upon you paying for the cutting of a new one.

14.0    Description

14.1    The information provided on our website and brochure is believed to be true and accurate at the time of writing and all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that descriptions given to each property are accurate.

14.2    There may however, be minor differences between photographs, illustrations and descriptions (e.g. when equipment/furniture has been replaced) which are intended to give general guidance and do not form part of the agreement between us and you.

15.0    Wifi and Internet

15.1    Free Wi-Fi and broadband internet is provided for your reasonable use and may be subject to separate terms and conditions. You agree to reasonable and lawful usage of this service.  We will not be liable for slow connections or for any interruptions to or the failure of this service.

16.0    Pets

16.1    We do not allow pets, other than assistance dogs, at any of our properties, with the exception of Fisherman’s Cottage at Seahouses.

16.2    Pets at Fisherman’s Cottage will only be allowed when have they been booked in.  We permit one well behaved and house-trained dog, kept under proper control and not allowed on the furniture and beds, nor left unattended in the property. In exceptional circumstances, and only by prior arrangement and at the discretion of the owner, we may allow more than one pet. Dog hairs are to be removed from carpets and all dog waste collected and disposed of. Dog owners will be held responsible for any damage caused to the property or contents by their dog and for any extra cleaning required. We reserve the right to seek details of any dogs in advance and to refuse permission for them to be brought to the accommodation for any reason, including if they are considered unsuitable in character, size or behaviour, bark continuously, or are liable to be a nuisance or danger to us, our neighbours or other guests and to local wildlife and livestock.

17.0    Electric Car Charging

17.1    Charging of electric cars from our properties can be a potential fire hazard and is not allowed without our express permission.  

18.0    Drones, Night Lanterns and Fireworks

18.1    The use of drones is not allowed without our express written permission. Fireworks are not allowed without our express written permission. Night lanterns are expressly forbidden as they are a fire hazard and can cause death or injury to local livestock.

19.0    Complaints

19.1    Every effort has been made to ensure that you have an enjoyable stay. However, if you have any problem or cause for complaint, it is essential that you contact us immediately and in any case before the departure date to give us the chance to resolve it. We are within our rights to refuse to entertain any complaint, irrespective of merits, if you have not brought this to our attention during your holiday period. We value your custom and want you to return (and to recommend us to your friends!).  We live nearby, and will do our best to resolve any problem.

20.0    Data Privacy Statement

20.1    Please see our separate Privacy Policy.