We have decided not to return to short stay breaks and weekly holiday lets in 2022. Instead, we will continue offering longer lets (minimum 12 weeks). These have proved very popular with people moving house, enabling the housing "chain" to be broken, or to sell-up and then be ready as cash buyers when the right house comes along. Our longer lets are also ideal for a place to live whilst carrying out major projects/ building work at home. Such work always seems to take longer than planned! We've also had people stay from around the world (Australia, Canada, Spain etc) wanting to visit relatives not seen since before Covid-19 and for people working locally on projects or secondment for several months.
Westwood Lodge Ilkley Moor News
Longer-stay furnished cottages and apartments in beautiful Wharfedale.
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Monday, 12 July 2021
Summer Update
We have been very busy with extended stays this year. It seems that everyone is moving house at the moment! We've proved to be a useful tool to help "break the chain" on several house moves. People have been able to sell-up and move in with us for a few weeks, whilst seeking a suitable property, or stay here whilst carrying out major refurbishment work on their own house before moving in (or back in!)
We will continue with longer lets (months rather than weeks) and won't be returning to offering weekly stays or short breaks. We currently don't expect to have any availability until early September.
Looking ahead, we hope to be able to offer off-season "winter lets" at a further reduced rate from November until Easter.
Sunday, 30 May 2021
Summer Availability
We are only able to offer extended stays (28 to 180 nights) this year. We currently have two apartments coming available in July - The Moorview (1 bedroom) and The Glenmoor (2 bedrooms). We currently don't have any cottages free. Please click here for more details.
Thursday, 15 April 2021
Lifting the Lockdown - Spring update
Non-essential stays are now allowed. However, we are not attempting to return to our normal self-catering model this year. Sorry, but only longer stays will be possible (months rather than weeks) and only booked up to around 28 days before arrival. All stays will be at a heavily reduced rates but won't include things like mid-stay housekeeping services. Accommodation will be fully furnished and prepared to the highest “We’re Good To Go” standards with all essentials included (pots, pans, cutlery etc). Our stays this year are aimed at people needing to be in Ilkley for an extended period - maybe a job move, moving house or having major work done at home. Click here for more details.
Sunday, 28 February 2021
Lifting the Lockdown
The current situation - due to the continuing lockdown, we remain closed except for essential stays in line with Government directives. All our cottages and apartments are occupied by people who have been staying with us through the winter. New essential stays are possible - where we have availability - for a minimum of 28 nights. The Main House remains closed.
Spring/ Summer 2021 - non-essential stays can resume from 12th April (single household) and 17th May/21st June (more than one household). From these dates, there will be no limitations on the reason for staying here. However, the target dates set by the Government are provisional and might change (again). After careful thought, we have decided to continue to only offer stays of at least 28 nights in 2021. It will not be possible to book weekly or short breaks. We currently have some longer stay availability.
Click here for more details about longer stays at Westwood Lodge.
Thank you for your ongoing support during the pandemic.
Tim and Paula
Wednesday, 27 January 2021
Winter 2021 Lockdown
We confirm that, due to the current lockdown measures covering all of England, our normal business will remain CLOSED until further notice. All future holidays and short break bookings have long since been CANCELLED and guests fully refunded.
In accordance with lockdown rules, the only people staying here are those using us as their main residence (such as in between houses or major work taking place at their usual home, rendering it inhabitable), or for self-isolation, work or education/ training.
We are reviewing prospects for reopening later in 2021, but regret that we cannot take any provisional bookings or reserve dates in the hope of things getting back to normal anytime soon.
Thank you for all your support during the pandemic.
Tim and Paula
Saturday, 12 December 2020
Tier 3 from 2nd December 2020
We are currently in Tier 3, for the first time, after England moved out of lockdown on Wednesday 2nd December. We remain CLOSED for all holidays and short breaks. In accordance with Tier 3 rules, the only people staying here are those using us as their main residence (such as in between houses or major work taking place at their usual home, rendering it inhabitable), or for work or education/ training.
We regret that we will not be open at Christmas/ New Year and no bookings are currently being taken for 2021. We will remain closed for holiday lets until at least Easter. Further updates will follow.
Thank you for all your support during the pandemic.
Tim and Paula
Monday, 2 November 2020
Winter Lets at Westwood Lodge
Winter Let accommodation will be fully furnished and prepared to the highest “We’re Good To Go” standards with everything included. Unless you wish to bring your own bedding, we will make up all the beds and leave a spare set of linen. Your bills will be included in the one price – heating, electric, Virgin Media cable TV etc.
We have acquired the Industry Standard mark “We’re Good to Go” from Visit England for our cleaning protocols and social distancing measures. You must observe all current national and local restrictions.
The minimum/ maximum stay is 28/ 155 nights.
For further details click here
Sunday, 1 November 2020
West Yorkshire WILL NOT now move to Tier 3 on Monday 3rd November
The UK Government had announced that the entire county of West Yorkshire would transfer to Tier 3 of the Coronavirus local restrictions from Monday morning - 2nd November. However, this has now been superseded by the England-wide government lockdown announcement. See this statement
Tuesday, 20 October 2020
It's Autumn Half-term!
If you've not yet booked an autumn break, now's the chance! The clocks will be going back soon and the night's drawing in. At the moment, we've sunny mornings (most days!) and the trees are all in the most gorgeous autumnal shades.
We've some late availability deals arriving Thursday 22nd, Friday 23rd and Monday 26th.
Ilkley is in Tier 2 for Coronavirus. This means you can come away as a single household plus any members of your support bubble. You can dine out and visit pubs, both inside and out. You can also visit family and friends in. their garden or outdoors. We've got the Visit England "We're Good to Go" certification demonstrating that we have good social distancing and cleaning protocols in place.
Friday 30th October is your LAST CHANCE for a 2020 stay with us. We are only offering extended, winter lets until Easter. If you're looking for somewhere to live this winter, see our winter lets page.
Thanks for your continuing support during the current pandemic.
Thursday, 8 October 2020
Last chance to book your Autumn Half-term stay!
The media coverage of the pandemic is concerning us all and we get calls everyday asking for the latest position. Yes, there are areas in the north of England and the Midlands that are seeing big increases in the number of Covid-19 cases (Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham). Numbers vary widely though and are still low locally. Reported new cases in our area (Ilkley Moor and Addingham) in the past 7 days is 7 and a further 18 in Ilkley and Ben Rhydding. That's out of a population of around 14,000.
If you've not yet booked a stay for half-term, do consider us! We've put together reductions across all our remaining cottages and apartments. Click here for the best deals! In particular, because we can't accept group bookings, The Old Gallery is (unusually) available and a special rate for up to six people staying.
Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Yet further changes
All parts of Bradford District (which includes Ilkley), may not socialise with other people outside of their own households or support bubble in private homes and gardens. Some wards (such as Ilkley) had been exempt from restrictions on gatherings introduced at the start of August, but these wards are now also subject to the ban.
Pubs and restaurants are now required to close at 10pm. You MAY still meet other people (up to 6) in public places, such as pubs (inside and out!)
Click here for the latest Government advice
There is also further advice here
This is the SIXTH different regime we've had to operate under since the beginning of July. We are all doing our best to stop the spread of Covid-19 but the number of community cases in Ilkley remains relatively low.
Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Further Changes to Coronavirus Restrictions from UK Government
Since Monday 14th September groups larger than 6 (unless from one household or one household plus a social bubble) have been unable to socialise together. From this date, the maximum number of guests in one of our cottages cannot exceed SIX (unless from from one household or one household plus a social bubble). You can book more than one property but cannot then socialise as more than six (indoors or out).
Some good news! As we cannot allow larger groups, we are offering special low rates for The Old Gallery in September and October for up to SIX people staying!
Wednesday, 2 September 2020
Coronavirus Temporary Local Restrictions
Local restrictions introduced on 31st July no longer apply to Ilkley. National (England) restrictions will continue.
The official guidance is being regularly updated and can be found here
Thursday, 25 June 2020
Great news! We're re-opening!
Great news! We’re reopening in time for the summer! Bookings are getting confirmed and we look forward to everyone - old and new - staying with us.
There will be a few changes due to Government directives, but we’re confident these won't spoil people's stay. Indeed, most of Ilkley is getting back to normal with many shops fully open and pubs, tea-tooms and restaurants re-opening in early July. Trains and buses are running.
Go to:
your log-in page for the latest information (if you have a booking with us)
Ilkley Chat for what's happening locally
What you can do from 4th July for Government guidance
We need to ensure everyone is safe. We will be working to the new official Visit Britain Coronavirus acreditation scheme "Good to Go". We will be writing to everyone booked but, based on our thorough risk assessments, we know that:-
- We will be Good to Go acredited by Visit Britain before we re-open. This is the official UK mark to signal that a hospitality business has worked hard to follow Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines and has a process in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing. To comply means we need more time on changeover days, so check-in time is now slightly later.
- Government guidance about who can stay, and social distancing rules must be followed by guests.
- Shared facilities will be closed to comply with Government guidelines and to reduce risk. This means our hot tub, sauna, workout room and Wendy house and trampoline etc. are, unfortunately, not going to be available.
- If anyone becomes ill with possible COVID-19 symptoms during their stay you must follow NHS guidance and you let us know immediately, so we can discuss the implications and take appropriate action.
- On departure day, we will ask for your help with a few tasks to minimise risk for all. We will need you to strip the beds and place dirty linen and towels safely into our enclosed laundry bags. In the kitchen we ask that all crockery, glassware and cutlery is washed in the dishwasher and put away. We will need all rubbish carried out to the designated area and recycling split into the different bins.
- Before you leave us, we will ask you a few quick questions about the health of your group, to check for any possible coronavirus risk.
Tim, Paula and the team at
Westwood Lodge Ilkley Moor
Tuesday, 23 June 2020
WE'RE RE-OPENING ON 4TH JULY!
Friday, 19 June 2020
Westwood Lodge Re-opening
In short, we don't yet know which hospitality businesses will be allowed to re-open or whenThe Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, made a statement in early May that hospitality businesses would start to be allowed to re-open from 4th July at the earliest. The date has not been confirmed since, but it's the one that everyone in the hospitality sector is working to. We have met with our MP and explained how difficult it is to plan without guidance. He has written to the Tourism Minister as well as to the Cabinet Office. Our trade association, The Professional Association of Self-Caterers (PASCUK) has been lobbying several ministers, alongside other trade bodies and tourism groups. We had been told that a statement would be made yesterday (Thursday 18th June) but the day came and went.
Current thinking suggests that some hospitality businesses will be allowed to reopen in England on Saturday 4th July. This is likely to only include places where there are no shared facilities. So, holiday cottages and apartments plus static caravans and possibly motorhome sites look set to get the go- ahead. Other activities such as camping in tents (including wild camping), camper vans, bed and breakfasts and hotels - anything with shared/ communal facilities - may not be allowed to re-open yet.
In the meantime, we are taking bookings on the basis that we will be allowed to re-open. We know that everyone else needs to plan their summers and we are getting ready behind the scenes ready to re-open. We have carried out safety risk assessments on our business and have new detailed cleaning protocols and procedures "Good to Go" to ensure guest and staff safety. If we are not allowed to re-open (because the number of new Covid-19 cases starts to rise) then we will give everyone who has booked a full refund of monies paid, or a transfer of funds to a stay later in the year.
So, we can only reiterate, that we have active plans and preparations so that we can "go" and we will let you know about our re-opening just as soon as we know!
Kind regards
Tim and Paula
Monday, 15 June 2020
Westwood Lodge - What facilities will be closed when you re-open?
- The Cellars - hot tub, sauna, workout room, sun bed and changing rooms
- The Wee Shop
- The Wendy House, garden games and trampoline
Coronavirus - Latest update
We will issue updated information here, as and when we have it.
Tuesday, 5 May 2020
Coronavirus (Covid-19)
We can only currently offer accommodation to key workers and anyone else required to stay in Ilkley for essential reasons, but who’s regular home is not here or which is unavailable. Our accommodation is classed as “dwelling houses” which means each cottage/ apartment is completely self-contained (bathroom, kitchen, own washing machine/dryer, hot water system etc). We can offer stays of several weeks. All guests must follow Government “at home” directives. Please email or text 07841 697186 to enquire about staying NOW.
We cannot offer holidays or other non-essential stays at this time but are taking bookings for all dates on/ after 1st June.
We are now taking bookings for summer (from 1st June) and autumn 2020. Many dates are getting reserved. If Coronavirus prevents us from being open, we will defer your stay without charge - so book your UK break with confidence!
For the latest Coronavirus updates affecting Ilkley click here
Wednesday, 22 April 2020
NHS Key Workers Accommodation Scheme
Monday, 20 April 2020
What are we up to?
We've used the lull to catch up on loads of jobs including repairs, renewals and inventory checks. We've offered our accommodation to NHS key workers and currently have a recent medical graduate staying who is in training locally before heading off to Liverpool to work in a hospital.
Paula is a pro with the sewing machine and has been part of Ilkley Scrubs. This is a group of local women making scrubs for local GP surgeries and care homes in the district. Paula has used surplus duvet covers and table cloths as material and the end result has been fantastic! She has been using me as a model (she says she needed an XL person!) but someone younger is really required to show them to best effect!
For more about Ilkley Scrubs click here
Stay at home. Stay safe!
Tuesday, 3 March 2020
Booking.com Traveller Review Awards 2020
We're not taking our foot of the accelerator though! We've looked at areas we can further improve and have spent the winter renewing and upgrading. In particular:-
- Enlarged Orchard Cottage, returning it to it's layout in Edwardian times. It has a new utility room with separate washing machine and tumble dryer. This enlargement makes Orchard Cottage at least the same size as Applebarn and Coach House.
- Major rewiring in all cottages and apartments. This brings everywhere up to current 2020 EU standards
- New individual hot water tanks in each apartment - no more waiting for hot water if a neighbour has a large bath!
- New Mira Sports showers is each apartment (replacing slipper baths)
- Washing machine/ dryer in each apartment in new utility cupboards
We fully reopen in mid-March and hope to see you again soon!
Tuesday, 28 January 2020
Tour de Yorkshire returns to Ilkley!
Yet again, the organisers have chosen Ilkley as one of the places that the races will pass through. This year it's on the all-important final day - STAGE 4 - of the mens' race from Halifax to Leeds. Heading down from Greenhow Hill, the race will cross the River Wharfe before climbing up The Cow and Calf and on to Menston and Leeds. It's a 177.5km epic and Sunday 3rd May 2020 is a day not to be missed!