Old Post Office

What Old Post Office does

Old Post Office is a privately held, owner-operated short-term holiday rental business based in Bardon Mill, Northumberland, England. It owns and operates two luxury design-led self-catering cottages — River Cottage (one bedroom, sleeps two) and Garden Cottage (one bedroom, sleeps four) — situated alongside the Chainley Burn river, within two miles of Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site. The business sells nightly stays from £198 inclusive of a Premium Welcome Hamper, with a curated amenity stack spanning riverside fire pits, an on-site bar and dining deck, Ooni pizza oven, EV charging, a Doggy Hotel, free streaming services, and Dark Skies Gold Tier access.

The underlying technology stack is minimal: a standard website-based booking engine hosted on the company's own domain (oldpostoffice.co.uk), supplemented by listings on five third-party OTAs — Airbnb, Booking.com, Facebook, Google and Tripadvisor. No proprietary software, API, SDK, or mobile app is disclosed. There are no AI/ML capabilities, integrations, or data flywheel mechanics referenced. Distribution is delivered through a direct-to-consumer model, with email newsletter (Downtime Newsletter) and Instagram (@old.post.office) supporting upper-funnel awareness and mid-funnel conversion.

The revenue model is per-night accommodation rental (pay-as-you-go, unit pricing) on a self-catering basis. Primary customer segments are individual leisure travelers — specifically visitors to Hadrian's Wall, Vindolanda and the broader Northumberland tourism corridor, plus dog-owning households. Headcount stands at 20, which is high relative to a two-unit asset base, likely reflecting contract cleaning, welcome-hamper fulfillment, and broader property/grounds roles. No revenue, funding, or financial figures are publicly disclosed, and there is no evidence of institutional investment or external equity.

Name

Old Post Office

Legal name

Old Post Office

Website

https://oldpostoffice.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Old Post Office is a privately held Northumberland operator of two luxury design-led riverside holiday cottages (River Cottage and Garden Cottage), renting nightly from £198 to leisure travelers visiting Hadrian's Wall and the surrounding area, with distribution via its own website plus five third-party booking platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Holiday Cottage Rentals

NAICS

Other Traveler Accommodation (72119)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Townhomes & Row Houses (THAMAAAE)

Keywords

• Luxury holiday cottages
• Self-catering accommodation
• Short-term rentals
• Pet-friendly lodging
• Riverside cottages

Headquarters

HQ city

Bardon Mill, Northumberland

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Holiday Cottage Rentals: Nightly rental of two luxury riverside holiday cottages (River Cottage and Garden Cottage) in Northumberland. Pricing starts at £198.00 per night with a self-catering model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Old Post Office is a luxury holiday cottage rental business operating two premium, design-led, self-catering cottages — River Cottage (one bedroom, sleeps two) and Garden Cottage (one bedroom, sleeps up to four) — on the banks of the Chainley Burn in Bardon Mill, Northumberland. Cottages are rented on a nightly basis starting from £198.00 per night, with direct-to-consumer bookings via the company website and listings on third-party travel platforms. Both properties include a premium welcome hamper and extensive amenities such as riverside fire pits, dog-friendly facilities (dogs stay free), streaming services, and EV charging.

Product overview

Old Post Office offers two premium luxury holiday cottages for rent in Northumberland: River Cottage and Garden Cottage. River Cottage is a one-bedroom property sleeping two with direct riverside access, private deck, bar, and fire pit. Garden Cottage is also a one-bedroom property but accommodates up to four guests, featuring outdoor dining with pizza oven, dog-friendly amenities, and EV charging. Both cottages are design-led, ultra-equipped, and situated along the Chainley Burn river, with access to shared amenities including free streaming services (Sky Sports, Netflix, Sky Cinema, Amazon Prime) and sustainable toiletries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• River Cottage A one-bedroom, self-catering luxury riverside cottage that sleeps two guests (with a sofa bed also available). Chainley Burn flows by the bedroom. Features a private riverside deck with bar and dining area, a riverside fire pit, and a secret under-deck riverside swing seat. Targeted at couples and small leisure travelers seeking premium accommodation near Hadrian's Wall.
• Garden Cottage A one-bedroom, self-catering luxury cottage that sleeps up to four guests (one four-poster bed plus two sofa beds). Features riverside chesterfields and fire pit, outdoor banqueting area with Ooni pizza oven and herb garden, a unique Doggy Hotel, four poster bed, and an EV car charger. Targeted at small families and dog owners seeking premium accommodation near Hadrian's Wall.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of reviews are Perfect 5-star or 10/10
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Canopy & Stars: UK curated collection of unique, design-led and nature-immersed holiday lets. Closely comparable on premium, experience-led short-stay positioning targeting travelers seeking distinctive UK stays.
• Boutique Retreats: Curated collection of boutique and luxury self-catering properties across the UK. Closely aligned on premium design-led cottages targeting experience-seeking travelers.
• Crabtree & Crabtree: Luxury self-catering holiday cottage agency operating in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. Direct comparable on geography, premium positioning, and multi-property short-let model.
• The Landmark Trust: UK charity operating historic and architecturally significant buildings as short-stay holiday accommodation. Comparable on heritage/rural positioning and small-portfolio short-let model.
• Rural Retreats: UK specialist in high-end self-catering holiday cottages and country houses. Comparable on luxury positioning, design-led interiors, and short-stay booking model.

Broad incumbents

• Sykes Cottages: One of the largest UK holiday cottage agencies with thousands of properties nationwide. Overlaps in distribution channel and rural short-let model but at significantly larger scale.
• Cottages.com: Major UK holiday cottage letting agency with a broad portfolio across regions. Overlaps with Old Post Office in self-catering cottage rentals but serves a much wider price and quality range.
• Vacasa: Large-scale professional vacation rental management company operating in the US and selected international markets. Comparable on professionalized short-let operations, but at much larger scale and primarily outside the UK.

Others

• Airbnb: Global short-term rental marketplace where Old Post Office is listed. Not a direct competitor but a key distribution channel and benchmark for guest expectations in the short-let category.

Emerging players

• Host Unusual: UK platform curating unusual and characterful holiday accommodations. Comparable on differentiated, experience-led short-let positioning in the UK.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/old.post.office
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/old-post-office

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Old Post Office