Very cozy, intimate little getaway. One or two minor niggles, but ultimately they're irrelevant given the overall charm of this place. Really nice rooms, the breakfast experience was a joy & the shower was lovely! (sorry I broke the conditioner bottle Mila :)

Any place that can make me feel like a loved-up Hobbit for a weekend has to receive only the finest accolades. Highly recommended.

Walter Bolton-Postlethwaite

The Blue Cow is not your bog standard B & B where you sit at a breakfast
table with strangers waiting for breakfast to arrive. For a start the
accommodation is for one or two only as there is only a double bed. And
breakfast requirements are requested at, or soon after, booking. On
arrival, breakfast is in the fridge for you to cook and lovely proprietor,
Mila, to do the washing up when you are out and about.

Access to the accommodation is up a short drive betwixt and between two
prodigious houses in Chequer Street, through high boarded gates and into a
small block paved courtyard. Immediately you see: the majestic weeping
willow tree drooping airily to the ground in a welcoming deep bow; the
quirky garden with rickety pergola, wooden ladder with missing rungs leaning
leisurely against the side wall without a purpose or intent; and, terracotta
chimney pots standing sentry over the converted stable block worthy of a
“Grand Designs” award, should there be one.

French doors with gossamer net curtains open outwards and lead you into the
kitchen/diner (The Breakfast Room). Its fully equipped (fridge, cupboards,
sink, toaster, kettle, tea bags…) The breakfast table and chairs are
tastefully laid out complete with pots of marmalade, blackcurrant jam,
tomato sauce and – wait for it – brown sauce. The WOW factor explodes in
the lounge (The Sitting Room) with its colourful furnishings, two settees,
big telly in the bay window, large coffee table on equally large mat. Up a
step, or two, into the bedroom (The Bedroom) with quality antique wardrobe
and chest of drawers.

Each of the three rooms could accommodate the bedroom of a four star hotel.
The sparkling, clean smaller bathroom (The Shower Room) is attached to the
kitchen diner.

Everywhere there are the arty-farty accessories ranging from contemporary
books on the coffee table to 1920’s (or of that ilk) leather suitcase on top
of the wardrobe. A Victorian bed-warmer with long wood handle is beside the
bed. The lounge and bathroom has dried ferns and grasses the sort found on
sale in up market garden centres and Nectar card Homebase. A thoughtful
finishing touch was the small, fresh, colourful flowers in tiny jars/vases
on the coffee table.

You cannot but treat the drum with respect and maintain it above and beyond
how you would your own home.

Toilets: ten out ten. Gleaming clean everywhere. Spare loo roll on a
vintage wooden cobblers shoe last with spring joining foot to heel – once
used to fashion leather shoes – with a lovely rich patina. And a couple of
books, "Humorous Quotes About Getting On a Bit" and "The Silliest Things
People Wish They'd Never Said" near the loo – no newspapers in this loo! A
Frenchman would consider the toilet over and above his requirements and
excessive to the nth degree but what do the French know about standards in
loos.

The reviews already posted say it all - this is not your ordinary B&B! Tucked away round the back of the main house The Blue Cow is as close as you will get to a 'home from home'. I spend quite a bit of time away from home in hotels and if I have to stay away this is the kind of place worth staying. Great accommodation is not easy to come by in the local area making this all the more special.... in fact The Blue Cow should be a franchise and set an example to others in the business. The most remarkable thing is the amount of space - a Bedroom, Shower Room, Breakfast Room and Lounge all of your own and all for the same price as you could pay for a soulless hotel room (and in some cases much less!). Breakfast supplies are in abundance and left in the Breakfast Room (Kitchen-Diner) on a DIY basis. The Breakfast Room has all the mod-cons necessary to cook up a snack with a microwave, hob you name it. The lounge is wonderfully comfortable as is the bedroom, ideal for a short break! The Blue Cow has wi-fi (free) although it appeared a bit hit and miss on my recent stay. I can't find fault with The Blue Cow and very much look forward to staying there again in the near future.

On a recent trip back to Cambridgeshire visiting friends and family I stayed at the Blue Cow for a week. Situated adjacent a beautiful garden The Blue Cow offers every comfort ensuring a relaxing and stress free stay. Milly, the owner, was the most gracious host from making sure the kitchen was stocked with everything required for breakfast to maintaining housekeeping while out and about.
The house itself was beautifully decorated and was spotless. The bedlinens and towels were freshly laundered and of high quality - Milly would change them as and when required. The bathroom was supplied with luxurious toiletries and had the quality of power shower rarely found in the UK.
Sadly it rained most of the week I was there but had the weather cooperated I would have spent time sitting out in the little courtyard just outside the bedroom where a bistro table and chairs was conveniently placed.
Fenstanton itself is a beautiful village and only a few miles from the small market town of St Ives and in easy reach of Cambridge itself. The cottage is within walking distance of local amenities and a village pub.
I have rented many vacation properties and pride myself in always making good choices. The Blue Cow surpassed my every expectation and was just the absolute best of the best. Thank you Milly, for making my stay so enjoyable and I hope to be back in the future.