I'll start out by saying that it must be difficult to maintain a property with 'olde worlde' charm like this one in keeping with the rural surroundings. Sadly, though, I think we took too much notice of the nice picture of the outside of the Horseshoe and the previous reviews - the interior left us feeling very unimpressed. We realised it wasn't to our liking when we walked into the hallway: the immediate sensation is one that this place needs an investment of brightness and style. For instance, why put lovely prints on a wall of a public room that's papered with massive flowers ? It just doesn't work. I'm sorry but, at £90, we really did not take to the bedroom (Room 5): magnolia supaglypta from the seventies, woodchip and old lino in the toilet, window frame that really needs replacing, piece of carpet for a headboard, one bedside lamp instead of two, new batteries needed in the TV remote, better placed electrics. On the plus side, it was great to watch the visitors to the bird table and to hear the Esk flowing through, but I think guests deserve more than that. Breakfast was good and well served. Lunch would have been, but chips can only be made from certain potato types: generous portions do not make up for overcooked, greasy, floppy chips. The white wine wasn't chilled. Sorry but, overall, not somewhere I'd want to stay again.