Frequently Asked Questions

Barend Holiday Lodges is owned by family company, Gell Leisure Ltd trading as Barend Holiday Lodges. Our trading address is Barend Holiday Lodges, Barend Holiday Village, Scotland, UK, DG5 4NU.

We’re here – just off the A710, around 1 hour 20 from Carlisle or 2 hours from Glasgow. We’re a short journey from the A75, about an hour from Gretna Green.

It’s about half a mile down the road to Sandyhills beach on the beautiful Solway Firth with its coastal dunes, salt marshes, raised mires and farmland. You can easily walk from Barend although parking is available at Sandyhills for £5.00 for the day.

The nearest petrol station is in Dalbeattie, about 6 miles away.

The nearest ATM (cash machine) is in Dalbeattie; on the high street, near the co-op. Please note we can accept card payments in reception, including for the laundrette. The pub and EV chargers also accept card payments.

While we would probably advise that our area is more easily explored by car, it is possible to reach us by public transport.
Our nearest railway station is 19 miles away in Dumfries and the 372 bus service stops at Sandyhills but there are only a few buses per day.

Each Barend lodge is privately owned and pricing depends upon when you stay, the duration of your stay and how many are in your party. You can use our Availability search – to help choose, or you can browse our accommodation Categories to help find your perfect property.Alternatively, give us a call on 01387 780663 and our friendly team will help meet your requirements.

When you book your Barend Holiday you’ll pay a 20% non-refundable deposit, which you can pay over the phone or by using the link on your booking email.

If you place a booking with an arrival date within 4 weeks then the full balance payment will be due upon booking; this can be paid the same easy as the deposit.

The rest of your balance will be due 4 weeks before your arrival date, but don’t worry we’ll send you a reminder! We are unable to hold onto card details so the payment will not be automatically taken. Your payment reminder will have a link to pay, or you can login to manage my booking and pay there.

You can also make payments towards your holiday throughout the year using the payment link or bank transfer but we do ask that you inform us if you have done so, to enable us to match up the payments correctly.

For payment by Bank Transfer our details are::
Virgin Money Bank Account no – 70444576; sort code 82-19-74. Name Gell Leisure Ltd
Reference: Your booking number and surname; please.

Our terms and conditions can be downloaded below:

At check in we take the details of a physical credit or debit card to the value of £200.00. This is in case of damage to the lodge, late check out or excess cleaning requirements or electric and gas use (including charging vehicles from your property). We do this because all lodges are individually owned and it is unfair on the owners if guests damage the lodge or take things from it. It does not cover general wear and tear (such as broken plates etc), which we would not charge for.

This money is held on your card as a pre-authorisation and does not go to our bank account, it does mean you would need to have the necessary funds available on the chosen card. It is the same process as that used by hire car companies. Providing the accommodation is fine when we check it the money is automatically released by your bank. This usually happens within 10 days but can take longer on certain types of cards eg Monzo, unfortunately this is not something we can control.

Since October 2022, we have capped the amount of electric and gas included in the holiday, to £35 per week pro rata. This is generally enough to cover sensible usage. The intent is to incentivise guests to treat the utilities sensibly, and we have found that generally this is enough to cover the use. With the high costs of electric and gas at the moment, the hope is that this cap will help prompt guests to turn off the heating when leaving the lodge and not be unreasonable in your usage.

Yes of course! Barend is very pet-friendly. Whether you wish to bring along your dog or cat (or maybe a parrot!), our pet-friendly holiday homes welcome pets without any additional cost.

Please note the pet-friendly properties accept up to 2 pets; if you have more than this please call us on 01387 780663 and we can help discuss your requirements; a few properties are happy to accept more pets.

We also have a few lodges and cabins that don’t accept pets; these are labelled “pet-free” and “no guest pets” don’t accept pets,

Yes! As a guest with Barend Holiday Lodges you can fish (catch and release) without a permit to see if you can get a bite from the resident carp. Please bring your own equipment and remember to tidy up after you finish – thank you.

The nearest bike hire is at Gorse Bank, a few miles from Barend. THey have a great range, including tagalongs, buggies for wee ones and e-bikes.

No, the lodges at Barend don’t have hot tubs. We do however, have a swimming pool on site, which you and your guests can have private use of during your stay.

Yes, all our holiday cottages have wifi. We were lucky to have fibre to the premises installed a few years ago, so the speed on site is excellent.

All properties (except lodge 55, which has copper internet) benefit from the fast wifi. The wifi (except lodge 55) is quick enough to stream TV, play games and use services such as skype, facetime and zoom.
This money is held on your card as a pre-authorisation and does not go to our bank account, it does mean you would need to have the necessary funds available on the chosen card. It is the same process as that used by hire car companies. Providing the accommodation is fine when we check it the money is automatically released by your bank. This usually happens within 10 days but can take longer on certain types of cards eg Monzo, unfortunately this is not something we can control.

Yes, we now have 2 EV chargers on site, located in the car park near reception. These are available for all to use, and one of them can be reserved. We have found there has been no problem in waiting for one to use, so there’s no need to worry about running out of charge!

They are run by a separate company called EVielife. The cost (as of May 2025) is 64p per Kwh.
Please note you CANNOT CHARGE YOUR CAR AT YOUR LODGE. The cables pose a health and safety risk, and the wiring is not suitable for charging vehicles. Any guests found charging their vehicles from their lodges will be subject to a minimum £75 fee from their pre-authorisation. Thank you for your understanding.

Yes, the pool is open to residents within the locality (generally DG5 postcodes and/ or those within ten miles) for their own personal use (if you rent out your accommodation I’m afraid we can’t offer pool use unless you rent out via us directly).

We offer Bronze and Gold memberships – find out more here.

Barend guests and local members can come to our group-swim sessions without booking (these are generally run during the day, find times here).

If you’d rather have the pool to yourself, you need to book in advance. The pre-booking opens up 2 weeks in advance so everyone has the same opportunity. We offer 2 private slots per week (and 1 per week for shorter stays).

You can find a copy of our Terms & Conditions of Pool Use here, but here are a couple of the main points you may need to know before arriving or booking;

Children under the age of 16 are not allowed in the pool without adult supervision. The supervising adult does not have to be in the water themselves, they can also be in the viewing area – ‘supervising‘ from the bar courtyard is not permitted. As this is a condition of our insurance this is not negotiable and there will be no exceptions, pool access will be revoked if this rule is not followed.

For health and saety reasons, we do not allow the use of inflatable floats in the pool (besides armbands and small rings used as swimming aids) – so save some room in the car and leave the giant unicorn at home!

We do not allow ball games in the pool. Unfortunately we have had a number of items broken and our double glazing repeatedly cracked by balls being thrown around in the pool area. Thanks for your understanding.

No, please don’t swim / paddle / kayak etc in the loch; it’s the final part of the sewerage system and is home to a family of swans. Thank you!

There is a beautiful walk around the loch, so feel free to admire its beauty from the water’s edge instead!

No, we have a mix of holiday cottages, log cabins and wooden lodges (also known as chalets) on site. Every single property on site is individually owned so each one is unique. Structurally all of the lodges are basically the same but owners are free to do what they want with the inside so there is something to suit all tastes and requirements!

We understand it can be quite overwhelming trying to choose which lodge is best for your needs so please feel free to phone us on 01387 780663 and our team can talk you through some options.

Alternatively our search system enables you to filter and pick according to your requirements.
We offer Bronze and Gold memberships – find out more here.

Link to property search

While we do not advertise any of the lodges as being ‘wheelchair accessible’ some of our properties are suitable for people who are less mobile (including wheelchair users). Our small team is based on site, so please give us a call and we can discuss your individual requirements, to help you make an informed decision.

Each property listing has information on the number of steps /type of entry to the lodge under the ‘Outside’ section; we also have photographs of the entry to each property available to e-mail upon request.

There is level entry to Reception and the Bar, and steps going to the Swimming Pool.

Check in opens at 4.00pm and check out is by 10.00am, if we are able to offer an earlier check in time we will be in contact to confirm this.

We may be able to offer a later check out for a cost of £25.00, you will be told if this is possible during check in.
Children under the age of 16 are not allowed in the pool without adult supervision. The supervising adult does not have to be in the water themselves, they can also be in the viewing area – ‘supervising‘ from the bar courtyard is not permitted. As this is a condition of our insurance this is not negotiable and there will be no exceptions, pool access will be revoked if this rule is not followed.

The map shows the location of the lodges within Barend Holiday Village. Please note they are not numerical!
The lodges and cabins are carefully laid out and staggered. This gives you great privacy and space. At the same time, the furthest lodge is less than 500 metres from reception. It is safe and easy to walk around the site.

Barend is part of the Galloway Dark Skies. As such we have limited lighting on site. Instead, we provide every lodge with a torch so you can safely walk around at night, and enjoy our wonderful wildlife.

Yes, the onsite bar and restaurant gained new tenants in January. It is called The Crabpot. It is run independently from Barend Holiday Lodges.

The Crabpot

The onsite pub gained a new tenant at the start of 2025 and is now called The Crab Pot. They don’t have an online booking system, but you can call them on 01387 468330.