Foodie spots for New Year revelry in the West Country

Party time at Fifteen Cornwall

Each year, millions of people around the globe gather together to reflect on the past twelve months and share their plans and dreams for the year ahead. What better way to do it than with friends, family and good food?

Castle Bistro at Bovey Castle

In the West Country, New Year's Eve celebrations are perhaps best known for fancy dress. That's certainly true at Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen Cornwall, which is holding a superhero-themed fancy dress party with cocktails, a four course menu and dancing through to the early hours. Tickets cost £100 (children welcome). Become human again at Q29.

A four-course dinner is also central to the New Year’s Eve party at Bovey Castle, which begins with a champagne reception, followed by dinner in the Castle Bistro, dancing in the Cathedral Room, rounded off by a fireworks display over the hotel’s Dartmoor estate. Tickets cost £99 per person (children aged 5 to 14 years old, £49, and children aged 2 to 4 years old, £20). Sing Auld Lang Syne at A87.

Grilled scallops with hazelnut and coriander butter, followed by roast monkfish with crushed new potatoes, olive oil and watercress. Yes, you've guessed it - that's the New Year's Eve menu at Rick Stein's Cafe in Padstow. This tasty menu can be enjoyed in a relaxed and informal atmosphere for just £39 per person. Stroll to the harbour from P51.

For something completely different, Kitley House Restaurant near Plymouth offers a New Year's Eve Murder Mystery and Gala Dinner. A five-course meal will help you work your way through the clues and apprehend the culprit! The event costs £89.95 per person. Continue your sleuthing at R378.

Of course, you can always just hunker down in your holiday cottage and show off your culinary skills in a delicious home-cooked meal using the freshest local produce, then toast the New Year and share stories and memories in front of an open fire.

Use the Advanced Search facility on our website to help you find just the right place to enjoy New Year's Eve in the West Country, or give our expert telephone team a call on 01647 433593. Whether you stay near the coast or on the moors, you're sure to find a pretty spot nearby for an exhilarating walk on New Year's Day to blow away the cobwebs and walk off the indulgences of the night before!

Christmas cottages with fun & games attached…

If you’re spending Christmas away from home, something that really adds to the fun is playing games with friends and family. We’ve a number of holiday cottages ideal for this, some featuring converted barns full of dartboards, table tennis tables and board games a-plenty, and some with indoor swimming pools too!

Woolley Cottage, in the Devon hamlet of Woolley, is a handsome Grade II listed, detached, thatched house which has been extended from its 18th century beginnings, making it big and roomy. The beamed living room with flagstone floor and big inglenook with oil-fired Aga makes an extremely cosy room, or upstairs is a gallery-cum-den with day bed and board/card games. The separate games shed has a table-tennis table, dartboard and assorted toys. For those keen to get active and brave the December elements, there’s also an outhouse with plenty of room for bicycles and surfboards. This is a smashing house with bags of space for everyone in a beautiful, unspoilt area.

Orchard Cottage in Stoke, close to the spectacular cliffs at Hartland Quay, north Devon, is a detached, thatched, Grade II listed 16th century house with courtyard, enclosed garden and indoor heated swimming pool. Formerly owned by the Abbey, the house has been beautifully converted and lovingly restored, with a comfortable, beamed living/dining room. Gather round the inglenook fireplace and plot your next family tournament to be played out in the separate games room with table tennis, pool and darts on offer.

Hound Tor Lodge is situated within the stunning grounds of Bovey Castle on Dartmoor (one of six luxury self-catering lodges we offer here), built in 1907 and now a renowned hotel. Many of the hotel facilities are yours to enjoy (some restrictions apply during the festive period) including indoor pool, gym, steam room, sauna, spa and its championship 18 hole golf course. Other optional activities include archery, rifle shooting, fly fishing, falconry, riding and clay pigeon shooting. If you’d rather something a little quieter, there’s the small matter of a 400 acre estate on which you are free to roam (wellies provided).

Why not browse all our cottages with availability for Christmas and filter the search results by games room and indoor pool? 

Devon Tourism & Taste of the West Awards…

As our customers well know, there are lots of good reasons for people to holiday in Devon, and this was celebrated this week at the Devon Tourism Awards.

Michael Caines

Gidleigh Park, one of the UK’s most renowned country house hotel and restaurants (and just a stone’s throw from HH HQ in Chagford), walked off with three awards including that of overall winner. Run by the Michelin starred chef Michael Caines, Gidleigh won Gold for the Taste of Devon award as well as a joint Gold award for the Hotel of the Year together with Bovey Castle – a luxurious country hotel on a stunning estate where we let a number of self-catering lodges. Organic Riverford Farm Foods picked up Gold for Producer of the Year.

Pennywell Farm

Pennywell Farm, near Buckfastleigh in south Devon, won the Gold Award for Visitor Attraction of the Year, and farm founder Chris Murray was presented with an award for his Outstanding Contribution to Tourism. Other Devon attractions praised were The Big Sheep, Bideford and River Dart Adventures, Ashburton. All can be found on our ‘Explore the Area’ map to help you spot the places to go and things to do near each of our cottages.

In the Tourism Activity, Sport & Experience category, Gold went to the Calvert Trust Exmoor, which offers a wide range of adventurous outdoor activities to people of all ages with physical, sensory and learning difficulties.

Dartmoor Farmers

The winners were also recently announced at the Taste of the West Awards, which celebrates the region’s exceptional food and drink industry. Amongst the winners in Devon were Dartmoor Farmers, who produce free range, slow grown West Country beef and lamb from family farms within Dartmoor National Park.

Another worthy winner was the Sharpham Partnership, producer of classic English wines and a range of English cheeses on the Sharpham Estate on the banks of the River Dart near Totnes in south Devon.

Too many winners to mention, but congratulations to them all!

Browse through our holiday cottages in Devon and come and enjoy all this glorious county has to offer.

Valentine's getaways…

Selecting the perfect location for a Valentine's getaway is all about personality, whether you want somewhere to cosy up and admire the idyllic view or a sanctuary to come home to at the end of a day adventuring with your better half. These character-laden properties can cater for a range of preferences and each offers a romantic setting, too.

A couples' favourite has to be The Music Room at Aveton Gifford, an old village beside the River Avon in the South Hams. As one of two very special conversions on a family estate, this remarkable Grade II listed former music room uses its history and charm to create a dramatic yet tranquil setting. The long room and its stained glass windows easily conjure images of concerts and performances, while the stage itself now houses a four poster bed. With sandy beaches, coves and pretty thatched buildings and golf courses, you don't have to go far in Aveton Gifford for scenery. You might like to take a walk to The Oyster Shack, just two miles away – oysters are an aphrodisiac too good to miss on Valentine's Day!

If you're looking for a seaside retreat, bring your walking boots to Cliff End in Whitsand Bay, south Cornwall. This property is an aptly named, newly built chalet around 30 foot above the beach on the very edge of Tregonhawke Cliff. A large enclosed deck along the front is great for ship watching when you’re not surfing and there’s a footpath down to the sandy beach. And when you have made the most of the beautiful surroundings, you can cosy up inside in the fresh and modern interior or perhaps visit Buckland Abbey a short drive away.

Tucked away among the scattered houses and cottages of the village Kestle Mill, north Cornwall, is Sunrise Cottage, a pretty little stone and cob cottage, thought to be 17th century or older. The flower-filled garden creates the perfect entrance to a thoughtfully prepared holiday home. The bathroom includes a jacuzzi-style bath and if there is time to venture out and about after a bit of R&R with your loved one, Kestle Mill is well positioned (near Newquay and St Austell) for coastal visits or touring. Elizabethan Trerice House is around a mile away and the Eden Project 10 miles.

Rose Cottage, a detached gothic-style gatehouse on Dartmoor will strike a chord with the old romantic. Situated just inside the main entrance gates to Bovey Castle (a renowned hotel), and just two miles from North Bovey, the property has views over the 18 hole championship golf course and is two lane-miles from the spectacular open moor around Manaton or Moretonhampstead. With the elegant hall, ornate ironwork doors to the dining room and the big round glass table encircled by mullioned windows, the scene is instantly set for a romantic break. All guests are welcome to enjoy the hotel’s pool, sauna, steam room and gym. For those who want to venture outside the grounds, the Ring of Bells Inn, North Bovey, is a popular watering hole for locals and visitors alike, with food served daily.

If you fancy spending Valentine's in the West Country, see this page or call us on 01647 433593.

Best of both worlds...

No surprise that Ingle Tor lodge in North Bovey reached number 10 in The Sunday Times' recent list of '100 cool cottages' for 2010. Carefully hidden away in the stunnning grounds of Bovey Castle, a renowned hotel and championship golf course within the Dartmoor National Park, it is one of four high-spec, granite lodges we offer.

Having been treated to a stay at Ingle Tor at the end of last year, it certainly lived up to my expectations. Inside, the decor was modern and slick with an airy layout over several floors. Sharing with friends, there was no need to fight over the best bedroom as each one was uniquely stylish with its own ensuite bathroom.

But the real beauty of staying here is that you can enjoy the best of both worlds - the privacy and flexibility of self-catering with all the facilities and grandeur of a luxury hotel on your doorstep. If you don’t feel like cooking, you can order a bistro meal or pizza to be delivered to your lodge, or, like us, enjoy a superb meal in the hotel’s fine restaurant followed by relaxed after-dinner drinks and chatter in front of a roaring fire in one of the many cosy drawing rooms.

The friendly hotel staff are attentive without being intrusive and nothing is too much trouble. This is an exceptional place to stay; and so many temptations... afternoon tea, treatments in the spa, endless outdoor pursuits, and beyond, the whole of Dartmoor to explore. I hope to return soon...

A unique place to stay...

We don't do 'run-of-the-mill' at Helpful Holidays. Every one of our holiday cottages is hand-picked, rigorously inspected and star-rated. From cosy and comfortable to grand and luxurious, all of our properties are high quality and chosen because we believe (and 99% of our customers seem to agree) they are good places for a happy holiday.

Many of our holiday cottages are unique too, perhaps due to their architecture, interior design or splendid location. For example, take a look at this fine-looking gothic-style gatehouse built in 1907 (pictured above) that we have just welcomed to our portfolio. Situated two miles from the pretty village of North Bovey in Devon and just inside the main entrance gates to Bovey Castle (a renowned hotel), it enjoys views over the 18 hole championship golf course. This delightful place oozes character and has a quirky interior décor.

All guests over 16 receive a complimentary round of golf (subject to availability). You're also welcome to enjoy the hotel’s pool, sauna, steam room and gym. Other activities such as archery, fly-fishing, clay pigeon shooting, horse-riding or spa treatments are available at an extra charge.

This property can be enjoyed from just over £100 per person per week based on four sharing. It is currently available over the Christmas and New Year weeks at £261 per person based on four sharing, although please note that there is restricted access to some of the hotel facilities over the festive period.