Spice up your life at Powderham Food Festival

Our Helen (right) with some of the Powderham crew

If your holidays are generally planned around satisfying your tastebuds, we recommend you take a trip to 600-year-old Powderham Castle on Saturday 5th October.

There, beside the castle and overlooking the Exe Estuary, you'll find Powderham Food Festival - complete with stalls, food demonstrations and tastings by artisan makers, small producers, growers, local community groups, wineries and more.

We sponsor the festival, and can heartily recommend it as a great day out for all the family. 

This year sees an appearance by ‘The Incredible Spice Men’ recently seen in their own six-part BBC2 series. They'll be joined by television gardening broadcaster, Toby Buckland, who will be giving a talk on 'How to grow your garden and eat it'.

You can also enjoy other cooking demonstrations and talks with experts in their field from smoking, potting, preserving in every way - charcutiers, cheesemakers, growers, game merchants, fish smokers, jam and chutney makers.  

There'll be over 100 food stalls, a 'Preserves Competition', children's gardening activities, apple pressings, workshops with the castle's 'Victorian Cook' and live music to keep you entertained.

We hope to see you there!

Nature watch on West Country winter breaks…

Take a break in the West Country over the next few months and you could be taking part in your very own nature watch.

Birdwatchers visiting the Exmouth area are in for an extra special treat - every winter, over 40,000 birds, including hundreds of avocets, black-tailed godwits, Brent geese and red-breasted mergansers, flock to the Exe Estuary from as far afield as Siberia and Greenland. The RSPB offer a number of Avocet Cruises from November through to February, so see if you can spot the distinctive black-and-white plumage, and the slender, curved bills of the many avocets that frequent the area. Preen your feathers at Beach Cottage.

Twitchers visiting Dorset can see birds on the move as swallows and house martins continue to pass through on their way south, and flocks of meadow pipits and skylarks follow suit. Linnets, greenfinches and goldfinches are gathering into larger flocks and the goldfinches in particular are showing up on the birdfeeders. You can get lots more useful birdwatching information from the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Migrate your flock to The Old Manor House.

If you’re quick, you’ll be in with a chance of catching deer rutting season, when male deer stags and bucks full of testosterone show off their strength in a bid to attract the females of the herd. A great place to see this is Powderham Castle, with its own herd of around 600 fallow deer and a Deer Rut Safari & Cream Tea on Thursday 27th October. Rest your antlers at The Manor House.

If watching isn’t enough, you can get actively involved to help protect wildlife by helping out with one of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s initiatives. The Chyenhal moor work party, Penwith, aims to clear willow scrub on this Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on 5th November. Take a deserved rest at Mural Cottage.

Browse through our holiday cottages with availability this winter and use our ‘Explore the Area’ map to find places to visit near your favourite holiday cottage.

August Bank Holiday breaks…

Are you planning an August Bank Holiday break with the family this year?

Equally situated between Falmouth and Truro in the heart of the pretty village of Perranwell, Ancarva, an unspoilt, cosy little semi-detached cottage, is a great base for a family of four. There's plenty to do, with the coast-to-coast cycle path, sailing and good golf nearby, as well as sandy beaches within 5 miles. The kids will love taking the King Harry Ferry to the Roseland Peninsula, just three miles away. And at the end of a busy day, with its own ‘secret’ garden by a stream, the cottage is a perfect retreat for a relaxing evening drink. Sleeps 4.

Glenbar, a cosy, 'upside down' cottage in Lympstone, overlooks the Exe estuary with wonderful views to Powderham Castle and Starcross. The area is a spotters paradise for sailing boats and windsurfers, plus nature lovers old and new are bound to appreciate an enviable range of wildlife. It's also convenient for those who want to leave the car at home, as there's lots of good walking nearby – take the pretty and gentle South West Coast Path down to Exmouth where a long sandy beach awaits. Sleeps 4.

If you have a large family, or are keen to partake in the current trend of 'gramping', you'll be on the lookout for a more sizeable holiday home. In the pretty hamlet of Molland, on the southern edge of Exmoor, The Manor House is a big detached Victorian property facing out over its extensive gardens and surrounding farmland. You can enjoy country living during your summer holidays at this comfortable home with private fishing. There's room for the whole brood at the dining table or you can wander along to the local pub, only 400 yards away. With easy access to lovely walks and the open moor, there’s plenty to explore on your doorstep. Sleeps 18.

Take a look at our holiday cottages still available over the August Bank Holiday.

If you can’t get away for a whole week, you’ll be glad to hear that three and four night short breaks are now available at many of our holiday cottages over the August Bank Holiday weekend.