Showing posts with label hartland quay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hartland quay. Show all posts

Friday, 2 December 2011

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? 

Friday, 15 July 2011

What’s your idea of beach heaven?

What’s the most essential ingredient for a great summer holiday? Many would argue that it’s the beach.

We’re lucky that the West Country is blessed with some of the finest – and cleanest – beaches in the UK. We think they should stay that way, so we’re proud to support the Marine Conservation Society.

Carbis Bay, North Cornwall
There are beaches to suit every preference, from secret coves to expanses of surf-washed sand. We decided to ask our followers on Twitter and Facebook for their recommendations.

On Twitter, @TISJOU (Julie R from Hampshire) said: “When we visit Cornwall kids like to visit Crackington Haven - nice little beach and they love the rock pools there!”

@dineathome (Trevor Bayfield) reckons for one of the best surfing beaches in a south west gale, Kennack Sands is hard to beat.

@bigmarv99 recommends Slapton Sands, with “a beautiful beach and good coffee at Seabreeze Cafe.”

@101polly (Polly Crossman) says “Daymer Bay on the Camel Estuary at low tide on a sunny day is unbeatable (but round the corner away from the crowds!)” Good local knowledge there!

And @chapelstcottage (Devon) likes “Hartland quay because it's so rugged, and Peppercombe or Bucks mills as so remote.”

Bigbury on Sea, South Devon
We asked the same question on Facebook, and got some more really helpful tips:

Alison Wright nominated two beaches: "Blackpool Sands in Devon for a beautiful horse-shoe beach, very easy flat access and close parking, and the most brilliant (licensed) beach cafe ever. Also Porthcurno Beach at the end of England - near to Sennen Cove. Again great beach cafe, very large beach so lots of things always going on!" 

Angie Wright also commented, recommending "Wembury Beach, lovely rock pools, great sand, lovely views and a super cafe!" 

Another recommendation was: “Widemouth Bay: amazing surf, laid back, non-commercial (but good cafe), great rock-pooling, feels like you are miles from anywhere, great for all ages. However if I have to give my absolute fave, it has to be Sennen and no need to explain the reasons for that one - amazing!”

Julie Beighton plumped for “Crantock. Beautiful sand and dunes. River running into sea. Like Margaret river in Western Australia.”

We decided to see if we could determine the most important factor when choosing a West Country beach to visit, so we created a Facebook poll – top answers so far: a friendly beach cafĂ© and rock pools to explore. You can see the beaches in Devon and Cornwall that made it into our top ten in this Facebook photo album.

We’d love to hear about your favourite West Country beaches, so do leave a comment below and take part in our poll!

You might also like to browse our holiday cottages near a sandy beach!
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