Indulge your guilty holiday pleasure: sit back and soak up West Country views…

Stopping to smell the roses is a big part of the West Country holiday culture. If gazing idly at a glorious view is your guilty pleasure, take a look at this selection of holiday homes.

Sandsgate, three miles from Chagford in Devon, is a magnificent detached house with superb sweeping views across the river Teign valley to Chagford, the National Trust’s Castle Drogo and the moors beyond. It has just been beautifully refurbished and extended, so you can enjoy it as one family or with a larger group of family and friends. The quarter-of-a-mile driveway approaching the house, set in 18 acres of gardens and woodland, makes the perfect start for a special gathering.

Apartment16 is just 20 yards from the beach at Bigbury-on-Sea, South Hams - a perfect vantage point from which to enjoy the shifting panorama. The tide below the first floor apartment will creep in, giving waterside views to Burgh Island, and drift out again, revealing a huge expanse of smooth washed yellow sand. The island's jolly pub, The Pilchard, is fun to visit, whether you walk across the beach or take the long-legged sea tractor at high tide. Visitors can also enjoy the leisure club, including a smart bar and kidney-shaped pool.

Salcombe is one of the most beautifully sited small towns in Britain. It sits at the mouth of the Kingsbridge estuary, where the spacious Underbecks is perched, looking out over bobbing yachts and South Sands’ golden beach. The loungers on the enclosed terrace are in an ideal spot for taking in the sensational views upstream to Salcombe itself. When it’s time to go and explore, boats can be hired locally and the National Trust’s Overbecks is less than half a mile away.

For a real taste of West Country history, head to the once famous Elizabethan port and beautifully kept old town of Dartmouth. At Last is a Grade II listed town house with views over the river Dart to Kingswear and situated just above Bayards Cove – the oldest part of Dartmouth's harbour with cobbled quayside.

For more outstanding vantage points, take a look at our holiday cottages with sea views and holiday cottageswith country views in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. 

Waterside adventure or relaxation?

Do you want adventure or relaxation on your next holiday? The West Country has locations to cater for both and we'll help you find a holiday cottage you'll look forward to getting home to at the end of each day.

Salcombe in the South Hams, a yacht haven beautifully sited at the mouth of the Kingsbridge estuary, offers outdoor activities galore. How about a spot of wreck diving in search of gold, power boating or learning to sail? Perhaps a more leisurely boat trip exploring the many creeks, a walk along the pretty coast path or a visit to the gardens of inventor Otto Overbeck? Countless sandy bays and waterside pubs provide an excuse to relax outdoors, as well.

And when the mood takes you to spend a day lounging at home, Hazeldene (sleeps four) is a fabulous, easy base. Once you have stopped to admire the sea view from the decked garden area (pictured above) it will be hard to tear yourself away... but it is so close to the beach at North Sands, you may be tempted to dip your toes in the sparkling estuary waters. It's easy to see why this refurbished and carefully furnished apartment is the owners' much loved bolt hole.

Nestled away in Feock in Cornwall's Med is Cuttle Cottage (sleeps seven, pictured right) with beautiful views over Restronguet Creek. Although it's only 5 miles from the cathedral city of Truro and 7 miles from the harbour town of Falmouth, this delightful cottage is a peaceful retreat. The welcoming woodburning stove and waterside views make this an ideal place to while away the hours. If you're looking for time away from the kitchen, treat yourselves to a meal at the nearby Pandora Inn - it won Pub of the Year in the 2010 Cornwall Tourism Awards.

There's no time to get bored here either. At the nearby Point Quay children can enjoy swimming and boats can be launched. Sailing, windsurfing and canoeing lessons are all available close by, as well as fishing, riding, golf and plenty of creek-side walks for land lovers. Trelissick Garden is well worth a visit and the King Harry Ferry transports cars and pedestrians from this finger of land to the pretty Roseland Peninsula.

We'll help you find your perfect balance of adventure and relaxation. For more ideas, take a look at our other holiday cottages in Salcombe and holiday cottages in Feock or give our team a call on 01647 433593.

Rooms with a view...

We've some wonderful new waterside properties with sensational views, just in time for the summer holidays...

A stunning family home in Salcombe (pictured left) is set high in wooded gardens looking out over South Sands with a private footpath leading down to the beach. Sleeping 17, it's a haven for a large family group to kick back and relax after days out exploring the countless creeks and sandy bays along the estuary.

On a smaller scale, right on the river beach in Teignmouth, is a toes-in-the-water fisherman's cottage (pictured left) sleeping four. Difficult not to while away the hours watching the ever-changing estuary views but there's also plenty to do here and across the water in pretty Shaldon. Or perhaps venture inland to explore spectacular Dartmoor?