Holiday cottages with fishing nearby…

Image courtesy South West Lakes Trust

Why do you fish? Chances are it’s a mixture of the peace and quiet, the water at your feet, the challenge of outsmarting your quarry, the odd flash of excitement – and the fun of regaling your friends with fishy tales. Here are some good places to stay in the West Country with fishing available nearby… 

Dartmeet gets its name from being where the East and West Dart Rivers meet in a beautiful moorland wooded valley - some of Dartmoor’s most glorious scenery. Brimptsmead is a handsome stone cottage with twelve acres of woods and meadows, stretching to the river (with private salmon / trout fishing), and direct access to the moor for panoramic country walks. Sleeps 5.

Mousehole has been a thriving fishing village for over 500 years and the horseshoe of granite cottages is perhaps the prettiest in all Cornwall. 150 yards up from the bustling little centre of shops, pubs and cafés is The Queach, a traditional, comfortable and much loved stone-and-slate cottage with stunning sea views. The perfect place to charter a boat and try your hand at sea fishing. Sleeps 6.

In Combebow, you’ll find Honey House, a very private, detached little house (originally used for storing and bottling honey) in 54 acres of meadows and bluebell woods. Doesn’t that sound idyllic? There’s private fishing available in the river Lew, which tumbles past nearby. This is an oasis of tranquillity, but also a good base for touring Devon and Cornwall. Sleeps 4.

Near Lustleigh, Dartmoor, just a mile from beautiful fishing reservoirs and walks, is a very much praised and appreciated place. Attached to the charming owners' farmhouse (and 35 acre farm) are four very good and attractive cottages, three made from barns. It’s an idyllic setting, with an abundance of flora and fauna and farm animals all around. After a day’s angling, you can also make a splash in the indoor heated swimming pool. Each cottage sleeps 4.

This Tregonhawke Farm Apartment (we also let a farmhouse on the same farm) has the owner’s own coarse fishing lake nearby. This is a spacious, comfortable first-floor apartment looking over the garden to farmland (you should spot horses, hens, Dexter cattle). You can enjoy sitting out on your own private decked area to reflect on the day’s catch. A good place for honeymooners, walkers and fishermen. Sleeps 2.

In the beautiful creek-side hamlet of Port Navas, the whole of the top floor of Bosoljack, a former boathouse, is yours to enjoy. You can fish directly off the pier into the tidal creek, which leads into the Helford River. If you want to head out a little further, boat hire is available in the area, plus, you have temporary membership of Port Navas Sailing Club for the duration of your stay! Sleeps 4.

Whether you enjoy freshwater or sea fishing, there are plenty of opportunities for both beginners and experienced anglers in the West Country. For ease, why not browse all our holiday cottages with private fishing, or call us on 01647 433593 and we’ll help you find the best cottage as a base for your angling adventures?

Fishing in the West Country...

If you’re a keen angler, you’ll know that fishing can be a tremendously enjoyable pastime whilst on holiday. The West Country boasts many rivers, streams, watercourses and water impoundments, ideal for fishing for salmon, sea trout, brown trout, grayling and coarse fish.

The West Country Angling Passport provides two easy ways to go fishing – a token scheme which provides flexible access to many miles of wild, uncharted waters, or a booking office where you can reserve fishing on more established main river beats.

The Passport initiative was started to provide access to a considerable undeveloped fishing resource on many farms and properties within Cornwall and Devon. By facilitating the sustainable development of this resource, the Trust aims to provide farmers and landowners with an economic incentive to protect and enhance the rivers, streams and lakes of the West Country.

The Passport is not-for-profit and this means the money anglers pay to go fishing goes straight back to the fishery owners and then the Trust in turn helps the owners invest their revenue back into the fishery. In effect, simply by going fishing on the Passport waters, anglers are helping to protect and improve the West Country’s fisheries.

There are some fantastic areas to choose from – for example the Duchy of Cornwall fishing on Dartmoor. The East and West Dart rivers and their tributaries provide some of the best salmon and trout fishing in the UK – there are over 25kms of river to be explored.

Hiring a guide (or ghillie) can really make all the difference between catching fish and drawing a blank, especially if you’re a novice. Depending on where you’re staying or want to go fishing, give one of the guides listed here a call and have a chat about what you want to get out of your day’s fishing. 

Near to the pretty village of Lustleigh, nestling into the eastern edge of Dartmoor you’ll find Stable Corner, a much praised and appreciated cottage (one of four we let on this 35 acre farm). You’re just one mile from attractive trout and pike fishing reservoirs – also ideal for walks and birdwatching.

Further afield, anglers can try their luck at catching salmon, trout, perch, roach and bream on the Exeter Ship Canal and River Exe.

Just ½ mile from the old village of Millbrook and the big sandy beach at Whitsand Bay is Tregonhawke Farmhouse, a smashing home from home. Just 300 yards away there is a coarse fishing lake (carp, tench, roach, rudd, bream and perch – some as large as 25lbs!) with fishing free for residents. You’re also not far from coarse fishing lakes covered by Plymouth & District Coarse Angling Club with fish available including specimen carp, bream, chub, tench, perch, roach, rudd, gudgeon, orfe, dace and crucian carp.

Wherever you stay in the West Country, you won’t have to travel too far to go fishing, but for ease, take a look at these holiday cottages with private fishing included.