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. 

You can’t beat a beautiful view…

Whether you’re a coast lover or a land lubber, most people appreciate a good view – from seaside scenes to rolling countryside. Some views are good to sit and enjoy with a drink, others are ideal as the backdrop for more active pursuits.

View from Chy Bre

Chy Bre, looking out over St Mawes in Cornwall, has a fantastic area of decking with table and chairs, perfect for alfresco dining whilst taking in the long views across the Percuil River and countryside beyond. In fact this detached, timber-style, single-storey house has beautiful sea views from all front rooms.

The excellent location means that it’s less than 10 minutes’ walk from the shops,  restaurants, harbour, two sandy beaches and castle in the beautiful village of St Mawes.  Set at the end of the lovely Roseland Peninsula, this area is great for both watersports and country walks, as well as being an ideal base for visiting Falmouth. Sleeps 4.

Seccombe Barn

Seccombe Barn is set in a stunning location just a stone’s throw away from Roadford Lake, a spectacular 730-acre reservoir and country park in beautiful, sparsely populated farmland in Devon. This attractive cottage, carefully converted from a barn, has a patio to the front with long views over the surrounding countryside where you can while away the hours.

There’s plenty of opportunity to get active with windsurfing, kayaking and climbing on your doorstep, or perhaps some more leisurely birdwatching, fishing or walking will suit? If you’re out in the evening, you’ll appreciate views of a slightly different sort – the area is great for night sky watching. This is a really comfortable, friendly base in a lovely, timeless area; easily accessible with lots to explore within a half hour drive. Sleeps 6.

Take a look at our holiday cottages with sea views and our holiday cottages with countryside views.

If views are your thing, our friendly telephone team can help you locate the best fodder for your camera, your binoculars or just your eyes – call them on 01647 433593 for a chat.

A room with a view…

There are many writers, artists and musicians who have been inspired by sea views - spy thriller writer John le Carre, for instance, lives in a rambling house at the top of a cliff near Penzance. Virginia Woolf wrote To the Lighthouse inspired by views of a beach near St Ives. 

The best coastal holiday cottages have uninterrupted views across blue waters and golden sand that will have you champing at the bit to get out for a barefoot walk in the morning. These two apartments were made for their coastal panorama and are both fantastic chill-out places to stay.

Fort Picklecombe was built in 1848 to protect Plymouth, so a clear line of sight over the waves was vital. The fort is now converted into excellent apartments but you still may see warships passing by the window as Plymouth is home to the largest Naval base in Western Europe. Not that you'd know it from the calm rock pool beach below Lighthouse View - a neat and stylish apartment, perfect for a breakfast on the balcony to soak up the stunning seascape. Beautifully kept shared gardens are an added bonus. Sleeps two.

Pentire, Newquay, enjoys the quieter side of the Cornish town famed for its beaches. Smart and sunny Pentire Heights Apartment is ideally located - it has no less than five sandy shores nearby. Its lovely long views are of Fistral beach, which is very popular with surfers and other watersports enthusiasts. Proximity to the coastal path makes this a great base for walkers, too. Sleeps five.

Take inspiration from our selection of West Country holiday cottages with sea views.

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