Tag: Port Isaac

November 1, 2018 Camping and Glamping, UK 2 Comments

Unique places to stay in the UK….

Shaldon Beach Hut No.1 - one of my favourite unique places to stay in the UK

Unique places to stay in the UK

I love exploring my home country and seeking out unique and unusual accommodation is top of my list when I’m researching a trip. Although small the UK has some awesome places to stay. I’m a huge fan of camping and glamping but I also love staying in a classy hotel.  So I thought I would list down my favourite places to stay in the UK and explain what makes them unique. Read on for some inspiration on a staycation with a difference…

 

The Big Green Bus, East Sussex

This awesome bus needs no introduction on what makes it unique.  Matt and I stayed on the bus for my 30th birthday with friends, we had the best time!  Parked up in the Sussex countryside the Big Green Bus has been converted into a cosy retreat.  It sleeps six, with two double beds and bunk beds upstairs, has a fully-fitted kitchen, bathroom, lounge area and an outdoor heated shower (there’s also a shower inside.) The lounge has a log burner and there are all sorts of original bus fittings. Upstairs the front area is decked out with original seats and a collection of books; it was the perfect place to chill out with a glass of prosecco or two.  Outside there is a campfire and a wood fired hot tub for hire. This has to be one of the most unique places to stay in the UK!  Read more on my glamping trip on the bus here: All aboard the Big Green Bus: glamping in East Sussex.

 

 

Shaldon Beach Hut No. 1

I loved staying in this dreamy little beach hut.  Nestled on the shoreline of the Teign Estuary in Shaldon with direct access to the beach it is the prefect retreat from the world.  The beach hut is compact as you would expect but it is perfectly formed.  Inside is a galley kitchen, bathroom, lounge with a sofa bed, under floor heating and a lovely mezzanine level with a comfy mattress.  Bi-folding doors open out onto a private terrace overlooking the beach and steps leading onto the sand.  On a sunny day it’s a beautiful spot to sit, read and watch the world go by.  Shaldon is a tiny village in Devon full of west country charm.  There’s plenty to explore and gorgeous beaches too.  I wrote a post all about it: Beach Hut Living…

 

 

Hollies Cottage, Cheddar

This cottage in Somerset has to be one of the cosiest places I’ve stayed in on my list of unique places to stay in the UK. Matt, Emily and I had a lovely long weekend in Cheddar, Somerset for New Years Eve in 2016.  This quaint cottage had an open fire in the lounge and a spiral staircase leading up to the bedroom.  Drinking champagne by the fire on New Years Eve while watching fireworks out of the window at midnight was a lovely way to see in the New Year.  The cottage location is fantastic, it was very quiet but just what we wanted.  Along the road from the cottage sits The Cider Barn, full of west country cider and lovely locals.  Cheddar Gorge and caves is a 10 minute drive along the road and the gorgeous beaches of Weston-super-Mare only a 40 minute drive.

 

 

White House Cottage, Port Isaac

I have never stayed anywhere like Port Isaac, the picture perfect Cornish village is like no other.  Made famous by the popular TV series Doc Martin, it can get very busy during the summer months.  But during the winter months it’s a quiet and tranquil place to stay.  There is no parking in Port Isaac itself so you have to park on the outskirts and take a short walk down into the village.  We stayed in White House Cottage a few steps away from ‘Doc Martin’s House’ on Roscarrock Hill.  There is no parking with the house so it was a bit of trek to the car park but when you have views as lovely as in Port Isaac it really doesn’t matter.  White House Cottage had beautiful views of the harbour and Port Isaac itself from its elevated position on the hill. Turn left out of the house and follow the narrow road up onto the South West Coast Path, beautiful views and stunning walks are literally on the doorstep.  Port Isaac itself has some gorgeous shops, cosy pubs and cafes to buy an obligatory Cornish pasty or cream tea.  Tiny alleyways and quaint fishing houses all add to the charm of this stunning Cornish retreat.  For more on what to do in and around Port Isaac click here: Port Isaac, the ultimate Cornish Retreat…

 

 

Hotel du Vin, Poole

Boutique hotels with unique rooms are what a stay at Hotel du Vin are all about.  Matt and I stayed in the Poole hotel for his birthday, it was a gorgeous mini-break.  Our room was so stylish and featured a roll top bath in the centre of the room.  I loved the attention to detail and the way the room was in keeping with the building which dates back to 1776.  On the quayside in Poole Harbour it’s in a fantastic location for exploring this lovely area of the south coast.  Hop on a ferry to Brownsea Island or visit the upmarket area of Sandbanks. Hotel du Vin often have some great deals, we reserved a room which included dinner and breakfast.  The evening meal was so delicious and a sommelier to help pair our wine with our meal was a very nice touch.  A weekend in Poole, Dorset has all the details of our dreamy weekend escape.

 

 

A campervan

If you’ve read any of my other posts you’ll know I love a road trip, especially if it’s in a campervan.  Matt and I used to own a Mazda Bongo campervan and had some awesome adventures.  We went to Scotland, Wales, Dorset and spent a lot of time in Devon and Cornwall camping in some beautiful places.  We also camped closer to home on the beach on Hayling Island once and drank rum and coke until the early hours!  I loved having a campervan, having the freedom to go where you want, park up in a beach car park and have a cuppa while doing a surf check and having a few beers in the evening by a fire pit…there’s nothing better!  One of my all time favourites to camp at is Incledon Farm.  Being a working farm you often find a chicken or farm cat strolling by your van or tent.  Incledon Farm is in a tiny place called Georgham, just along the road from Croyde in Devon.  It’s a short drive to all the nearby surfing spots and a lovely spot for camping. As far as unique places to stay in the UK goes a campervan is at the top of my list. It is perfect for a staycation with a difference, choose where and when you stop and explore the open road.  If you are planning a road trip in the south west  The Cornwall Camper Company have some awesome vintage VW campers available to hire.

 

 

Beach Retreat, Milford on Sea

Owned by my parents the Beach Retreat started life as a garage, my Mum and Dad have turned it into a stunning one bedroom apartment.  Light, airy and full of seaside charm they have done a wonderful job and created a perfect little place for two to relax by the sea.  It has its own private entrance and parking and comes with a lovely little welcome pack of coffee,tea, milk, scones and jam.  Located a short walk from the seafront in Milford on Sea and a 10 minute walk to the village centre it’s a fantastic place for a break on the outskirts of the New Forest.

 

 

The Snug, Lymington

The Snug can be found in the old market town of Lymington on the edge of the New Forest. It is a cosy, boutique townhouse which has been lovingly restored and really lives up to its name. Full of character from the Belfast sink in the kitchen to the fireplace in the lounge, it’s a luxurious little bolthole for up to four people. The bathroom is an Instagrammers dream with a roll top bath and metro tiles, it has been finished to perfection.  All the small details have been thought of too, the gorgeous New Forest Aromatics products all produced locally add the finishing touch to the bathroom and the welcome pack full of local goodies is such a treat! A stones throw from the High Street, the cobbles and the quay the location couldn’t be better.

 

 

Have you stayed anywhere unusual in the UK? If so, let me know in the comments below. I’m always looking for somewhere unique to stay….

February 23, 2014 UK 6 Comments

Port Isaac, the ultimate Cornish retreat…

Beautiful views of Port Isaac from White House Cottage. This is one of my favourites in my blog on unique places to stay in the UK
View from White House Cottage, Port Isaac
There has been so many storms and flooding in Britain lately I was worried that it might affect our winter break away.  The drive down to Cornwall was quite unpleasant with a lot of water on the roads, trees down and very high winds.  But once we arrived the weather was glorious.  We only had one day of rain, which lent itself well to lounging by our log burner and scoffing afternoon tea!  Staying in the quaint fishing village of Port Isaac found on the North Cornish coast it was the perfect escape from everyday life.  With no phone signal in most areas of the village you have no choice but to relax and forget about all your daily worries.  (I cheated slightly when I started this blog as the cottage I was staying in had wi-fi, but I did limit my daily usage!)
If you stay down in the village a lot of cottages don’t have parking.  The roads in the village are also extremely narrow and can be a bit nerve-racking to drive along especially if you meet another car!  The closest place to park is the car park at the top of the hill.   A ten-minute stroll will take you down into the village centre.  Pasty shops, cafes serving cream teas, the Golden Lion pub, a few restaurants, (The Moat is my favourite) and some lovely shabby chic shops await.  Exploring the village doesn’t take long follow the narrow streets as they wind past quaint white washed cottages. Look out for Squeeze – ee -Belly Alley, as the name describes it is a very narrow walkway built-in between the cottages.  How very Cornish!  The harbour is good for an adventure when the tide is out, rock pools and caves appear and you can climb up onto the harbour wall.  For a scrummy dinner after all that activity head to the fishmongers right on the Platt.
For such a small village with a population of only about 700 people, Port Isaac is quite famous.  Home to the TV series ‘Doc Martin’ many tourists are attracted to this quaint part of the UK.  On that note one of the reasons why I prefer visiting in the winter months is that there is hardly anyone around, compared to the summertime.  ‘Keeping Mum’ starring Maggie Smith and Rowan Atkinson was also filmed in the community.  The sea shanty group Fisherman’s Friends have all lived and worked in Port Isaac, many are fishermen, and members of the lifeboat and coastguard.  They can be heard performing to huge crowds on the Platt every Friday night throughout the summer.  I would love to see them live, their powerful a cappella tones send shivers up my spine!
I love heading down to the south-west of the UK for surfing in the summer but there’s nothing like braving the elements and staying in a cosy cottage, log burner roaring, watching the winter swell roll in through the harbour.  Staying with our friends at White House Cottage this is exactly what we did.  Situated on Roscarrock Hill with magnificent three doors down from Doc Martin’s surgery and a stones throw from the village centre, harbour and the South West Coast Path at the top of Roscarrock hill.  There is a great viewpoint at the top by the way; from here you can look back down to Port Isaac and the surrounding rugged coastline, it is breathtaking and great for photos.  Don’t try walking up the hill with a hangover though, believe me it’s not fun!  The cottage itself had uninterrupted views across the harbour and village.  In fact you could see the beautiful view from every room, including the bathroom.  The novelty of brushing your teeth while watching the gulls soaring, waves crashing and fisherman in the harbour never got boring!  I loved lying in bed with the window open in the morning listening to the waves rolling softly into the harbour, utter bliss!  White House cottage also came with not one but two gardens.  One in front of the building and an upper garden, almost like a secret garden, set higher up above the cottage.  It was the perfect place to have the view all to yourself.

 

The nearby fishing village of Padstow is well worth a visit.  Colourful fishing boats are lined up in the harbour and the cobbled streets are filled with gift shops and pasty stops.  There is a lovely walk along the beach; you can also jump on a passenger ferry just over the water to Rock.  Padstow is home to the National Lobster Hatchery which I would thoroughly recommend visiting.  This charitable organisation focuses on marine conservation.  The work and aim of the hatchery is to protect and support local fishing communities by rearing and releasing these beautiful crustaceans into the wild.  The lobster population has declined over the years due to over fishing and poor survival rates.  An interesting fact that I learnt via the hatchery website is that a female lobster can hold up to 20,000 eggs, with only one of those expected to survive in the wild!  The hatchery has lots of information and you can see the laboratories and baby lobsters at different stages before release.
While in Cornwall there are a few must dos on the food and drink front.  First and foremost you must have a pasty.  This very traditional Cornish delight is a savoury pastry typically filled with beef, potato, suede and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper and crimped on the edge to hold it all together.  There are some tasty alternatives such as steak and Stilton and you can even get sweet pasties.  Be careful if you are eating your pasty in a seaside town such as Padstow though as the cheeky seagulls have become wise to tourists and will dive bomb you for your lunch, keep that pasty protected!  A cream tea is another west country treat, scones accompanied with jam, cream and a pot of tea.  There is much debate around which way you should put the jam and cream on the scone.  Jam before cream is apparently the Cornish way, cream before jam is the Devon way.  I prefer spreading the jam first and then putting the cream on top.  Our favourite Cornish beverages include, Rattler, cloudy cyder and Doom Bar, an ale brewed in the small village of Rock close to Port Isaac.  Back in Port Isaac The Golden Lion is the perfect place to warm up with a local beverage; the tiny public house is the centre of village life, has a lovely open fire and a friendly atmosphere.
It always amazes how time passes so quickly when you are on holiday, our days centred on lovely walks, food, drink, afternoon naps and cups of tea by the log burner.  Port Isaac is my ultimate Cornish retreat and I can’t wait to visit again soon…