DEvoN'S rIvEr CoUNtrY - Helpful Holidays

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. . . lots to explore . . . . . . lake for watersports DEvoN’S rIvEr CoUNtrY … and on an ancient, Domesday-mentioned farm (owned and worked by the same family for fifteen generations) and a stone’s throw from Roadford Lake (400 yards from a bird hide and fabulous for walkers) is this attractive cottage, carefully converted from a barn. To the front, a patio (table/chairs), and enclosed, mainly lawned garden (barbecue area) with great long views over the surrounding countryside and lots of birds (lovely birdsong). Great for night sky watching. Roadford Lake: spectacular 730-acre reservoir and country park in beautiful, sparsely populated farmland. Big watersports centre: boats, kayaks and windsurf boards for hire (courses/instruction available); trout fishing; archery, high ropes, climbing wall. Visitors’ centre/café from which various walks (good birdwatching; disabled facilities), 3 miles; birdwatching hides, 1. Germansweek (church), 1 mile; shops and pubs, 5. The sea/beaches of north Cornwall (Bude, Boscastle, see pages 172 and 173), 20. ... near the top end of Roadford Lake and at the end of a no through lane is this brilliantly renovated, mainly 17th cent. farmhouse. Set back and up a slope from the lane, so lovely views from all front windows. Lots of wildlife and lambs often (spring/summer) can be seen in surrounding fields. In front, superb large patio/terrace with flower tubs/hanging baskets, at the back much lawn space with ancient oak. A wing of the house is devoted to an indoor heated swimming pool (21’ x 10’ x 3’ to 5’6” deep) with first floor viewing gallery, huge arched glazed doorway to second patio. Adjacent games/exercise room with sauna, rowing and cycling machines, pool table, table tennis, darts, shower and loo. Inside, nicely fitted with oak floors and local photos, all done to a high standard. Goodsized living/dining room (woodburner, TV/DVD) with leather sofas. Smart fitted kitchen (dishwasher, washing-machine, microwave, fridge-freezer, Belfast sink) with door to patio. Downstairs loo (washbasin). Upstairs, three bedrooms – a large double with en suite shower-room (suite, double shower), another double, and a twin with one bed under the eaves (reduced head height, best for children). Smart bathroom (suite with separate double shower). A really comfortable, friendly base in this lovely, timeless area; easily accessible with lots to explore within a half hour drive. ★★★★ Ref: J24 Sleeps 6 Bedrooms 3 Friday Bathrooms 2 Price: GG CH WB T HC O SHORT BREAKS Inside, the house is beautifully decorated and furnished, light and sunny: ceilings beamed, but not low; all slate floors/rugs downstairs. Entrance (stable doors) from the terrace to small hall; living/dining room with marvellous inglenook open fireplace, window seat, TV/DVD and French windows to patio (table/chairs); reading room (woodburner in ancient fireplace, window seat); excellent, bright, modern kitchen (dishwasher, washer-drier, microwave, fridge-freezer, double oven/halogen hob, pine table) with back door to garden and stairs (stairgate) down to the pool, sauna, etc; twin bedroom with door to pool viewing gallery and en suite bathroom (suite plus hand-shower); another downstairs loo (washbasin). Upstairs (stairgate), three bedrooms – a double plus single bed with ceiling open to the rafters and en suite bathroom (suite with separate shower), a double with en suite shower-room (suite), and a twin with en suite bathroom (suite plus hand-shower), both latter with wood floors/rugs. All have views of the lake and far beyond. This is a very high quality place in a very peaceful and beautiful setting. Petrockstowe: little far-from-beaten-track village (pub) in farmland a mile from the Tarka Trail. River Torridge (fishing), 2 miles; Fishleigh Estate (location of original ‘Springwatch’ series), 3 miles; Sheepwash (famous fishermen’s pub), 3; Hatherleigh (market town), 4; Dartmoor, 11; sea/ beaches at Westward Ho! or Instow, about 15, or surfing at Bude (see page 172), 20. ... in Petrockstowe, beside a no through lane close to the village centre and next to the church (chimes), a delightful, 300-yearold, detached, thatched cottage called Monks. Sunken suntrap patio with steps up to unfenced raised lawn (toddlers take care) with barbecue; shed for bicycles/surfboards. Elderly bicycles can be borrowed, but please mend punctures. Children’s playground, 100 yards. Well-equipped kitchen/dining room (dishwasher, washing machine, microwave, fridge-freezer); living room with exposed beams, inglenook fireplace (woodburner) with bread oven, TV/DVD, MP3 speaker system; lobby with tumble drier; downstairs bathroom (suite plus hand-shower, 6’ ceiling). Stairs from the living room up to three bedrooms – a pretty double with en suite shower-room (suite), a small bunk room (3’ beds), and one with two single beds. A light, welcoming cottage. ★★★★ Ref: J149 Sleeps 9 Bedrooms 4 Saturday Bathrooms 4 Price: S CH WB OF D 2HC O SHORT BREAKS ★★★ Ref: J152 Sleeps 6 Bedrooms 3 Saturday Bathrooms 2 Price: E CH WB T HC O SHORT BREAKS Prices: pages 217 and 218 Symbols guide: page 208 Important points to note: page 215 Booking form: page 211 Electricity, heating, bed linen and duvets included unless stated otherwise 43
DEvoN’S rIvEr CoUNtrY: walk the meadows . . . . . . and hear the elusive nightjar Combebow: hamlet in a wooded valley just north-west of Dartmoor. Bridestowe (pub, shop, church), 2 miles; Lewdown (see right), 3 miles. Lydford (see page 135) and the open moor, 5 miles. Okehampton (small town, golf, tennis, indoor swimming pool, cinema), 8 miles. Launceston, 10 miles. Good base for touring Devon and Cornwall (easy access to A30). … in Combebow, a very private, detached little house (originally used for storing and bottling honey) in 54 acres of meadows and bluebell woods through which you are welcome to walk, with the river Lew tumbling past (private fishing). Also in the grounds are the owners’ house and a 12th cent. mill, registered with English Heritage - all the original machinery is still there. To its front, an enclosed garden, well-tended and much loved, with terrace (table/chairs, barbecue), wisteria arbour and willow ‘igloo’, serene wooded views and abundant bird life. Inside, neat, modern and very well done with terracotta flooring in an open-plan living (TV/DVD)/dining/fitted kitchen (dishwasher, washer-drier, microwave, fridge-freezer); attractive downstairs bathroom (suite plus bath-shower). Open tread stairs up to two bedrooms – a double and a twin, both with Velux windows and sloping ceilings. An oasis of tranquillity. ★★★½ Ref: J140 Sleeps 4 Bedrooms 2 Saturday Bathrooms 1 Price: F CH T HC O Lewdown: village (PO/shop, pub) in woodedvalley farmland: very peaceful with wonderful views of Dartmoor (6 miles). Lewtrenchard (hotel/ restaurant), ⅓ mile. Dramatic Lydford Gorge, 6 miles. Launceston (shops, leisure centre), 7 miles; north coast, about 25 (good road). Roadford Lake (see page 43), 3. Easy access to Two Moors Way (walking) and Dingles Steam Village (seasonal). … a mile from the centre of Lewdown is this ‘chocolate box’ pretty, detached and thatched little cottage on the 750 acre Lewtrenchard estate. The cottage nestles behind a high hedge down a tranquil no through lane in the wooded Lewtrenchard valley. It overlooks its lovely garden (bench, table/chairs) and the valley of the river Lew which is close by. The renowned Lewtrenchard Manor Hotel (fine restaurant) is within easy walking distance. A little entrance porch leads into the beamed living room (open fire, TV/DVD), off which is the dining room. Also downstairs, a modern Shaker-style fitted kitchen (dishwasher, washer-drier, microwave), and bathroom (suite plus bath-shower). Upstairs, two bedrooms – a double (5’ bed) accessed through a twin - and loo (washbasin) with sloping ceiling. Some low beams and doorways. Shed for bicycle storage. No children under 5, except pre-crawling babies. A magical cottage in a peaceful location with lovely walks from the doorstep. ★★★½ Ref: J101 Sleeps 4 Bedrooms 2 Friday Bathrooms 1 Price: FF NSH EH OF T HC O SHORT BREAKS … also in Combebow, on the road that runs through it, a superb conversion of a detached, single-storey ‘olde’ smithy, very smart and hugely convenient for touring Devon and Cornwall. At the back, a large, very private, mostly lawned, enclosed garden with patio (table/chairs, barbecue) and you are welcome to walk the owners’ 30 acres of bluebell woods with 12th cent. mill (see J140, above). The floors throughout the smithy are oak-effect. From the garden, steps and wheelchair access lead to stable doors to smart fitted kitchen (dishwasher, washer-drier, microwave, fridge-freezer), opening into spacious, light, stylish living/dining room with TV/DVD, soft leather sofas, French windows to garden, and woodburner where once the smithy’s furnace stood. Two pretty bedrooms – a double with en suite shower-room (suite), and a twin; bathroom (suite with whirlpool bath plus bathshower); both bathrooms are fully tiled with porcelain. Excellent place. Gulworthy: hamlet (Horn of Plenty restaurant), 3 miles west of Tavistock (see page 139), deep in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, just on the Devon side of the river Tamar (canoe expeditions). Nat.Trust Cotehele House and Buckland Abbey, 4 and 6 miles. Plymouth with its shops, theatres, Nat. Marine Aquarium and historic Barbican, 11 miles. … about a mile from Gulworthy, set in 2 acres of Nat. Heritage Site woodland, a totally private, secluded little detached singlestorey house surrounded by a woodland garden (table/chairs, barbecue, 3 steps) – a fantastic spot for those seeking complete calm and oneness with the natural environment. The distinctive call of the elusive nightjar can be heard here, and don’t be surprised by deer walking through the garden. Once a drying house for miners’ working clothes, now an immaculate cosy cottage. From the garden, 3 shallow steps to door into living/dining/fitted kitchen (washer-drier, microwave) with inglenook (woodburner – logs included), TV/DVD and exposed high ceiling beams, through to roomy double bedroom (6’ zip-linked bed) with en suite shower-room (suite). Miles of woodland walking trails from your doorstep (maps provided). No children. Brilliant, romantic, chill-out place. ★★★★½ Ref: J17 Sleeps 4 Bedrooms 2 Friday Bathrooms 2 Price: GG UFH WB T HC O ★★★½ Ref: J21 Sleeps 2 Bedrooms 1 Saturday Bathrooms 1 Price: CC B NSH WB O SHORT BREAKS 44 Enquiries and bookings: 01647 433593, Mon-thu 9am-9pm; Fri 9am-7.30pm; Sat 9am-5pm More photos, real-time availability and online booking: www.helpfulholidays.com
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