Follow Poldark to a cute coastal cottage
Cottage holiday joys: On the coastal path at Porthgwarra in Cornwall, where Ross Poldark took his famous swim
THE COTTAGE break season is really kicking off now now. As the weather warms up, who doesn’t dream of slipping off to a coastal or rural hideaway to recharge batteries and rediscover Britain in its springtime finery?
Raised expectations mean that many holiday cottages and lodges are now mini-destinations, offering a mindboggling array of home comforts, from saunas and hot tubs to wi-fi and brilliant sound systems.
And, beyond this, having a base in a beautiful locality provides a gateway to countless happy holiday explorations.
Every day can be an adventure, from beachcombing and rock-pooling to climbing castle ramparts or walking on the coastal path with astounding views and foodie treats at pubs along the way.
Properties range from barn conversions on working farms to cute seaside stone cottages and grand country houses — most of them impeccably done up.
Order an online supermarket delivery for your arrival and you’ll be all set to enjoy a home-from-home or better.
They can offer great value, too. Holiday Cottages has worked out that a twoweek cottage stay for four in Devon, at £822, costs £2,000 less than a four-star family hotel stay in Spain, when extras such as airport parking are factored in.
Cottage agencies report a trend this year for larger houses, where friends can escape city flats and relax together in stylish, spacious surroundings. And there has been an increase in searches for pet-friendly properties, which make up almost half of holiday lettings.
Word is that bookings are flying in for high season, as the staycation trend booms yet again. So do act if you want a guaranteed summer escape or a freedom break at low prices before the holiday hotspots start to hum with visitors. THE sweeping shots of gorgeous, sunny coastline in BBC1’s Poldark series have put Cornwall at the top of many people’s cottage break search list, with Visit Cornwall seeing a 65 per cent leap in traffic on its website.
Grab a piece of Poldark history by kayaking around the mining landscape at St Agnes Head or venturing underground at the Poldark Mine, near Helston.
Then bed down in an idyllic cottage on the chic Trelowarren Estate, just minutes from some of those clifftops over which Ross is constantly riding. Or unwind amid wild flowers, seals and birdlife in a St Aubyn Estates Holidays property at Porthgwarra, where Ross stripped off and swam in crystal clear waters.
Cornish male voice choirs are often rooted in former mining communities. See them in action at various venues during the Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival from April 29 to May 4, the biggest event of its kind in Europe. BEEN missing ITV’s Mr Selfridge instead? Treworgie, sleeping four plus one at St Margaret’s Bay, Kent (available through Mulberry Cottages), is close to South Foreland Lighthouse, which was a location for the recent series when the store-based characters took a trip to the sea. The views across the Channel are spectacular from the cottage’s sunny balcony.
Bramley and Teal, meanwhile, has a good choice of holiday cottages close to the golden beach and dunes at Camber Sands, East Sussex, the location for postD-Day landing scenes in George Clooney’s film The Monuments Men — and also in the pretty medieval Cinque Port of Rye, the setting for BBC 1’s Mapp And Lucia.