BARFORD BEACH HOUSE, CORNWALL
The coastline – beautifully rugged coves of gold, with bright sea beyond – is the reason you visit Cornwall. So it would make sense, then, to build a holiday home here that showcases this view in all its spectacular glory. Maybe that’s the brief the owners of Barford Beach House in Widemouth gave themselves, because it’s almost impossible not to spend all your time looking outwards when staying here. And there are views from every floor-to-ceiling window. In fact, the entire length of this incredible state-of-the-art home is glass on one side, so you’re always looking out to sea.
Upstairs, it’s even more breathtaking. There’s possibly the grandest master suite ever, with sky-scraper windows leading to a balcony with those panoramic views; a superking-sized bed; log burner; a wood-clad cocktail bar; and a white marble bathroom with an extraordinary copper bath. There are five more superking bedrooms, all with en suites. Two of the rooms sleep four, with a mezzanine-level double or bunk beds. In short, this is the perfect place for an extended family or a pile of friends looking to live a little fabulously.
This may be the most entertaining place we’ve ever stayed – we lose our kids for hours to the cinema room or the secret bunker, an underground bar with a pool table and arcade-game machines. We also lose ourselves, happily, to the outdoor hot tub and indoor sauna, and to the outdoor sofa area and log burner – the ideal spot to watch the sun set.
In the spare moments we manage to drag ourselves away from the beach house, we go rock pooling in our cove, take a dip in the sea at family-friendly Bude, and devour pasties and ice cream in abundance. But these trips are fleeting, because when your holiday home is this good, you don’t want to leave it. LEANNE WARRICK