A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
CONTINUING our series on the best places for a staycation, this week we check out a superb National Trust cottage in Cornwall.
LOCATION IN A fairytale clearing on the Fowey estuary in Cornwall, and with densely wooded banks rising on either side, Pont Creek Cottage is a cosy and enchanting base from which to explore the area.
Just yards from the water’s edge, it is superbly located for walking the many footpaths along the creek, including Hall Walk, which starts on your doorstep and leads back to Fowey via a small ferry. Pont Creek shares this peaceful location with a cluster of cottages and holidays lets that nestle among the hills above the estuary, where small boats and kayaks bob into view as the tide rises.
THE PROPERTY CLOSE to The Farm House and Mohun, two more National Trust holiday lets, this simple stone building was once a stable with a loft above. You can still see the row of pigeon holes below its slate roof. It is split over two floors, with a spacious living room with a solid-fuel stove and small kitchen on the ground floor, and two bedrooms (one single, one double) on the upper floor. There is also a bathroom.
The garden stretches up towards the woods. A picnic table is set on a grassy ledge offering views across to the woods on the other side of the creek. There is a parking space raised above the quay next to the wooden garage and recycling area.
WHAT TO SEE FOWEY is a bustling town and popular with the sailing crowd who flock here in the summer to pootle about on the estuary, which becomes a blur of shimmering masts and colourful motor boats in high season. You can join in the fun by hiring a boat (or a kayak). Two ferries leave from either end of the town – a small passenger-only one shuttles across the estuary to Polruan, a typical Cornish village with a fantastic pub, The Lugger Inn, on the quayside.
A pleasant day can be spent browsing Fowey’s intriguing independent shops which pepper its pretty lanes. Further afield, there are many beaches (try secluded Lantic Bay) and the fishing towns of Looe and Polperro. Readymoney Cove is a wonderful spot, with a chance to glance the former home of writer Daphne du Maurier.
WHO TO CONTACT SEVEN nights at Pont Creek Cottage (nationaltrust holidays.org.uk, 0344 800 2070) cost from £366 in low season to £975 in high season.
VERDICT A FANTASTIC base for enjoying a slice of Cornish summer life, and great for a walking weekend.