Monday 1 August 2022

Seascape Escape @ The Old Coach House, St Martin, Looe, Cornwall


Seascape Escape @ the Old Coach House offers self-catering accommodation in a splendid longhouse on the coast near Looe, in Cornwall. The house is set in a 70-acre holding that has been rewilding since the 1980s, so it’s positively heaving with wildlife.

The house is off-grid; there’s no mains electricity or gas. So you can find out how easy it is to live comfortably, yet independently of the main energy companies. And being off the grid with no wifi makes the house one of the rare places in the UK that’s free of electrosmog; many guests have said that they have a wonderful feeling of calm and serenity when staying here.

The house can sleep up to 8 people in all, and bedding and towels are provided. Downstairs, close to a shower room and loo, is a bedroom with a kingsize bed, and upstairs are two doubles in a family room under the eaves. This arrangement constitutes the house alone, sleeping up to 6. Then there’s an annexe, a self-contained studio flat for 2, with wc and kitchenette, as an optional extra. The annexe is not let separately.

The lighting and refrigeration in the house come from solar panels, and the hot water comes from solar tubes and the woodburner range. So whether you get hot water or not depends largely on your own ability to raise fire! All firewood is included in the price. The warmth from the wood burner gently diffuses throughout the building, but as there’s no thermostat the temperature will probably vary more than you’re used to.

There is no tv, no music centre ... but for your entertainment, edification and delight indoors, they provide some books, packs of cards, board games and a few simple musical instruments. They also have a mobile recharging point, and most networks seem to be in range.

As an optional extra and for a supplement, they offer exclusive use of the home-built, wood-fired hot tub. It is small and intimate, seating 2/3 people and out in the open air, so (weather permitting) you can stargaze whilst gently steaming in the warm water.

Outside are 70 acres of steep hillside, with rare-breed sheep and goats; there are also woodlands and coastal slopes to explore. Access to our own half-mile of beach, 300 feet below, is via steep paths, some very steep steps – and a thick knotted rope down the last 60-odd feet of shale slope.

Most animals also enjoy a change of scene, and this unspoilt corner of Cornwall is ideal for you and your dog. The dog-friendly beach means they can discover the joys of the sea - and there are footpaths and tracks where they can pick up the nostril-quivering scents of the fertile grasslands and rich woodland floors – but NB as the rough woodland terrain around the house means it’s impossible to securely fence the garden, your dog’s recall rate will need to be reliable.

This part of Cornwall is much quieter and more secluded than Newquay, Padstow, Falmouth, Penzance. The land is on the gentle green, hilly and wooded south coast; just a couple of miles away in one direction is the village of Seaton / Downderry, splendid for holidaymakers and (occasionally) surfers; and the other way is Looe, a proper working fishing village with a couple of good beaches as well.

For more information please visit our website:


https://www.theholidaycottages.co.uk/Cornwall/16335

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