Imagine being able to sit outside on a beautiful terrace and look down across a Cornish harbour, where sea meets sky, and fishing boats float across the horizon. It seems rather like a lovely dream now, but that’s exactly what we were able to do for a magical four days out of our busy, busy London lives this summer.
Last August Bank Holiday Mark, Hannah, Rachel and myself – plus Lettice the Miniature Dachshund, drove the six hours from London down to the very South West tip of England to stay in the small fishing village of Mevagissey on Cornwall’s south coast. We had a lovely trip down, stopping in Wiltshire for the night, and in Fowey, en route, for a lunch of Cornish pasties eaten sitting on the harbour wall, (I wrote about it here.)
I had been lent beautiful Penpol, part of Polpier & Penpol, a twin estate perched high up on the hill overlooking Mevagissey. Polpier, the larger house sleeps sixteen, and is also used as a licensed wedding venue. Next door is Penpol, the square white weather-boarded house which sleeps ten, and where we were to stay for the long weekend. (They are usually booked together, but each can be booked separately too.)
Each night I would cook supper and we would eat outdoors, in the gentle August evenings, drinking wine (us), and trying to protect everyone from dangerous imaginary squirrels (Lettice).
The house is very much Cornish chic – all blues, and greys and slate floors. The furnishings are a mixture of modern and antique
rather minimal, in the nicest possible way, and so it never feels crowded. All the domestic offices are at one side of the ground floor – a cloakroom, and a huge utility room, with extensive laundry facilities and space for boots and coats.
Of course I was thrilled to discover that the house china was blue Spode, so I was in heaven. There isn’t a traditional cooker – the AGA range sits resplendent in the kitchen, always on. I grew up with one, so I am wise to their ways, but if you are a large party you’ll need to plan your meals in advance, as it’s astonishing how quickly the heat can leach out from the top hotplates.
The huge eat-in kitchen runs the width of the house, with a proper larder, and a table big enough for the biggest of families. Next door is the sitting room, with wide French windows opening onto the terrace.
It’s a house that is full of light, even on the gloomiest of August days.
Penpol is so large, with its five double bedrooms, that there was always plenty of space for reading, napping and dreaming. (One of the bedrooms is a self contained flat-let under the house, set into the hillside, with its own terrace, which we didn’t need.)
Although someone was always alert…
The showers are good and powerful, and the baths deep.
There are wonderful gardens on the hillside to the left and beneath of Penpol, through which you can walk as a short-cut down to the harbour. On balmy summer days the secret chapel garden provides lovely arbours and niches in which to read and seek shade.
Whilst we were staying at Penpol, its parent property Polpier (below) is just next door, up the hill. There is an internal pathway between the houses, but the gates can be locked for privacy and two house parties can happily co-exist without bothering each other. But just imagine the amazing house party you could have if you booked both houses…together they sleep between 22 and 26 people.
We wandered up with the off-site housekeeper for a good look around. At Polpier, below the huge lawn, is a heated outdoor swimming pool, with a slate terrace, and behind the house is a club standard synthetic clay tennis court. There is even a glasshouse, with a vine and where peaches grow.
There is this wonderful pergola terrace for outdoor meals.
Downstairs at Polpier there are a series of huge rooms in which to relax and play. There’s a games room complete with a table tennis table, a snooker room, and a Bose home cinema system in the main sitting room. The piece de resistance is the main entrance hall, which doubles as a disco, complete with DJ booth and decks and a disco ball.
The rooms upstairs are gloriously calming. (There are eight bedrooms in Polpier, of which seven have ensuite bathrooms.)
The nearest station is St Austell, 15 minutes drive away
The nearest airport is Newquay
Dogs are welcome, with an additional charge of £50 per dog
Heated outdoor swimming will be open Friday 25th March 2016 to Friday 7th October 2016
Sit down meals with a private chef for up to 42 can be arranged, and wedding, hen and stag parties are also welcome
More information can be found here
Polpier and Penpol can be booked through Kate and Toms here.
Four of us (and Lettice the Dachshund) were very happy guests at Penpol over the August Bank Holiday 2015.