The property
A great place - with views stretching to the sea - to reconnect, unwind and relax in the countryside close to the beautiful North Devon coast and the South West Coast Path.
The Milking Parlour is one of a group of characterful, family-friendly holiday cottages converted from farm buildings on the unspoiled Hartland Peninsula, close to the border of North Devon and Cornwall.
It's ground-floor, has a comfortable sitting room with wood-burning stove and French windows onto a small, enclosed garden with wide, green views to the sea beyond the tower of St Nectan's Church.
There's a well-equipped kitchen/dining room, a double and a twin-bedded room and a bathroom with bath and overhead shower.
And you have the use of the on-site, indoor hot tub and sauna, bookable for private use (generally available from Easter to October).
Straight out from the garden is a meadow/play area with climbing frame, swings and sand pit.
Everyone's invited to join in with feeding the owners' animals - chickens, ducks and pigs - each morning.
So close to probably the most dramatic stretch of the South West Coast Path, this is a fabulous area for walking - for cream teas and gardens - and for cycling, sailing, surfing and fishing too.
The closest beaches, at Berry and Hartland Quay - with its friendly pub - are craggily beautiful, often deserted and great for rock pooling and adventurous swimming.
Within half an hour's drive south are the beauty spots of Welcombe Mouth, Morwenstow and Sandy Mouth with its long sandy beach.
And there are more surfing and boarding beaches at Bude and Widemouth Bay.
To the north are the picturesque, steeply cobbled village of Clovelly, the vast beach at Westward Ho! and the pretty coastal estuary towns of Appledore, and Instow.
Hartland village, with its shops, pubs, café, potteries and crafts, is a 20-minute walk through woodland.
Hartland Abbey Gardens are a 10-minute stroll.
There are plenty of attractions specifically for children in the area like the nearby Milky Way, and The Big Sheep, near Bideford.
Short breaks available out of season.
There is off road parking available close to the cottages.
Milking Parlour is one of the 5 properties below and can be booked together for larger family groups.
The owners, their children and dogs, live in the old farmhouse so are on hand and happy to help in any way they can.
About the location
HARTLAND, DEVON (CHERISTOW FARM COTTAGES)
Clovelly 6 miles; Bude 15 miles; Bideford 15 miles
A great escape for coast and country-lovers; North Devon’s Hartland Peninsula is a remarkably peaceful Area of Outstanding National Beauty with a spectacular Atlantic coastline. The South West Coast Path runs along it with its dramatic cliff formations, waterfalls, woodland, wild and accessible bays with sand exposed at low tide; views of Hartland Point lighthouse and Lundy Island. Harland village, a few miles back from the coast, has a post office and general store, and a monthly farmers’ market; potteries and craft shops, a friendly café and pubs serving food. A mile away, in its beautiful, private valley running down to the sea, Hartland Abbey House & Gardens (& tea room) make a great outing. The Abbey was dissolved in 1539 - surviving longer than any in England - descendants of the same family live there still. St Nectan’s medieval church in Stoke is fascinating too; its stand-out feature the 128-foot tower known as Peeping Tom, used by sailors to help navigate the treacherous North Devon coast. And right down at the ancient Hartland Quay there’s a small Shipwreck & Smuggling Museum, a very child and dog-friendly pub and hotel, and a rock-pooly beach - good for swimming when the tides are right (and dog-friendly out-of-season). The old fishing village of Clovelly, 6 miles away, has a timeless appeal too with its steeply cobbled main street and donkeys still helping deliver fuel and shopping to villagers, and visitors’ luggage. Down by the handsome 14th-century working harbour is the Red Lion Hotel. To the north and south of Hartland Peninsula are broad sandy beaches good for swimming, surfing and body-boarding: at Northam and Westward Ho!; Sandy Mouth and Bude. Take a ferry across the Torridge between pretty Appledore and Instow, take a bike on the Tarka Trail between Ilfracombe and Meeth. Families with young children enjoy the animals and attractions at the The Milky Way and Wake Park aqua park, and at The Big Sheep near Bideford. And there’s more to discover…
