THE LUXURY TRAVEL
MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT
TRAVELLERS

I love road trips. Getting up before dawn, driving through empty streets and out on to the highway before the madding crowds are awake always holds a childlike anticipation and excitement. There’s the first stop at the service station which brings with it heart attack garage coffee and packets of random sweets you’d usually never dream of eating. Then someone sneaks a ludicrous 80s CD on to the stereo… and WHAM, there’s that holiday feeling!

Two girl friends and I headed for the Cornish south coast in a serious quest to locate the perfect resting spot. Oh, and the perfect eating spot, but then that’s always a given where we are concerned (see below). Our destination was a tiny village called Lerryn and a rather grown-up holiday home called Waters Reach on the banks of the Lerryn River. If you know Cornwall, the nearest town is Lostwithiel and then there’s Fowey and Looe close-by on the coast. For those who don’t, this appears to be the less hectic side of Cornwall. Towns are small and villages picturesque, cliffs high and windswept, beaches rough and wild. I also noticed that, mercifully, stags and hens are rare breeds in these parts.

At first sight, Waters Reach is a handsome, white, clapboard house with a neat front garden and an expansive deck with scenic views over the river to distant rolling pastureland. It’s only when you wander to the back of the property that you realise the enormity of its gardens stretching far up the hillside in wide terraces filled with wildflowers, trees and lovingly nurtured flowerbeds. Someone’s a gardener! On two levels there are sunny paved areas for sitting and enjoying the merry chirping of songbirds in the hedges or, in our case, lots of sundowning. Luckily we picked about the hottest weekend of the year and when we weren’t out exploring, spent most of our time lolling on the deck or in the garden eating, reading and congratulating ourselves. We didn’t get around to the outside gas BBQ, but we most certainly will next time.

The house inside affords every conceivable comfort including one of those huge, well-equipped kitchens with an Aga and a kitchen table where everyone would naturally congregate should the weather turn nasty. Waiting for us was a generous hamper of goodies including Cornish butter, clotted cream, local red wine, ale chutney, Cornish brie and oat biscuits ... a truly mouth-watering welcome for hungry travellers.

The bedrooms are big and light and all have large windows to throw open to the views of the scented garden, outside terrace and river. The house sleeps eight comfortably in four bedrooms; two rooms with super-kings (zip-linked, so can be separated) and two more with two single beds in each. One of the rooms has bright kiddie appeal with a ninth smaller bed for a child, and leads out on to its own beautiful back patio and path up to the garden. You’ll sleep the sleep of the dead in these beds… once lost in the depths of fluffy pillows and duvets adorned with White Company linen, sleeping late and afternoon nap time can get completely out of control.

A spacious lounge adjoins the kitchen, both with doors opening wide on to the front deck. There’s also a smaller parlour at the back which is perfect for kids as they can closet themselves away to watch TV or play games, as well as having their own table and chairs where they can eat.

The village sprawls across both riverbanks and hillsides. After dark it is so quiet you can actually hear a conversation in perfect clarity on the other side. It must make for interesting ‘Cornish whispers’ but for city tourists, the peace is a welcome luxury.

Heading out for the day, there’s so much in the area to do. We spent time exploring the little towns of Polperro and Polruan and scanning the coast for the best beaches from Fowey up to Looe. We walked windy pathways, explored rocky caves and sprinted through rising tides. At one point we had a massive beach all to ourselves to wander and frolic in the waves... and then the promise of a blissfully hot bath in a clawed tub and a glass of bubbling champagne waiting back at the house.