Penpol
Sleeps 8-12
Mevagissey, Cornwall
Gardens and grounds
Liven up your menus with herbs from the pots that dot the huge main terrace, which seems to hang over the Mevagissey rooftops. Hang around and fire up the gas barbecue with meat from Lobb’s Farm Shop. The purple-flowered vinca and palm trees remind you that this is the Cornish Riviera. Squint and you could be on the Med.
If you love gardens, you’ll love to take a wander here. After coffee on the smaller terrace by the garden cottage, take the path through lavender, choisya and myrtle beds and a further path past rosemary, jasmine and sculpted yews to the old school room. Find a serene fish pond, slate seats and plenty of passion flowers and camellias.
Living spaces
Perhaps you’ll want to live Mediterranean-style on the outside when you see the huge glass-balustraded terrace with its views over the Mevagissey rooftops. Make a meal of it and tuck into a barbecue with meat from Lobb’s Farm Shop and fizz from Experience Wine or Polmassick Vineyard.
Indoors, pick from two 42” smart TVs and don’t forget your streaming passwords. Dock your iPod in the Bose radio and help yourself to DVDs. After a day at the beach, keep your toes toasty in front of the logburning stove. Bring your dog to curl up in front of the flame. Need more space? Consider hiring sister cottage Polpier.
Cooking and dining
Love cooking? You’ll love the four-oven electric Aga and sociable space for stirring and simmering. Less keen? Consider White Radish Catering for everything from a one-off celebration to a fully catered break. Get your fresh meat and veg from Lobb’s Farm Shop – or bring them in to put together a hog roast.
Other catering options? How about The Atlantic Fryer Fish and Chip Van with fish fresh from the harbours at Newlyn, Looe and Plymouth? Or Kerra’s Catering, where everything has to be just-so for a special occasion? Eat in the country-style diner or out on the terrace with that view over the harbour.
Shop locally at major supermarkets and Lobb’s Farm Shop. Treat yourself to English wine from Polmassick Vineyard and to takeaways from Mevagissey Spice and The Fishermen’s for fish and chips. Pub it at The Harbour Tavern with bay views, live music and breakfast, lunch and dinner options.
Try the 15th-century Fountain Inn, in the same hands for 30 years and offering great fish and chips and mixed grill. Book highly rated Salamander for baked crab, hake and scallops followed by crème brûlée or sticky toffee pudding. Or consider Portuguese Alvorada for fresh seafood kebabs or scallops.
Bedrooms
Sleep won’t need much persuasion with your window inched open to the call of the gulls and the gently slosh of the sea in the harbour. It’s like a sleep app made real. Penpol sleeps ten in three main-house bedrooms and a garden cottage. Rooms come with TV, sofa, chairs and plenty of storage.
The master bedroom comes with a superking bed, great harbour views and rolltop bath and shower. Bedroom two (first floor) and three (second floor) also offer lovely views, plus kingsize beds that can split into singles, and elegant en-suite bathrooms with Victorian rolltop baths and showers.
The garden house gives you two further en-suite bedrooms and a kitchenette. Pick from a kingsize bedroom with en-suite shower room or superking bed/twin with en-suite shower room.
Autumn, Winter and Christmas in Mevagissey
Mevagissey is still just as charming in winter. Boats bob in the harbour and the cottages are beacons of colour along the quiet, winding streets. The fish and chips are still to die for and the pubs and restaurants glow with a warm welcome.
Wrap up for a walk on a beautiful, deserted beach. Enjoy tennis, golf, shooting and sailing on crisp, clear days. Make the most of Cornwall’s many attractions, including the Eden Project and St Ives Tate, when the maddening crowds are far away.
Change the scene at Christmas to a coastal escape. Come together as a family, with wood on the fire, lights on the tree and festive films on the TV. The wind might howl outside, the waves might lash at the town’s defences, but Penpol is a cosy Cornish haven of warmth and winter wonder.
After popping open the champagne, feasting on turkey and pud and unwrapping the presents, stroll along Mevagissey’s twisty street and the harbour wall to admire the stunning sea view before returning to enjoy Christmas cake in front of the fire.
What people say
Sand, seals and sharks
Get sand between your toes at Portmellon, Portloe, or Polstreath, or wild-swim Talland Bay. Watch for seals and dolphins on the ferry to Fowey. Go sharking on the Bessie Vee, bouldering at Tide, and pigeon-popping at Cruggan Farm. See Europe’s largest garden-restoration project. End the day with cocktails at The Sharksfin.
