About 1 The Mews

Two bed cottage in quiet courtyard just off the High Street. Right in the centre of Porlock village close to pubs and restaurants, and yet only a short walk to the Exmoor countryside, with Porlock beach less than a mile from the door. It is a small, but very comfortable, characterful cottage, capable of sleeping up to five. The main bedroom has a good double bed, while the second bedroom has a "trio bunk". This is basically a double bed base, with a single bunk bed above, so can accommodate either a "couple" in the double bed, or two children, one in the top bed, one in the bottom, or, at a slight push, three children. There is no garden as such, but it does have some courtyard, although mainly for parking (one car space).

Why The Owner chose West Somerset

We have always liked the Exmoor area, and looked at a lot of properties before finding this one. The property had been badly fire damaged some years before and when we came across it, it was in the very final stages of being refurbished ready to be used as a holiday let. The previous owner had done a first class job of all the major works, but had another project on the go at the same time, so, for reasons best known to himself, decided to sell this house, just before it was totally ready to start letting.

Apart from the high quality finishes throughout, it was really the 4 spacious bedrooms, each with their own en-suites that attracted us. It's very nice to go on holiday with a group of friends or family, but often spoilt we feel, by too many people all trying to use, too few bathrooms.

We have been together for over thirty years, and have always had at least one dog.

The area of Exmoor is ideal for dog walking, and the house has been refurbished with dogs in mind. All of the downstairs is "wood effect ceramic tiles" which are tough enough not to suffer damage from dog "claws" and easy to keep clean.

About Porlock

Porlock is a very lovely but buzzy village, very much centred on providing for holidaymakers, but without a "kiss me quick" hat to be seen. You will find many fine places to eat, pubs, antique shops, art galleries, and museums, plus of course you're in beautiful Exmoor (the Exmoor national park covers over 260 square miles!), with all it has to offer.

Walking is very popular, and some walks pass right by the front door, even though you are only a matter of yards from the middle of the High Street. The walk down Sparkhayes lane takes you to the sea in around a mile, and then on to Porlock Weir, after about another mile along the coast.

The moors are just at the top of Porlock Hill, with lovely walks from Brendon (We'd recommend The Stag Hunters Inn at Brendon, or the Rockford Inn, part way between Brendon and Lynmouth, for refreshments/meals) to Watersmeet and Lynmouth and the Valley of Rocks which should not be missed.

For those of you who just want to spend the day on a nice sandy beach, Woolacombe, Combe Martin, Westward Ho, Saunton Sands and many others are just a short drive down the coast.

The Lynton to Lynmouth cliff railway (powered by water and gravity!) is well worth the trip, and there are other steam train railways in the area, one of the nearest stations being at Woody Bay Station near Lynmouth.