Places to go

Mesmear – Boutique Self Catering Cottages

July 4, 2011 by Kat in Travel with 0 Comments

Mesmear is a small group of family friendly self catering holiday cottages near Rock, Cornwall. Far from your average holiday rent, they are high spec, boutique accomodation where your every need is anticipated and catered for.

The Mesmear cottages are located a little outside of Rock and close to the popular surfing beach Polzeath. Each cottage was completely fitted out from original stone buildings on site which used to be a mill, barn and calf house respectively. From the beginning Tessa set out to create the perfect family hideaway where you can escape drudgery and let go.

From the moment you arrive the attention to detail is obvious: the beach bucket filled with fishing nets, towels, buckets and spade; the bread, butter, jam, eggs, tea, coffee (and gin) awaiting you; the wild flowers in the bathroom every last one making you feel welcomed to your holiday.

My amazement didn’t end with the welcome; the whole house is sumptuous. From the shiny marble worktops to the squashy corner sofa it was clear that no expense had been spared in making the interiors not only family friendly but luxurious in the truest sense of the word. Scrupulously clean I almost felt guilty getting bread crumbs everywhere (you know me though – only almost).

Within minutes of arriving the children were digging through the toy baskets and happily settled while we unpacked. Exploring the site we found a games room shared by all three properties, a chicken coop with chickens who happily ate grain from our hands and the squeal-inducing heated swimming pool. The gardens surrounding each property are protected from the wind by traditional stone walls making them blissful sun traps. There is a drying room where you can take your surf wear to ensure it’s dry and ready to go for your next surf. Each property has plenty of parking and gates so you can keep younger children in.

We could have easily spent days languishing in the pool and cooking lazy meals on the barbecue; the setting is so relaxing you feel yourself unwind almost immediately. But with a visitor book packed full of ideas and useful insider tips we were out and about visiting beaches, towns and attractions.

There is enough locally to keep you busy for weeks, the beaches alone are second to none. You can surf at Polzeath, build sand castles at Rock, have fish and chips by the harbour at Padstow or listen to Fisherman’s Friends on a Friday night in Port Isaac. You can go horse riding, hire boats, go fishing or just walk the cliffs. Within easy reach are Cornwall’s Crealy, Dairy Barn Farm, The Eden Project, Bodmin Railway, The Camel Trail and many stately homes and gardens open to the public. If you fancy some pampering the CowShed Spa offers 10% off treatments to Mesmear guests.

After a glorious day exploring Cornwall the last thing you may want to do is cook a meal from scratch – it is your holiday after all. If you’d rather let someone else get on with the cooking you can order meals from Mesmear’s chef service where you can enjoy fresh home cooking from around £5 per head. If you’d rather be 100% indulged you can hire a private chef when staying at The Mill, an option which will allow you to switch off completely.

The Mill sleeps 10 and is ideal for two families sharing or an extended family reunion. With two master bedrooms no one will feel like they have drawn the short straw. It has a large sitting room as well as a snug complete with Marimekko fatboys to lounge around on. The Calf’s House and The Barn each sleep 4+cot. All three cottages have a raft of extra special features such as: iPod docking stations, broadband connection, underfloor heating, open fires, dishwashers, washing machines and dryers. The beds are luxurious and the bathrooms decadent (I had a glorious lazy bath which I’d never manage at home). In every aspect these houses are so wonderful you’ll wish you lived there.

Mesmear has every box ticked for a family holiday as well a whole host of extra boxes I hadn’t even thought of before visiting. Whether you’re looking for a short break or a long family holiday Mesmear is the perfect break from everyday life.

For all of our photos from Mesmear visit the Mesmear set on the Bambino Goodies Flickr photostream.

The Mill sleeps 10, The Barn sleeps 4 and The Calf’s House sleeps 4. Prices are from £800 per week and shorter breaks are available too. We stayed in The Barn for three nights in May 2011 as guests of Mesmear.

All images copyright Kat.