'Thank you; we have had the most fun, relaxing time because at every turn you had thought through all our needs...and our children's! Great food with flexible delivery and outdoor hot showers for wetsuits were two of the many highlights. We will be back!'

'An idyllic place to stay for adults and children alike. We all had a superb time. The children loved the gardens, outdoors and the games room'

'How special it was to have the use of the boats and Jackie to help us learn to sail and drive us around in the speedboat'

In the know

House style

Barn conversion

Grounds

Mesmear’s two properties are surrounded by child-friendly landscaped gardens and 160 acres of farmland

Sleeps

The Mill sleeps 6 adults and 4 children; the Barn and the Calf's House both sleep 4 people. The properties can be rented separately.

Ideal for

House parties, birthday celebrations and relaxing 'fluffy robe' weekend breaks.

Rates

Weekly rates range from £700 to £1,500 self-catering in the Calf's House, £900–£2,000 in the Barn and between £2,000 to £6,000 in the Mill, which includes a private chef and all catering.

Minimum hire

Weekly hire during school holidays, Christmas and Easter. Short breaks are available at other times of the year.

Also

Smoking is not permitted inside the houses, and pets are not allowed. All the sculptures and paintings are by local artists and some of the art is for sale, so it’s worth asking if you spot something you really like.

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Interior

Bedrooms 

The Mill: most bedrooms are versatile and can be adapted to twin or double rooms but the children’s cabin room (with porthole door) is not ideal for adults. There are no TVs in the bedrooms. Bedroom 1: the nautically-themed children’s cabin room has a bunk bed, a single bed and an additional truckle bed. Bedroom 2: double bed with freestanding roll-top bath in the room and a separate shower. Bedroom 3: double or twin bed room. Bathroom: separate wet room with bath and shower. Bedroom 4: double or twin room leading off the sitting room on the first floor. This room has an en suite shower room. The Barn: Bedroom 1: double room with en suite bathroom. Bedroom 2: double or twin room. Bathroom: separate shower room.
The Calf's House is the less Smithy of the cottages. It's worth knowing that the second bedroom has a bunk bed.

Kitchen The fully equipped kitchen includes a cooker, microwave, coffee machine, dishwasher, fridge freezer and honesty bar. The dining table in the Mill is large enough for 10 adults, and Lucy the cook prepares breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner.

Living room All three properties have a flat screen TV, DVD/CD player and a stylish wood-burning stove. In the Mill there is also a snug with TV, beanbag and a workstation with Internet access.

Dining room 

Other There is a utility room with washing machine, tumble dryer and boot rack.

Outdoor

Poolside Guests are very welcome to use the owners’ pool during the day from May to September; it’s surrounded by a terrace with sunloungers.

Gardens Each property has a small, enclosed patio space with garden furniture and barbecues; ideal for small children. The properties also share landscaped lawns.

Parking There is private parking for about five cars next to Mesmear.

Other The separate games room contains table tennis, air-hockey, table football, TV and a telephone. There is also an outdoor shower, which is an invaluable addition for guests struggling out of their wetsuits after a day swimming or surfing.

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Planes Newquay airport is 30-minutes drive away; there are regular flights from Stansted with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) and from Gatwick. There’s also a private landing strip at the Roserrow Country Club. You can land a helicopter in one of the surrounding fields at Mesmear by prior arrangement.

Trains Bodmin Parkway is the most convenient station, with services from London Paddington taking approximately 4 hours 20 minutes. Then it's a 30 minute drive to Mesmear. Liskeard, on the Penzance line, is close to Mesmear and there's the slow but scenic Atlantic Coast Line to Newquay via Par. The journey to Liskeard normally takes just under four hours.

Local taxi service You can arrange transfers with Mesmear’s nine-seater 4x4, or try Polzeath Taxis (+44 (0)845 338 4070). For car hire, click on our Travel Offers page. Smithcard holders get a 10 per cent discount with Hertz.

Directions by road It’s a long drive to Cornwall, and during the summer the roads can get very congested, so allow plenty of time. Take the M5 to Exeter and then the A30 to Launceston; follow the A395 and A39 south towards Wadebridge before turning north towards St Minver and Polzeath. Mesmear is one mile north east of Polzeath on the coastal road.

Review

Environmentally friendly living is rarely this stylish. Mesmear, on the rugged north coast of Cornwall, doesn’t so much resist the elements as embrace them. The summer sun that warms the soft sandy beaches near Polzeath also heats the swimming pool. A network of pipes buried in the beautiful surrounding farmland provides the hot water, and there’s even talk of installing a windmill to harness the winds that hurl the surf against the nearby sea cliffs. Yet when it comes to comforts, Mesmear most definitely feels like the high life rather than The Good Life.

The four-bedroom Mill is the larger of the two buildings and is ideal for families, with a children’s room that sleep up to four. The open-plan double-height kitchen gives this house a bright and airy feel, while the more intimate two-bedroom Barn is snug and cosy – perfect in winter. The properties can be rented separately and have fully equipped kitchens, but if you rent them both all guests can fit around the dining table at the Mill and enjoy the meals prepared by Lucy the cook. This is the ideal option in summer since other facilities, such as the pool, are shared. Baby-listeners are provided, and guests can phone each other between houses for free of charge.

The Mill and Barn interiors are chic and contemporary, decked out in warm colours and natural materials. The atmosphere is relaxed and homely and the high standards and meticulous attention to detail make for something extra special. Even the sculptures and paintings which decorate the houses are by local artists. These works of art often depict the beautiful coast – they might just tempt you out of these luxurious surroundings. When you return, both houses have stylish wood-burning stoves that you can curl up in front of after a day out in the fresh cliff-top air.

Children are particularly well catered for at Mesmear and there’s a games room with table tennis, air-hockey, table football and TV that will keep them busy for hours, especially when the weather isn’t great. During the long, warm summer months there’s the heated swimming pool surrounded with sunloungers, which is available between Easter and October, and is shared with the Rose family. The Mill and the Barn also have small enclosed patios with barbecues, and the houses share a larger area of surrounding lawn and garden, too.

Only a short distance from Mesmear is some of the most spectacular coastline in the British Isles, including the wide sandy, surfing beach at Polzeath and the more sheltered Camel estuary to the south. Once you’ve worked up an appetite, as well as Lucy’s fantastic organic cooking, the local villages have some excellent seafood restaurants, including Jamie Oliver Fifteen in Watergate Bay and several Rick Stein eateries in Padstow (or should that be Padstein?). Clearly offering everything you need for the perfect Cornwall escape, all you have to do is enjoy yourselves.

Reviewed by Jim Whyte

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