At the end of a winding driveway through rolling fields, flanked by high, green banks, the sight of a trampoline is the first indication this isn’t a conventional farm. Our hosts, Conrad and Karen, wander out of their slickly renovated farmhouse and welcome us warmly to the hip guest hideaway they’ve created next door.
A lovingly converted barn with a reverse layout, the sun-flooded upstairs overlooks a leafy, grassy meadow, with two pretty bedrooms and Nantucket-esque bathroom below. Top to bottom, it’s a high-spec hit of low-key contemporary cool in a simple, relaxed set up. Ready for our visit, it is as though an interiors stylist has sneaked in to give Barn Cottage a just-so preparation.
Fit for a photoshoot, a bundle of coloured pencils are lovingly tied with string, poised next to a colouring-in book more Taschen than toddler-worthy. A fresh loaf of organic bread, free range eggs, sausages and bacon appear as though from the pages of a magazine, wrapped stylishly in brown paper, perfecting the tableau of country-cottage idyll. Most soothing of all is the sight of a homemade fish pie ready for us to pop into the oven. Having braved the M4/M5 route from London on a Friday, it’s the foodie equivalent of a shoulder rub, saving us from having to think about how and what to rustle up for supper.
By 9pm we are happy to follow close on the heels of our two-year-old (by now snoring in a cot set up in her own room), and we sneak off to bed ourselves. Framed pictures of birds on the walls, and a huge vase of fresh and wildflowers whet our appetite for the flora and fauna we’ll be among the next day.
A chirruping dawn chorus is a suitable wake-up call, reminding us we are a world away from traffic or the rattle of neighbours through terraced-house walls.The temptation is to stay put and laze around but as Barn Cottage is a short drive from so much of what makes this swathe of the south-west so special, instead we draw up a checklist for our action-packed two days.
Ten minutes from the coast we sample traditional Cornish bucket-and-spade resort, Bude, then make for the more rugged beaches just north of it, beloved by surfers and locals alike. It is amazing how of often this north Devon/Cornwall patch falls under the tourist radar, and as we wander into postcard-perfect pockets that feel like our very own – even on a busy bank holiday weekend.
