Here are a few of our favourite West Country holiday cottages for winter walks in the Westcountry, from the Mendip Hills in Somerset to the Cornish Riviera.

 

Bridesmere, Moretonhampstead – Sleeps 8

This converted barn has a large entrance hall where you can store your coats and muddy boots after a day exploring Dartmoor National Park. A lovely footpath starts in Moretonhampstead and climbs through lush countryside to the Iron Age hill fort of Cranbrook Castle. Stop for a picnic and enjoy the views across Dartmoor before descending back to the village.

 

Hill House Farm Cottage, Cheddar – Sleeps 4

Somerset countryside holiday cottage in the  Mendip Hills 

Hill House Farm Cottage has open fires and a secure garden where you can leave your dog without worrying about an escape. We highly recommend the Cheddar Gorge Walk, a four-mile footpath along the weathered crags and pinnacles of one of England’s most remarkable natural sights. This well-signposted route begins at the National Trust information centre and takes roughly an hour and 40 minutes to complete.

 

Foxwitchen, Withypool – Sleeps 14

Large cottage with views across Exmoor National Park

Foxwitchen is a beautiful place to unwind after a day of walking, with open fireplaces, underfloor heating and beautifully furnished living areas. This luxury holiday cottage is set amid some of Exmoor’s most idyllic countryside. Don’t miss the four-mile route that starts in Withypool and follows the banks of the River Barle to Landacre Bridge before returning to the village along a rugged hillside.

 

Selworthy, Dunster – Sleeps 4

Exmoor holiday cottage with original beams and exposed brickwork

This dog-friendly holiday home is located on a small Somerset estate in the Avill Valley, surrounded by the ancient woods, rolling hills and high, open moorland of Exmoor National Park. Take a tour of the village, stopping at the old butter cross in St George’s Churchyard and the restored dovecote before ascending to medieval Dunster Castle. Reserve another day for a walk on the South West Coast Path. Start in Minehead and make your way over the clifftops towards Porlock Weir, enjoying views across the Bristol Channel towards Wales.

 

4 Coastguards, Bigbury-on-Sea – Sleeps 6

Coastal cottage with a spacious balcony overlooking a sandy beach

4 Coastguards has a large storage area for your hiking gear and a handy outside shower for washing off at the end of the day. The South West Coast Path runs right past the doorstep, heading west towards Challaborough and Mothecombe and east towards Bantham and Hope Cove, passing wide river estuaries and secret beaches along the way.

 

Kara Mor, Duporth Bay – Sleeps 5

Modern Cornish Riviera holiday cottage with stunning sea views at Duporth Bay

Kara Mor is ideally located for exploring the beautiful stretch of the South West Coast Path along St Austell Bay. Spend one day walking east, past the Georgian harbour at Charlestown, to the sandy beach at Polkerris, and another day heading west along the Roseland Heritage Coast to the fishing port of Mevagissey.

Six Towns and Villages to Visit on Holidays in the Wye Valley

The Wye Valley covers 126 square miles along the border between England and Wales. Its lush ravines and woodland trails make it a paradise for walking, cycling, canoeing and wild swimming. Here are six of our favourite towns and villages in the region where you can rest and refuel before continuing your outdoor adventures. I

The Wye Valley is an attractive visitor destination for country house parties. Stay with friends or large family gatherings and enjoy opportunities for lovely riverside walks along the River Wye. We’ve included our favourite selection of large Welsh and English country cottages (with one lovely exception) to stay in the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean for each town. Click on the cottage name to find out more about it or make a booking enquiry.

 

Llangovan

Llangovan is a wonderful place to savour the Wye Valley’s beautiful scenery and a slower pace of life. This tiny village is nestled at the foot of the Trellech Ridge, surrounded by unspoiled countryside. A gentle brook meanders past Llangovan, marking the border of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are also many interesting landmarks for such a small place, including the listed Llangovan Church, which a colony of bats made their home.

 

Ross-on-Wye

This friendly market town is perched on a hillside overlooking the River Wye. Walk to Prospect Viewpoint for breathtaking Wye Valley views across the sweeping bend in the river below. Ross-on-Wye’s town centre is a delightful place to wander and perhaps enjoy lunch at a twice-weekly market held in the 17th-century Market House.

Stay at The Wye Valley Coach House

This is a beautifully furnished 3-bedroom country cottage with an enclosed garden sleeping 5 in the Wye Valley in a rural location just outside Ross-on-Wye. It’s not a large holiday cottage, but it’s so lovely it’s well worth a mention! Pets are welcome too.

 

Symonds Yat

This small village is probably best known for Symonds Yat Rock, a limestone outcrop which rises 500 feet above the river, providing superb views of the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean. Symonds Yat lies on both sides of the river, and the most enjoyable way to get from one side to the other is on one of the hand ferries, which a ferryman pulls across the River Wye with an overhead rope. 

Stay at Hollytree House

A large luxury country cottage with a private hot tub and lovely rural views just a short stroll from the River Wye. Sleeps 22 - perfect for a weekend country house party.

 

Hay-on-Wye

Hay-on-Wye is best known for its literary festival and secondhand book shops. It also occupies a spectacular location with the River Wye to its north, the fields of Herefordshire to its east, and the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains to its south and west. Besides providing an excellent base from which to explore the countryside, Hay-on-Wye is home to some of the region’s best restaurants. 

Farm House Barn

Typical of so many English country cottages, it has been transformed from a massive barn into a beautiful and spacious holiday cottage; Farmarm House Barn is located a few miles downstream within easy reach of Hay-on-Wye in the popular Herefordshire village of Peterchurch.

 

Lydbrook

Lydbrook in the Forest of Dean clings to the steep sides of the Great Hough Brook Valley. Light-heartedly referred to as “three miles long and three yards wide”, its main street is said to be the longest of any village in the UK. Lydbrook has a rich industrial heritage, and many of the pubs which once served the local mining communities remain open, including the Jovial Colliers Inn and the Forge Hammer Inn.

Stay at The Anchor at Lydbrook

Another Wye Valley countryside cottage for large family gatherings or group accommodation. This luxury holiday cottage in Lydbrook with a hot tub sleeps 22 in 8 bedrooms.

 

Monmouth

The county town of Monmouth lies at the confluence of the rivers Wye and Monnow. It’s a great town to explore on foot, with impressive landmarks such as a stone-gated bridge. Check out the independent shops on Monnow Street before strolling along cobbled Church Street, where many of the town’s best restaurants are.

Stay at High Cloud Farm

As well as riverside walks from the doorstep, this large and dog-friendly rural holiday cottage in Llangovan is one of the Wye Valley’s luxury hideaways offering house parties with a swimming pool and a hot tub. Sleeps 12 or 24 if combined with the neighbouring barn.

 

Click here to view more holiday cottages in the Wye Valley, from romantic cottages for couples to larger homes for families and groups, including properties in all of the above towns and villages.

Read More helpful articles about holidays in The Wye Valley. Click on a title to view.

• Escape and Indulge: Unveiling the Allure of Self-Catering Retreats in the Enchanting Wye Valley
  Culinary Treasures in the Heart of the Wye Valley
• Our Top Twelve Outdoor Activities to Enjoy on Wye Valley Holidays
• Embark on Waterborne Adventures: Exploring the Wye Valley by Boat, Kayak and Cruise

For more places to stay in all Wye Vallue locations:

Find holiday cottages available to rent in these charming little Wye Valley towns and villages:

Chepstow

Hay-on-Wye

Howle

Llangovan

Lydbrook

Monmouth

Penterry

Ross-on-Wye

Symonds Yat

Welsh Newton

Whitchurch (Herefordshire)

 

 

 

4 Coastguards, Devon – Sleeps 6

This luxury cottage in the village of Bigbury-on-Sea is ideal for dog owners, with a sandy beach right outside where you can enjoy long walks along the shore. 

There’s also private parking next to the cottage, so getting from your car to the front door with a dog or two couldn’t be easier.

 

 

Cor An Essan, Talmine -Highlands and islands

Get totally away from it all with your dog at Cor an Essan, a contemporary waterside holiday home with superb ocean views. This fully restored croft lies in a remote, idyllic location near Talmine in the Scottish Highlands, offering dog walks in every direction. This pet-friendly cottage sleeps 4-6 guests in 2 bedrooms. It may be rural, but it still has WiFi and a well-equipped kitchen.

 

 

White Willow, Fowey in Cornwall, Sleeps 2

Take your dog for a coast and country holiday in Cornwall.

White Willow is a luxuriously furnished and very comfortable Cornish holiday cottage for couples in a secluded rural location within walking distance of the harbour front in Fowey. Stone floors mean now worries about muddy paws on carpets.

 

 

Hen Felin Isaf - Anglesey, Sleeps 4

Guests at this charming rural holiday cottage on Anglesey enjoy spectacular sea views of the Blue-Flagged beach at Llanddona from just about every window in the house. This dog-friendly cottage offers comfortable ground-floor accommodation for up to 4. Walk your dog along the beach or the Anglesey Coast Path. Perfect for all seasons.

 

 

Hillcrest, Suffolk – Sleeps 6

Huge living areas, underfloor heating and private, secure gardens make this stylish dog-friendly countryside cottage near Saxmundham a  great choice for a coast and country holidays with pets. Hillcrest is a short drive from the Suffolk Heritage Coast, Sutton Hoo Saxon burial grounds, Dunwich Heath and Rendlesham Forest – all great places to visit with your pet.

 

 

Old Post Office Cottage, Dorset – Sleeps 6

Surrounded by unspoiled countryside with a beautiful, secure garden, this dog-friendly holiday Ccttage is an excellent choice for dog owners. 

Fire up the barbecue on the sunny terrace while your companion plays on the lawn, take a long walk on one of the many footpaths that meander through the fields and woods, or take a short drive southward to the Jurassic Coast.

 

 

Fairways East, Devon – Sleeps 8

This luxury holiday home is within easy driving distance of sandy beaches on the North Devon coast, including Westward Ho! Woolacombe, Saunton and Croyde. 

After taking your dog for a run across the sands, make the most of the estate’s superb facilities, which include an 18-hole golf course and a heated pool.

 

 

Moorhen Lake House

If your dog loves water, it will be in heaven at this waterside holiday cottage near Cirencester in Gloucestershire. As will you. The luxurious Moorhen Lake House offers beautiful views across the Lake at the Cotswold Water Parks, which guests can enjoy from the comfort of a hot tub on its deck - a great place from which to admire the sunset after a day walking in the Cotswolds.

 

Click Here to view all fabulous dog-friendly cottages on My Favourite Holiday Cottages.

As the winter approaches, you may consider what improvements you want to make to your holiday cottage. If you are planning on doing some serious decorating or replacing hard or soft furnishings, here are five simple and very handy design principles to follow courtesy of The New York Times contributing to the debate on how to furnish a holiday cottage to achieve two aims:

1: To make it look attractive.

2: To do No. 1 in ways that will prove hard wearing and continue to present a great home-from-home appearance despite repeated heavy use by guests.

This handy article suggests five well-worth-remembering design principles to inform your choice of furnishings and overall interior design to ensure your holiday cottage will continue to look attractive for longer.

NB: It may not be a design principle, but after carefully designing the interior of a holiday cottage of which you can be rightly proud and are sure will appeal to guests, don't forget to invest in a professional photoshoot to fully reap the booking benefits you deserve.

 

Click here to view the 'Creating a Standout Vacation Rental' Article.

To share it, click on one of the social media buttons below.

Like it or hate it, when used correctly and consistently, social media can be a great way to build awareness of your holiday cottage - and how to find it on the web. With the cost of advertising a cottage on a handful of top holiday property directories continuing to rise, having a social media presence will help drive more traffic to your holiday property’s website.

However, to the uninitiated, using a social media facility such as Facebook or Twitter can be very daunting. This post from Guesty.com lists the leading social media platforms and includes some valuable jargon-busters. 

So, for example, you’ll learn exactly what’ tag’ on Facebook or a #hash-tag on Twitter means, and doYou’llu’ll feel a lot more sure of yourself and understand the different ways to use social media to promote your holiday cottage after working your way through this helpful guide.

 

Click here to read: The Holiday Cottage Manager’s Guide to Social Media Marketing.

It's a relatively well-known fact that it is a lot cheaper to get guests to book a return visit than it is to find first-time visitors. Naturally, having an attractive holiday cottage in a desirable location helps. However, the popular mantra "It You Build It People Will Come" is the best or only marketing strategy necessary to encourage repeat bookings. 

There are other perfectly natural, caring and common sense ways to encourage your guests to return without them feeling they are being given the hard sell. Read this handy article of useful 'guest-friendly tips from VRM Intel to see if there are any actions you don't currently employ in your plans to welcome more repeat guests.

 

Top tip: Include a welcome gift such as a complimentary bottle of Prosecco together with a handwritten card from you to your returning guests

 

Click here to read more about ways to attract more repeat bookings for holiday cottages.

Or - add some of your own suggestions for attracting guests back to your cottage in the comments section below. 

All comments are moderated to prevent spam and inappropriate messages from appearing.

Securing bookings during the peak summer season and other school holiday periods is crucial as this represents the bulk of your income. However, if you're in a good location, have a well-maintained website and advertise your holiday cottage properly, this should enable you to fill these weeks.

Autumn Walks, Tallywyn

This leaves a considerable portion of rental income achievable through letting during the shoulder and low seasons when people plan holidays for reasons often very different to the demand for peak season bookings. For example:

• Weekend and midweek breaks
• Couples and families with preschool children able to holiday during term time
• People attending nearby events and festivals
• Anniversaries, celebrations and reunions
• Hobby holidays: from walking and riding to birdwatching to steam railway visiting.

Adjusting your marketing to target out-of-season bookings will deliver a handy boost to your rental income and help to keep your property warm and dry when in use during the winter months.

Here's a helpful article from Rentalpreneurs full of tips for securing out-of-season bookings for your holiday cottage. 

Don't leave it all to chance and a last-minute discount offer - there are other ways to consider. 

 

Read 15 things to do today to get more low-season vacation rental bookings.

 

Security deposits: some people swear by them, but there is always a risk in claiming them. Can you be sure you always have a leg to stand on?  

Here's an interesting and insightful exercise from Rentivo (like us, one of the more forward-thinking holiday rental sites). How would you respond to this scenario of a booking that clearly didn't go as planned? Would you refund or not? 

Choose your response and then see how everyone else has voted - together with some thoughts that might help mitigate such circumstances arising from your own bookings.

Click Here to View The Scenario and Decide How To Vote

Top tip: Our cleaners take a photo of every room as they finish cleaning it. They don't have to do anything with the image; keep it on their phone for a week or so, but if there is a complaint or damage done, we at least have an image of all our rooms taken shortly before a guest arrives. It only takes a few seconds to take the photo, but it saves a lot of time and anxiety if it is ever required.

Once upon a time, the primary battle for accommodation standards was waged between hotel and B&B establishments, with hotels generally coming out on top. Now it is primarily between hotels and self-catering accommodation, and, would you believe it, hotels still win in terms of trust ratings according to a study from Properly (Experts in short-term rental cleaning) in the USA.

 

A lot of this stems from first impressions. Get these right, and 5-star, you are on course for a 5-star review. Get these wrong, and no matter what you do after that, you'll be docked a star or two. So, having a turnover plan that ensures a property cannot fail to impress guests at the point of arrival is essential. Understand why, and discover some valuable tips to help combat the assumption that, generally, standards in cottages are perceived to be lower than those in hotels.

 

You may agree or disagree with this finding or write it off as something that is peculiar to the USA and doesn't apply to this side of the pond. But, do read the article - it has some rich pickings that will help to increase the public perception that the holiday cottage business is setting the pace in the quality standards race.

 

Click here to read Read How to Create a Foolproof Turnover Plan and Impress Your Guests When They Arrive? 

 

Where would you travel this autumn?  

What sights, what sounds, what smells and tastes would make your autumn holiday?

 

Autumn 

As experienced by Henry Longworth Longfellow. 

 

With what glory comes and goes the year!

The buds of spring, those beautiful harbingers

Of sunny skies and cloudless times, enjoy

Life's newness, and earth's garniture spread out;

And when the silver habit of the clouds

Comes down upon the autumn sun, and with

A sober gladness the old year takes up

His bright inheritance of golden fruits,

A pomp and pageant fill the splendid scene. 

 

There is a beautiful spirit breathing now

Its mellow richness on the clustered trees,

And, from a beaker full of richest dyes,

Pouring new glory on the autumn woods,

And dipping in warm light the pillared clouds.

Morn on the mountain, like a summer bird,

Lifts up her purple wing, and in the vales

The gentle wind, a sweet and passionate wooer,

Kisses the blushing leaf, and stirs up life

Within the solemn woods of ash deep-crimsoned,

And silver beech and maple yellow-leaved,

Where Autumn, like a faint old man, sits down

By the wayside a-weary.

Through the trees

The golden robin moves. 

The purple finch,

That on wild cherry and red cedar feeds,

A winter bird, comes with its plaintive whistle,

And pecks by the witch-hazel, whilst aloud

From cottage roofs the warbling blue-bird sings,

And merrily, with oft-repeated stroke,

sounds from the threshing-floor the busy flail.

 

O what a glory doth this world put on

For him who, with a fervent heart, goes forth

Under the bright and glorious sky, and looks

On duties well performed, and days well spent!

For him the wind, ay, and the yellow leaves,

Shall have a voice, and give him eloquent teachings.

He shall so hear the solemn hymn that Death

Has lifted up for all, that he shall go

To his long resting-place without a tear.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

As the nights draw in and the countryside briefly flares in reds and golds, find somewhere with family or friends for your own rich  Autumnal experience. Try these countryside cottages.