Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! Cornwall loves dogs and dogs love Cornwall so no need to leave your best friend at home.

Assistance dogs are always welcome in all our cottages at no charge.

In Mill Barn and Stable Cottage we welcome up to 3 well-behaved pet dogs, and in Shippon up to 2, at an additional cost of £30 per dog per stay. Dogs must be spayed or neutered and over 12 months of age. And please make sure they’re up-to-date with their vaccinations, flea and tick treatments, and wormers before you arrive.

We don’t have a great long list of doggy dos and don’ts but just ask that you respect other guests on the farm, who may not love your dog as much as you do! And if you have a reactive dog then I’m afraid this isn’t the place for them.

Cornwall is exceptionally dog-friendly, so they’ll be able to join you on your trips out and at the vast majority of places to eat. However we understand that occasionally you may want to go somewhere that doesn’t allow dogs. In this case, provided they are used to being crated, they can be left for a short period in a crate by prior arrangement. No dogs may be left unattended though unless crated.

We do not allow pet dogs in the Wagon but, if you have an allergy, please be aware that an assistance dog may have stayed before you. If in any doubt please just ask.

If you need or would like to cancel your holiday please email us as soon as possible.

If you cancel more than 8 weeks before the start of your holiday your deposit will be returned minus a £50 administration fee per week or part week for each cottage booked.

If you cancel within eight weeks of the holiday start (i.e. the whole rent has been paid or is due to be paid) you will lose the whole of the booking total unless we can relet the cottage, in which case a discretionary refund may be made.

For full details please read our ts and cs here.

We strongly recommend you take out your own travel insurance for UK holidays which covers booking cancellations, including those caused by Covid which is now a known risk. This is available at very affordable rates, and gives you the peace of mind that you will get your money back should you need to cancel your holiday.

Yes! We’re very lucky to have a number of beautiful beaches to choose from in North Cornwall. Although close by as the crow flies, this is Cornwall, so you do have to wiggle along the narrow country lanes to reach them.

Trebarwith Strand is a 15 minute drive away and an absolute stunner, with perfect sand, a stream to dam, rock pools, boulders for scrambling over, caves to explore, and a pub and cafe overlooking the beach.

Port Gaverne is a similar distance and is a pretty and quiet little cove that’s great for swimming and is also the starting point for many watersports activities.

Slightly further afield but within a 25/30 minute drive you can also reach the sandy delights of Padstow and its 7 Bays for 7 Days, Rock (where all the beautiful and fabulously wealthy people hang out), Daymer Bay, Polzeath, Port Quin, Port Isaac, Tintagel, Crackington Haven, Widemouth Bay and finally Bude, with its 3 beaches and sea pool.

Absolutely.

We may be biased, but North Cornwall really is the perfect place for a family holiday. Our three children are now grown-up but we have many fond memories of family holidays in the West Country. We also have less-fond memories of travelling with the car so packed to the gunnels that we could barely see out of the windows.

With this in mind we provide lots of equipment free of charge for babies and toddlers: fireguards, stairgates, travel cots/bassinets, bed guards, highchairs, booster seats for the kitchen table, microwave steam sterilisers, bamboo plates, cups and cutlery, changing mats, baby baths, loo seats for tiny bottoms and bathroom steps for little legs.

There are books, toys and games provided indoors. And outside there are games to play here or take to the beach, various sized bodyboards and that essential family holiday accessory, the windbreak.

The farm animals love to be visited and fed – willow wands from a distance for toddlers and sheep nuts from the hand for older kids. And there’s acres of space to run around and burn off some energy before bed.

When you book we’ll send you a link to our online guidebook app, which you can keep handy on your phone. In it you’ll find loads of ideas for things to do and see locally, family-friendly places to eat and lots of activities to keep them entertained on rainy days.

And when you get back from a day at the beach and just want to chill out, Netflix provides endless children’s films and episodes of Paw Patrol to keep them spellbound whilst you have a sneaky nap next to them on the sofa.

Yes, there are two you can walk to.

Our closest is The White Hart in the neighbouring village of St. Teath, where there’s also a shop and a cafe. It’s a traditional Cornish pub and very friendly – it’s a 25 minute stroll along the lanes or a 1.5 mile drive.

The second is The Old Inn + Restaurant in St. Breward, on the edge of Bodmin Moor. They do a cracking carvery on a Sunday – it’s a little further, at around 2.5 miles away, and takes just under an hour to walk there along the back lanes.

There’s a really lovely community-owned village shop, selling all the essentials as well as a good range of Cornish food and drink, 2 miles away in the neighbouring village of St Tudy. You can walk to the butchers on the farm opposite us to stock up on bacon for those essential breakfast butties and steaks for the barbecue. Whilst in Wadebridge, 15 minutes away, you’ll find a wide range of independent shops as well as some of the larger supermarkets, such as Tesco, Co-op, Lidl and Aldi.

Far, far more than you could possibly fit into one holiday – you’ll just have to keep coming back!

Once you’ve booked, we’ll send you our digital guidebook app, containing a wealth of ideas for places to visit and things to do. There’s even an extensive section on activities for those (hopefully only occasional) rainy days.

In addition to the beaches above, here’s a brief list of ideas to whet your whistle:

Places to visit: Tintagel Castle – Boscastle – Port Isaac (home to Doc Martin and the Fishermans Friends) – Padstow – Bude – Eden Project – Lanhydrock House and Gardens – Prideaux Place – Pencarrow House – Lost Gardens of Heligan – Charlestown – Fowey – Mevagissey – Bodmin & Wenford Steam Railway – Lappa Valley – Camel Creek Adventure Park.

Activities: Walking on Bodmin Moor and the South West Coast Path – Cycling on the Camel Trail – Mountain biking at Lanhydrock and Cardinham Woods – Boat trips from Padstow to spot dolphins, seals and even the occasional whale or walrus – Surfing and bodyboarding at Polzeath – Stand-up paddle-boarding, kayaking and coasteering at Port Gaverne and Port Quin – Throwing yourself off a cliff at Adrenalin Quarry and Hangloose at Eden – Giant Slip n Slide at St Endellion – and much, much more!

Whilst the latest variant is milder for many, infection rates are now at their highest and catching the virus can be very serious for anyone vulnerable. Cornwall has very limited healthcare at the best of times and our only hospital is now under extreme pressure. It’s therefore vital that both residents and visitors continue to take precautions to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus. So…

During your holiday, please continue with the basic guidance: hands, face, space and fresh air.

If you test positive or have any symptoms of Covid in the lead up to your holiday the official advice is NOT to travel.

If you come down with the virus during your holiday the advice is to return home and minimise contact with others.

We strongly advise all guests, even if you live in the UK, to take out travel insurance, which is widely available for a modest sum, to cover you for any losses incurred should you need to cancel or curtail your holiday.

We were very lucky to have FTTP (Fibre To The Premises) installed here a few years ago and we provide ultra-fast broadband to our guests free of charge.

Mobile reception is generally very good too, including 4G coverage, but please be aware the thick stone walls can affect the mobile signal quality in some indoor areas.

For an indication of the signal coverage for each provider you can follow this link. If mobile signal is crucial for your stay please contact your network provider directly for confirmation

Absolutely. No need to waste valuable holiday time trawling round the supermarket when you can shop before you leave home.

The Cornish Food Box Company will deliver wonderful holiday food boxes to your cottage ready for your arrival. Or there’s a local farm shop selling delicious Cornish produce as well as the everyday essentials, who will deliver your shop to us on the day of your arrival – see www. food4myholiday.com to order.

Our local wine merchants, Wadebridge Wines, will also deliver refreshments and we’ll put them in the fridge for you, ready for you to crack open a nice chilled bottle once you’ve unpacked. Their Camel Valley wine is highly recommended!

In addition Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco and Asda all deliver to Tredarrup, and we’re more than happy to take delivery for you on the day of your arrival. Please let us know your delivery time slot in advance so we can listen out for the van and ideally make it after 10am so we can put it straight into your cottage for you . We advise booking your delivery slot a few weeks in advance of your holiday during peak periods as they do get booked up.

You’re welcome to organise other deliveries, such as Amazon etc, during your stay but, although we live here, we’re not here all day, so if your delivery needs to be signed for please either arrange it for a time when you’ll be in, or arrange with us in advance if you’d like us to take delivery for you.

Yes, there’s a shared utility room with a washing machine, a tumble dryer and plenty of clothes racks. There’s an outdoor clothes line too. Eco-friendly laundry detergent and fabric softener are all provided.

You’ll also find an iron and ironing board here too, just in case you’re booked into a Michelin starred restaurant and feel the need to spruce yourselves up!

We raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and have a suggested donation of £1 per use of each of the washing and drying facilities. We’d be hugely grateful if you could help us raise money for this vital organisation, that helps keep us all safe whilst on the beaches, in the water and walking the coast path.

If you’re staying with us for a fortnight we’ll clean your cottage and provide a change of bedlinen and towels mid-stay. Additional cleans can be arranged, the cost will depend on the cottage.

Please tidy your belongings before you go out for the day so that we have access to clean and make beds.