Lakeside Cottage, Devon is 5 Star rated by VisitEngland with rare 100% score in each category and Gold Award for exceptional quality. Set in a breathtaking green oasis of calm and tranquillity, next to a picture perfect lake and waterfall, the cottage is a secluded, romantic retreat just for two people wishing to spend some quality time together. Ideal for special occasions and anniversaries. On y
our arrival there is champagne chilling in the electronic wine cooler, chocolate truffles, fresh flowers and provisions for a continental breakfast on your first morning. Nestling in the Erme Valley in the beautiful South Hams region of Devon, midway between Dartmoor National Park and some of the lovely south coast beaches - it is a holidaymaker-free zone here, just one single storey, luxury, boutique cottage set in two of the four acre grounds of the owners’ home. This is a private wildlife haven with such variety - resident mute swans and moorhens on the lake, buzzards, woodpeckers, dragonflies, butterflies in the air, foxes, badgers, rabbits and squirrels on the land and nightfall brings out the little bats and owls. At dawn the kingfisher and heron sometimes fish off the handrail of the Monet-style, Japanese bridge across to the island in the middle of the lake. These and many more small creatures and birds build their nests and produce young ones here each year. The luxurious interior has four rooms and attention to detail is obvious. Enter through the extra wide front door to see cottage doors with Brionne latches, the cottage is an eclectic mix of French Provençal style blended with modern woven flax furniture, together with modern surfaces and technology. A squashy leather chaise-longue sofa is next to an open log-and-coal gas fire in an inglenook fireplace in the sitting room, a modern glass and oak coffee table and provençal style dining furniture. The bedroom has a Vi-spring mattress and dual tone pillows on the king-size, woven flax bed with matching sofa, footstool and side tables, the other furniture is the white, fretworked provençal style; the dab radio in here has floor standing speakers and any CD music playing can be piped through to the steam cabinet in the en-suite. An amazing steam/shower/whirlpool bath cabinet for two with its various showers, body jets and foot massagers makes this the ultimate chill-out room. The well equipped 5 Star kitchen has a wide electric oven, five ring gas hob and matching granite worktop and flooring. The central heating throughout is a mix of underfloor and radiators. The technology comprises WiFi Internet, 37” Sky Freesat TV, dab radio/CDs with iPod docks, DVD, video and landline phone. Outside, beside the lake and waterfall there is a natural stone patio with garden furniture and an Outback 2 burner gas barbeque. Devon is a county with so much to see and do, there is a list in the cottage of places to visit and Lakeside Cottage is very centrally situated to make the most of these. It is lovely walking country, there are some beautiful beaches, there is boating, sailing, a tennis centre, dry ski slope, golf courses, fishing lakes, steam trains. Situated around Devon are castles, both ruined and inhabited ones, gardens, historic houses and towns, craft centres, wildlife parks, zoos, a model village, the National Marine Aquarium, a Benedictine Monastery. Within reach for day trips are Cornwall’s Eden Project and The Jurassic Coast, in Dorset. So much to see and do and at the end of the day there are many excellent restaurants and pubs serving food to wine and dine in.
