Home away from home at foot of the Blackdown Hills

We offer a rural escape in a spacious, welcoming cottage with a family life at its heart. Tucked away at the foot of the Blackdown Hills AONB, but with great access to the M5/A373/A30 the cottage is a perfect base for exploring the best of the West Country. So, whether you want countryside walks to picturesque villages and ancient woods or a short drive to the beaches of the Jurassic coast, Exeter, Dartmoor or Exmoor, our cottage is the place to head out from – and the cosy home to return to! The space Pet friendly: Your furry friends are very welcome here! We ask you to add them to the booking so we know they are coming! Also They are not allowed upstairs or on any of the furniture! The local area: For a feel of what it is like to live here, and the great things to do that are nearby see our guidebook by clicking "Show More" in the "Where You'll Be" section of AirBnB below. The Guidebook link is at the bottom. In it, we've highlighted a lot of the local amenities and showcased the beautiful Blackdown landscapes you'll be nestled amongst as well as picking out our favourites places to go whilst in the West: including the Jurassic coast, Dartmoor and Exmoor! The Cottage: The Cottage is a four bedroomed semi-detached property. It dates from some time before 1840 when it was housing for workers at one of the hamlet's local farms. The front steps lead through the main entrance and into a short hallway with the downstairs WC to the left, the Office to the right (see below) and then straight on to the dining room. The dining room which acts as the heart of the house. The farmhouse dining table in the centre of this room is perfect so that you can have great family meals to celebrate being away! (It is also a lovely place to relax and enjoy the morning sun with the first coffee of the day.) The kitchen is connected to the dining room by an open archway and is fully fitted with sink, oven, microwave, Nespresso machine and frother, fridge, freezer and dishwasher. There is plenty of storage space and work-surfaces. A large store cupboard offering storage for large items. Beyond the kitchen is a utility room that houses the washing machine and drier and has an extra sink. From the dining room a door opens to the stairs, the side door and the lounge beyond. The side door opens directly onto the garden. If you are spending time around the house, this door will be the door you use most often as it allows you to potter in and out of the garden! The lounge is both spacious and cosy, it has two large sofas, an armchair, reading chair, and a coffee table, as well as a log-burning stove (we offer a complementary basket of wood for the first night of your stay during the Autumn/winter period!). We do not provide wood from 1st May up until 1st Oct. If you would like to use the fire in this period of time you are more than welcome to but would need to provide the wood, kindling and fire lighters. The 55" TV is perfect for a night in and comes with Netflix and a range of digital channels. The Office, adjacent to the front door provides an additional lounge space. A desk fills the wall facing the garden. It has plenty of space for two or more to sit at it, and can be used as a home office or for kids to sit and draw at. The room has windows on two sides and is wonderfully light during the day with views over the garden. It makes for an excellent work space, reading room or playroom and we've filled the shelves with a selection of board games and puzzles! Heading upstairs there are four bedrooms and a family shower room. All rooms are fitted with professionally laundered, high-quality bedding. The Master Bedroom is spacious with a king-size bed and a large in-built wardrobe, bedside tables, a dressing table and chest of drawers. The Oak Room offers a double bed, bedside tables, large fitted wardrobe, Free standing full length mirror and chest of drawers. The Bunk Room offers bunk beds, chest of drawers and wardrobe. The Twin Room has twin beds with under bed drawers and hanging unit. All windows are fitted with child locks and a stair gate is provided. There is unlimited 100MB fibre optic WiFi in the property. It should be noted that the stairs to the first floor are reasonably steep but there is a banister for assistance. The cottage has a south-facing, fenced private garden offering a generous lawned area for kids to play in or to relax and enjoy the sun. There is a paved patio area adjacent to the side door. The property is semi-detached and we live in the adjacent property. We know that when you are on holiday the last thing you want is to be disturbed. Access is by lockbox, and we will fully respect your privacy during your stay. However, we are on hand, should you need anything. Guest access The cottage is located down a country lane and there is parking for two vehicles in front of the property and further parking in a common area nearby. The onsite parking is accessed by a bridge over a small stream that flows around the border of the property. There is no public transport from the village, but there are lots of footpaths to neighbouring villages or up to the ancient woods on the top of the hill where there is loads of space to explore! Other things to note We love board games and we know that family holidays are one of those times when its great to get everyone around the table! We've got all the classics (Monopoly, Scrabble, Cluedo, Pictionary, Risk, Trivial Pursuits etc.) but we've supplemented them with some of the great new games that have been released in recent years so if you've not yet played them Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne and Ticket To Ride are amongst the exciting new options for your family to get your teeth into! Please take care of the games and put them back how you find them.