For kin
One day they’ll say, “When we were kids, we found a place to call home, a family cottage that became a midwinter fortress. The floor was lava, and there were owls each night, and always crumpets at breakfast.”
Or, something like that, anyway.
In places where lochside retreats are eclipsed by peasouper fogs, and sea-crafted gales are carried in on the wings of sooty shearwaters, your motley crew (and the dogs, too) will always be found together. Here’s to time away with your homefolk, to tallying up the seconds between lightning flashes and thunder claps, and the careful cherry-picking of Monopoly tokens.
These weathered seasons are for luxury hideaways. For teaching the children the cosy curriculum: discovering herbs in the garden at dawn, squeezing lemon wedges over cast-iron puffed pancakes at lunch, and melting boiled sweets into stained glass sugar cookies for last lesson. What you feel most has no name but cinnamon, blankets, puzzles, chuckles, and rivers of honey flowing from the drizzler.
Watermark
Stoke Gabriel, Totnes, Devon, UK
A former boat workshop, Watermark is a luxury waters’-edge home with a hot tub on the River Dart in Devon's Stoke Gabriel; expect chic shacks, crabbing, and canoes instead of cars.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £2,395 per week, £1,795 per short break
Pets: Sorry, no pets
Features: Hot tub
Ivy Cove
Holbeton, Noss Mayo, Devon, UK
Perfectly placed for both sun baking and storm watching, Ivy Cove is a luxury cottage near Noss Mayo where colourful modern design and spectacular coastal views go hand in hand.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,650 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three small dogs on prior request
Features: Wood-fired hot tub and tennis court
Castle on the Well
South Molton, Exmoor, Devon, UK
Fusing authentic lodge appeal with an unexpected stately twist, Castle on the Well is a luxury fortress on the edge of Exmoor National Park in the rolling Devonshire countryside.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 4 & Up to 2 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,550 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome on prior request
Features: Fire pit
The Brandy Thief
Lee, Ilfracombe, Devon, UK
Awash with history and swathed in character, this luxury coastal cottage is a dreamy retreat for explorers looking to hunker down in North Devon.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 4 & Up to 2 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,495 per short break
Pets: One small to medium well-behaved dog is welcome and two on prior request
Novella
This cob cottage deep in Devon's woodland is a storybook home; tucked down a lane, decked in antique furnishings, Novella is a luxury chapel conversion with a hot tub in Braunton.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £2,095 per week, £1,495 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub, trampoline, outdoor kitchen (year-round)
The Lost Music Hall
Created by a London dandy as a secret retreat from society, The Lost Music Hall is a luxury Arts and Crafts manor with a pool in a hidden valley near Totnes, in Devon's South Hams.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 & Up to 12 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,595 per short break
Pets: Two pets are welcome
Features: Heated outdoor swimming pool (May-September) and games room with table tennis and darts
Penny Black
North Bovey, Dartmoor, Devon, UK
A luxury thatched cottage with a hot tub in North Bovey, one of Devon's most idyllic Dartmoor villages, Penny Black Cottage is the type of home you might find in the pages of a storybook.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 4 & Up to 2 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,495 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request.
Features: Hot tub
Beauport
A luxury waterfront cottage on the banks of the River Yealm in yachty Newton Ferrers, the oh-so-stylish Beauport is a restful Devon hotspot with a summerhouse and private slipway.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 4 & Up to 2 guests
From: £1,750 per week, £1,295 per short break
Pets: Sorry, no pets
Features: Summerhouse, kayaks (used at your own risk, life jackets not provided), private slipway
Botania
Ashburton, Dartmoor, Devon, UK
Wrapped in Dartmoor’s mossy-hued clutches, and minutes from the good-living village of Ashburton, Botania is an Arts and Crafts manor that keeps Devon's River Dart in its backyard.
Sleeps: Up to 8 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 & Up to 4 guests
From: £2,950 per week
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Leopoldina
Stoke Gabriel, Totnes, Devon, UK
Once the stables to Sandridge Park, now a luxury Italianate manor with a heated pool in Devon's Stoke Gabriel, Leopoldina was the last creation of famed architect John Nash.
Sleeps: Up to 10 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £5,150 per week, £3,895 per short break
Pets: Sorry, no pets
Features: Outdoor heated pool (available May-September), private beach on the River Dart, yoga space with roof terrace, and games annex with table tennis and a football table
Verte
A spectacularly grown-up treehouse, Verte is a luxury RIBA-award winning home within Devon's lush Chevithorne Barton estate, complete with a hot tub and glorious gardens.
Sleeps: Up to 10 guests (6 adults and 4 children)
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £3,795 per week, £2,995 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Wood-fired hot tub, large flat lawn for croquet, rowing boats, football and badminton
Haute Hibernation > For Kin > UK > Devon
