A secret getaway in a little-known corner of Cornwall, the Rame peninsula is actually the easiest part of this holiday-fave county to get to, lying just across the River Tamar from Plymouth. So here’s the deal: if you don’t fancy driving (and parking in Kingsand can be tricky, especially in high summer), you can simply hop on a train to Plymouth, cab to the quayside, and catch the Cremyll Ferry across the river, where Dylan McLees Taylor (one half of the B&B’s owners) will collect you in his car and spirit you to the little piece of heaven that is Westcroft Guesthouse.
Dylan and his wife Sarah have created just three individually designed rooms, with hand-painted papers, custom-commissioned murals, wooden floors, and antique beds in this tall, skinny house tucked into one of Kingsand’s impossibly narrow, winding lanes. The four-poster room, with its pretty pink-red Toile de Jouy walls, comes complete with a private sitting room, but for a true romantic eyrie it's worth trying to bag the Clock Tower suite, right at the very top of the house. Bathrooms vary from the metro-tiled New York look to soothing slate, and feature Neil’s Yard products.
And that's more or less that on the accommodation front. Outside the four walls of the guesthouse, sandy coves, lively pubs (the Devonshire Arms next door serves a mean pasty, a mean risotto and a mean pint) and seabreezes are guaranteed in this picturesque corner of the south coast.
What’s hot?
- Breakfast on a bench looking out to sea
- Walks around the Rame peninsula
- On request art classes by local St Ives artist Jim Woolley
What’s not?
- None of the bedrooms has a seaview
Need to Know: Westcroft Guesthouse
Number of rooms: 3
Check-in/check-out times: Flexible
Swimming pool: No
Spa: No, but in-room treatments are available.
Dogs welcome: Yes
Eating and drinking: Breakfasts are served at flexible times either at the circular dining table or in your room, and focus on local, organic produce. Candle-lit dinners are also available if you give advance notice.
Near to? The beachfront B&B also has its own gallery, so you don’t have to venture far to take in some local art. Head to nearby Millbrook for a delicious lunch at The View – owner Matt Corner is in the Michelin Guide.
Getting there: Kingsand is signposted off the A38 after Saltash. Or take the train to Plymouth and a taxi to the Cremyll Ferry. Plymouth airport is a 25-minute drive away.
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