Holiday home from home

The little cottage holiday homeI stayed in last week looked great on the internet brochure but you can never tell what a place is really like until you get there. Unlike many holiday places and hotels, my Boulmer cottage exceeded my expectations. It was lovely.

A single storey cottage that used to be the village post office, it was decorated beautifully, with the colours and decor that I particularly love. Seaside colours and duck egg blue. That just sends me misty eyed for a start.

The cottage was wonderfully clean and felt so comfortable and homely. The owner had kindly provided a welcome pack with two pints of milk in the fridge, fresh flowers and a bottle of wine. She called me in the afternoon when I arrived to make sure all was OK too.

After my beach walk in the late afternoon on Boulmer beach I unpacked, putting everything away and settled in to my holiday home for the week. I had brought some food with me – simple stuff such as soup, fresh bread, cheese, salad and a couple of healthy Thai ready meals. I like going away on my own to have some dedicated thinking and ‘me’ time but I don’t want to spend time cooking and I don’t feel comfortable going to a restaurant or pub on my own generally.

The white wine was in the fridge while I was unpacking and at about 7.30pm I started taking a few pictures and had a lovely ice cold glass of it (well, two actually).

The lounge was particularly nice with the wooden floor, gorgeous duck egg blue striped sofa, the fireplace, the oars and the heart – and of course, the wood burning stove. I didn’t light this the first evening but I did the next day. I turned the central heating off and just had the heat from the fire – bliss.

 I loved it all but possibly my most favourite feature of all was the clock. Duck egg blue and cream – and to die for!

The second bedroom was small with short bunk beds that would have been ideal for a family with little children. But beautifully decorated and so many lovely sea touches.

And the main bedroom was large and with a sea view.

The bedroom photo was taken on the first evening and the photo above on the Sunday morning just after I woke up.

The kitchen was very well appointed with a full size cooker, a small fridge freezer, microwave and even a slow cooker, which I didn’t use, but that was a great idea for families staying in the cottage. Set off a bolognese sauce or casserole or chilli in the morning, go out all day and come home to a meal that’s all ready.

The table was perfect for me as I had my meals there and also used it for a little bit of watercolour painting and making notes when I was looking at my silversmithing books.

The facilities were all very good and the decor lovely but the cottage also had a welcoming atmosphere and although I was there on my own, I felt very happy and safe, content to use my little home from home as a base for my walks and the place where I could relax, think and plan.

Just looking out at the changing skies was a pleasure – this was on the last morning when I got up early as I wanted to make a stop before getting home. It was the only sunrise and dawn that I managed to see!

But I’m jumping ahead, mixing up my pics of the first evening with the sunrise just minutes before I left. The really interesting and flavourful filling of the holiday was sandwiched in between.