Peppercombe Coastguard Cottage 2

Nr. Bideford, Devon

Anyone with a hankering for a remote hideaway that's close to the beach will love this whitewashed cottage. It is an adventure to reach down a dusty and bumpy track that meanders through a wooded valley. It has an interesting story too – it used to house officers who policed the wild seas for smugglers and later evolved into a life-saving Coastguard Service, hence the name. 

The cottage itself sits alongside Peppercombe Coastguard Cottages 1 and 3 and although it’s been refurbished with bright and modern interiors, it still retains its 18th-century character with oak floorboards in the bedrooms and a large, inglenook fireplace. Step just outside the cottage to your own picnic area under the leafy canopies that flourish with birds and butterflies in the summer. 

You’ll be nestled in a secluded woodland area in the Peppercombe Valley, only a few minutes’ stroll from the rocky foreshore and red cliffs of the nearby beach. There’s a sandy expanse at low tide, so don’t forget your bucket and spade. 

No visit would be complete without a visit to the cobbled village of Clovelly which is just three miles away and the lively old port of Bideford, just four miles to the east.