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Review 1460: Helpful Holidays, Haynes Cottage

www.helpfulholidays.com

Recommended. Review by Pauline from NM

2bed/2bath cottage near Mortonhampstead, West Country

Hayne Cottage, Mortonhampstead, Devon, England, photo by Pauline

When

May 2005, 1 week

Location

The cottage was located on an estate in Devon, about a mile from the charming village of Mortonhampstead. This is in eastern Devon, on the eastern edge of Dartmoor. The estate was well off the main road - which is a narrow road that is not that busy. You could walk to the village (through the fields), but we always drove and parked in the Pay and Display lot at the edge of the town.

The location was good. This part of Devon is very beautiful, has great walking and beautiful villages. You can get onto the Dartmoor easily too. The cottage is a separate house on the estate. Behind it is the house that the keykeeper (and gardener) lives in and beyond that is the large estate house. The keykeeper was there to check us in and out, and she gave us a tour through the gardens (they even have a large area where they have owls).

Nearby Amenities

You could walk to Mortonhampstead, which is a good sized village, but we always drove (less than a mile) because we stopped there when we were heading out for the day. There were two very nice tea rooms in town, a few pubs, and very good shops (a deli/butcher where you could get sandwichs etc. to take on a hike; a small supermarket; a greengrocer; etc.). There were one or two restaurants.

The nearest Waitrose (my favorite UK upscale supermarket) was about 30 minutes drive in Okehampton (it is right in the center of town, north from the main road at the traffic lights near the church - a bit hard to find). There were also large shops in Newton Abbott, about 30 minutes to the south (but the traffic can be thick there).

We had most of our dinners at home, but there are restaurants in Mortonhampstead or in nearby Chagford and Drewsteignton. It was not such a long drive down to Bovey Tracey (15 mins) - we got takeout pizza from there and they have a couple of fish and chip shops (one in the main town, one in the outskirts).

The House/Apartment

This is an older house in good shape. It is on two floors. On the ground floor is the living room, entrance, dining room, and kitchen. Upstairs are two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Garden

There was a large private garden in front of the house with a nice wooden table and chairs. The view was out to a lovely hill with sheep on it. There were pretty trees in the garden.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

The house was clean. The furnishings were a bit worn and were not fancy. There was a couch and two comfortable chairs in the living room and a dining table with four chairs (we worked and ate there). Everything, except the kitchen, was carpetted.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

The bed was comfortable and the bedroom had a window looking out over the yard to the hill beyond. A nice bathroom with a lovely large tub. Good hot water.

Kitchen

The kitchen was usable, but some of the kitchen things were old. The toaster, the kettle - were old and worn out. The dishwasher was in the pantry, which was awkward for loading. The washer and dryer were in there too. So was the fridge - which was also a bit awkward. But we made lots of meals here.

Problems or Bonuses

The surprise was how beautiful this area was. We loved the little villages along the edge of the moor. Any of these towns would be a good base for a week or more.

The only problem was the kitchen equipment being a bit old and worn.

A big bonus was the Hayne Manor gardens which we got to explore because the owners were away for a few days (although, even if they are there, they let you explore the gardens I think). These gardens are beautiful!!

Agency and Representatives (and price)

Helpful Holidays are very good to work with and their prices are good. We paid about $600 for the week and this house was big enough for four people.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

Yes, I recommend this vacation rental, but if you can find a house right in one of the villages, it might be a better location - you could walk out for tea in the morning. We needed a place with a phone line (to use with the computers) and this house had a phone.

Photos of Hayne Cottage and Hayne Manor gardens

Things to do in this area

Devon is a wonderful place to travel. You can hike in the countryside around the moor or on the moor (although it is a bit barren up there and always seems to be bad weather). We drove down to Torquay one day and the traffic was horrible! We ended up in Paignton, but just drove through and out. Totnes is a nice town. You can get into Exeter easily (we didn't, but we should have) or down to Plymouth. We had big plans to explore parts of Cornwall from here, but we had a family emergency while here (one of our cats died) and we spent a couple of days with a friend in Buckfastleigh, so we did not have as many days for touring as we thought we would. I would happily go back to this area.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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