Holiday home hotspots: Poldark county voted UK's best holiday destination for eight years in a row

Cornwall has always been a favourite with London families. The county has 30,000 second homes and its Atlantic north coast is the sweet spot.
TV hit: Eleanor Tomlinson as Demelza and Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark
PA
Cathy Hawker19 July 2017

School’s nearly out — and for many Londoners that means it’s time to load up the car and head down the M4 to North Cornwall. And if the dreamy scenery in TV drama Poldark makes you crave the Cornish lifestyle, you are not alone. The county has 30,000 second homes and its Atlantic north coast is the sweet spot.

PRIME NORTH COAST: ROCK

“People come to Rock and Daymer Bay for the same reasons they came 40 or 50 years ago,” says Jo Ashby of Cornish estate agents John Bray. “It’s a sailing estuary, brilliant for young children and has had good investment in infrastructure with golf, watersports and restaurants.

“North Cornwall provides comfort and safety, a place where people from London and the home counties love to recreate traditional family holidays.”

Property in Rock ranges from £300,000 for a three-bedroom cottage in the village up to £3 million for a contemporary five-bedroom house with pool and estuary views. Once you get close to the water it is hard to find anything less than £2 million, says Ashby.

£550,000: in New Polzeath, the two-bedroom cottage nearest the camera is for sale through John Bray

“For our clients, this pocket of North Cornwall feels a solid place to invest, especially in times of global uncertainty. Rock’s popularity has spilt over into Polzeath which offers more varied homes, and also Port Isaac.”

A comfortable modern three-bedroom flat at popular four-star St Moritz Hotel in Daymer Bay, directly on the coastal footpath, is £720,000, while a two-bedroom cottage with a south-facing garden minutes from the beach at New Polzeath is £550,000, both through agent John Bray.

VALUE AT MAWGAN PORTH

“For better value head to Mawgan Porth, nine miles from Padstow,” advises estate agent Miles Kevin of Chartsedge. “It used to be mainly campsites and older bungalows but it has changed dramatically over the past three or four years with demand from Londoners particularly strong.”

From £249,000: apartments in a newly refurbished building in Mawgan Porth. Chartsedge

Mawgan Porth is just 10 minutes from Newquay airport and close to the surfing hotspot of Watergate Bay. Chartsedge is selling a scheme of five newly refurbished one- to three-bedroom flats a three-minute walk from the beach, at £249,000 to £379,000. These fully furnished holiday homes with rental management cannot be used as primary residences. The annual service charge is £1,080.

Two miles from Padstow and just a mile from three sandy beaches but also with restricted holiday home conditions, Bay Retreat in St Merryn has 28 two-bedroom mews cottages, newly refurbished into modern holiday rentals and fully furnished at £149,000 on a 999-year lease, with a guaranteed rental return of seven per cent.

Inland at Little Petherick, three miles from Padstow, Chartsedge has new five-bedroom detached homes for £475,000, for owners’ use year round, though they also cannot be a main residence. Projections from local company Beach Retreats show annual rental returns could reach £62,000.

BOOMING RENTALS

Cornwall has been named best UK holiday destination by the British Travel Awards for eight consecutive years and rental bookings are shaping up well for this summer, says Julianne Shelton, MD of luxury letting company Cornish Gems.

“We are currently looking at a 15 per cent upturn in booking revenue compared with 2016, helped by Cornwall’s constantly enduring appeal and the fact it is upping its game year on year with terrific calibre of accommodation, food choices, Blue Flag beaches and exciting activities.”

WE LOVE IT SO, WE HAD TO MOVE HERE

“Life doesn’t get much better”: Roo Cross, her husband Ian, their son Archie and daughter Molly at home in Mawgan Porth

Roo Cross and her architect husband Ian bought and renovated a house in Mawgan Porth in 2002 but after each holiday it got harder to leave. So in 2010 they moved there permanently with son Archie, now 20, and daughters Molly, 18, and Betsy, 14.

“Mawgan Porth is between Newquay and Padstow, a stunning location with a wonderful community and fabulous beach,” says Roo. “Living by the sea is such a privilege, one we never take for granted.

“There’s a great feeling of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in North Cornwall. People are resourceful and non-judgemental.”

In 2013 Roo opened a shop in Porth selling a personal edit of her favourite brands. Roo’s Beach is a colourful showcase for Cornwall’s surf style, a perfect pop of year-round summer. Ian has his own design and architectural company.

"My daily commute to work is along the coast past Watergate Bay,” says Roo. “Life is relaxed. Ian and Archie are keen surfers while Betsy loves jumping off high rocks into the sea after school with her friends. We are very localised and spend weekends walking the coastal path, drinking gin in our local The Merrymoor and eating at Scott & Babs at Retorrick Mill. For me, life doesn’t get much better."