Monday 12 October 2020

The Old Piggery :: Sidbury, Devon

Hi there everyone πŸ˜€

Well, with one thing and another it’s been nearly a year since I’ve had a holiday cottage review to share with you. 

We are not long back from our first real holiday of the year ... our two planned previous breaks both cancelled or postponed because of lockdown. We managed to get our annual two week break in at the back end of September, where normally things are a bit quieter ... as all the little munchkins are back at school and usually we are blessed with a reasonable bit of sunshine.

Whilst we were more than ready for a break it is fair to say that there was some trepidation. We weren’t too concerned about social distancing as we know that when it comes to that we are pretty much masters of our own destiny. The one thing that was making us a little nervous was the thought of stopping in a property that had been occupied by other people that we did not know.

I’d spoken to the owner about my concerns ahead of travelling and was reassured to hear about the additional measures that were in place to ensure that the property was as Covid safe as possible. We still went armed with plenty of anti bacterial cleansers and disinfectant spray and our own bedding and linen to start us off.

This time we were off to explore a part of the Devon coast that neither of us have really seen before. We were staying in The Old Piggery in Sidbury just north of Sidmouth, which used to look like this ...

... but has undergone just a bit of a renovation ...

The plan was to focus on that bit of the south coast from Exmouth across to Lyme Regis. We were both looking forward to seeing Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Branscombe, Lympstone, Beer, Sidmouth and Seaton and maybe also revisiting Lyme Regis and West Bay.

It was a bit of a slow old drive down, the M5 its usual busy self for a Friday afternoon.

There were a few changes made to our journey, as a result of Covid. We’d packed up a car picnic, so we could avoid the services, though we did stop at Taunton Dean for a quick visit to the facilities. It was all very well organised and we felt quite safe just nipping in to use the loo.

We couldn’t check in until 5pm, to allow extra time for cleaning and airing and, seeing as we arrived early we had a bit of a drive into Sidmouth and along the coast to Budleigh Salterton, both of which looked lovely and definitely worthy of a closer look.



So ...

When did we visit?
11-25 September 2020

How many does it sleep?
4 - in one double and one
twin bedroom

How much was it?
Not cheap! £1928.00

Who did we book with?
Hoseasons ... through Quidco so
did get some cashback







We arrived and the cottage looked perfect ... tucked down a narrow country lane ...
... surrounded by fields, with the owners fairly close at hand next door, their pretty thatched cottage just being visible through the hedgerow ...

Inside it was absolutely spotless and soooooo light and airy. We threw open the bifold doors across the back and gave all the touch points a quick wipe before unpacking ... 

The view across to the tiny village of Sidbury from the patio was just lovely ...

The main living space was open plan ...

... and there were two decent sized bedrooms, one double and one twin, both with plenty of storage space for two week's worth of paraphenalia. There was also a nice shower room.

We were soon unpacked and settled in for our first night.

Our likes over the course of our stay ...
  • The situation of the cottage was perfect for us, both in the fact that it was just outside the village in a beautiful rural environment and the location of the village along that part of the Devon coast. It was very easy to get out and about and there were lots of interesting places to visit without going very far.
  • The space ... for just the two of us the cottage was very spacious. There was plenty of room and plenty of storage space, which is always useful as it's good to be able to stow all your bits and pieces away.
  • It was lovely and clean ... no nasty or grubby spots at all.
  • The kitchen had plenty of everything that we needed and was well set out and good for cooking in.
  • Lovely cosy and comfy beds.
  • Nice reliable Wifi.
  • There was a log burner, though we were blessed with glorious weather so didn't get to use it.
  • The skylights and bifold doors made for a really light and airy environment. It was lovely to get back in and throw open the doors and feel the evening breeze drift through.
  • The view was stunning. We waited a full two weeks for enough cloud to give us a decent sunset, but it was worth the wait ...

Anything that could have made it better ...
  • We timed our stay with the dreaded field fly season, so did have a bit of a problem on occasion with flies and bugs ... but hey, that's what the countryside is like.
Would we recommend this property to our friends and family?
Most certainly

Would we stay in this cottage again?

If we were to visit this part of Devon again then there is every likelihood that we would stay here again. It was a lovely cottage in the perfect spot for exploring the East Devon coast πŸ˜€

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3 comments:

  1. !!!!!!!!!Perfectly! Will there be more photos?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes Elena ... lots more to come ... sunshine and seaside 🌞🌞🌞

      Delete

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