Swallow Barn

Overview

A unique place to stay in Cornwall, ivy-draped Swallow Barn is an ideal self-catering cottage for those seeking peace and quiet in beautiful surroundings but also easy access to the cafes, shops and galleries of St Ives and Penzance. With its own drive and a parking space just outside the front door, guests can pull up and walk straight into a large entrance room that’s perfect for storing muddy boots, sandy surf boards or wet coats.

Head further inside and you’ll find this rustic, 16th-century former hay barn is both comfortable and packed with character, its walls lined with art, its shelves stocked with thoughtful books and its worktops and windowsills topped with fresh-from-the-garden flowers.

The sitting room is a peaceful sanctuary where you can sit and soak up the famous Cornish light, which pours in through sliding doors and reclaimed Great Western Railway windows, or make yourself at home by the wood burner. Next door, an old Cornish dresser and sociable farmhouse table take pride of place in the quirky cottage kitchen while a ladder leads up to the ‘secret’ bedroom – furnished with a pocket-sprung double bed dressed with fine cotton linens and feather and goose-down duvet and pillows. Softly lit, with two sunny windows filling the space with natural light, it’s a serene, cosy cocoon for a restful night's sleep.

The bathroom, down below the ground floor, has a traditional Cornish slate floor and a mosaic stone-tiled power shower (like many traditional Cornish cottages there is no bath tub). Please note that, being one of the most quirky places to stay in Cornwall, Swallow Barn has its idiosyncracies. The gorgeously pampering bathroom is one of them - accessed via a steep, narrow, winding spiral staircase it’s only suitable for the nimble.

From the sitting room, sliding doors open out onto a private patio, constructed from reclaimed Great Western Railway bricks and kitted out with a barbecue, patio table and chairs. Beyond this is a large lawn which extends up into the farm’s 100 acres of fields and woodlands, ultimately connecting visitors with open moor and the neighbouring Iron Age village, with fantastic walks leading over the moors to the sea. With no light pollution it’s a wonderfully tranquil spot for star-gazing and unwinding among nature and wildlife.