Penquite Farm, Golant near Fowey, Cornwall
Host: Ruth Varco
ruth@penquitefarm.co.uk www.penquitefarm.co.uk
01726 833319
This is a great place, and very accessible. We thoroughly recommend it. Just make sure you have a vehicle, preferably not too wide!
We picked up our accessible van at St. Pancras station in kings Cross after arriving from Lille on the Eurostar. It was a bit rough but did the job.
The London traffic on Friday arvo was appalling of course. The motorways to Cornwall were a mess too so we took 7 hours instead of 5 but we sailed past Stonehenge which is perfectly visible from the A303. Last time I drove this way it was 2 pm but enveloped in fog.
Our gps did the stupid thing and took us by the shortest route, in the dark, which was fascinating but scary. About 10 miles of tiny, winding road seemingly cut through earth and just wide enough for our van.
We finally arrived at Penquite farm, which was a nice surprise as it surpassed our expectations.
The farm is about 1/2 a mile from the fishing hamlet of Golant and 4 km from Fowey.
The farm is charming and very well maintained. It has lovely views over green fields divided by hedgerows, a graveyard and old but accessible church just outside the apartment door. The owner, Ruth’s twin grandchildren were getting baptised on the morrow, so we planned to get to church by 9am.
From Wikipedia, “Golant church is dedicated to St Sampson of Dol. The poet John Betjeman claimed its pews were the most uncomfortable in the whole of Cornwall. The church was mentioned in the book England’s Thousand Best Churches by Simon Jenkins.”
We stayed in “Coaches Rest” at Penquite Farm in Golant.
The “cabin” is first on the left inside the gates, opposite the church. Behind the church the lies a green valley filled with a patchwork of green fields divided by hedgerows. The cabin is huge and very well equipped. It has a dishwasher, washer and dryer, fridge and freezer, good toaster, large tv in the lounge and a smaller one well positioned in the master bedroom.
The master bedroom has a large double bed, plenty of space, and a spacious wheelchair accessible bathroom with a roll-in shower, or “wet room” as the Brits say. There is a good ramp to the front door. There is a second bedroom with two single beds and a nice bath. There is also a good patio area with a table and chairs and barbecue. There is a step down to this but Ruth supplied a home made ramp, as well as raisers for the lounge table and the bed off required/useful.
A very steep but sealed road leads down to the town of Golant 500 metres away.
I had my Q6000 on almost full tilt as I descended. The town is charming, with a lovely harbour, boats abounding, and cute cottages all about. The “Fishermans Arms” pub has a good range of food. There is a tricky 15cm step into the gloom so I need my ramp. The beer garden out front has about 10 steps of or down.
There are plenty of kayaks to rent. Golant is quiet and far less crowded than the much more extensive but very crowded Fowey, three km south.
