Crimpers Cottage

Beautiful Fowey sits on a natural harbour on the river estuary in south Cornwall, long a fishing and trading port, and once a pirate haunt to boot. Just the sort of Cornish village to provide a historic backdrop for a relaxing seaside break – especially in a place with as much character as Crimpers Cottage, which once did duty as the village bakery. It's bang in the centre of things, which means just walking out of the front door onto cobbled streets to find shops, cafes and restaurants, with the old harbour a short stroll away.

It's a ground-floor apartment – upstairs is the associated Old Bakery apartment – turned out in a pleasing, contemporary style, with two snug bedrooms, one of them en-suite. There's also a shipshape family bathroom with both bath and shower, while the non-en-suite room opens out onto the courtyard, so there's a bonus whichever room you choose. A smart, open-plan living area and a bright, white, fully equipped kitchen make it quite the home from home – there's certainly all the space, facilities and utensils you need if you're planning on big brunches and quiet meals in. Meanwhile, the living area opens out onto the same courtyard patio as the bedroom, where bench seating means you can soak up the sun – if not the views, bearing in mind that this is the ground floor of an old village house. (There's also no parking, for the same reason, but you can get parking passes for the nearby car parks.)

The views, however – and daily life as well – are all around, since you're just steps away from the harbourside, or the village's old pubs and acclaimed seafood restaurants. You can pick up the coastal path and walk to the nearby coves, or the closest sandy beach is a ten-minute hop in the car across the peninsula at Polkerris. Even the Eden Project is only a short drive away, while towns like St Austell and Bodmin offer more shops, supermarkets and historic attractions.