The Testimonials Of Parnacott

“The North coast of our peninsula turns sharply south in two big steps, roughly at Ilfracombe, where the Bristol Channel joins into the Atlantic and again at Hartland  Point, where Devon slides down into Cornwall crossing the boarder, just north of Bude.

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The second of these corners is actually more acute than a right angle and the triangular area south and east, with the market town of Holsworthy at it's base, could easily be described as the Horn of Devon! You heard it here first.

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It's a fascinating slice of the West-country. Passionate Cornish-men and deeply devoted Devonian’s might not agree , but the difference between our region's neighboring counties is less sharply defined here and the infant Tamar, that marks the boundary, far less of a dividing line than it becomes further south.”

“For those of us from the "soft" south of Devon, making up the trip to the wide open spaces and dramatic clay-covered county in the north can be as big an adventure as crossing the channel to Britany from Plymouth or flying out of Exeter airport for a Mediterranean resort.

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At least that is what I told my wife and daughters and the girls' four grandparents, who joined us for a weekend away at Parnacott House, just west of Holsworthy, in what can often be a "dead" period of the year in mid-January.”

“Parnacott dates back to at least the reign of Elizabeth 1 and owners John and Rondi Vowler believe its situation on the upper reaches of a low hill, the fact that it is well-served by springs that break through the clay cap and is well-wooded all suggest it may well have been occupied long before that, perhaps as early as Roman times.

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It expanded over the years from a small farm to a more substantial Devon longhouse and - thanks to shrewder marriages - eventually grew a grand Georgian frontage in 1820.

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With a couple of breaks, during the First World War when it was a temporarily a nursing home and in the Second World War when it was taken over as a gun battery. temporarily Vowlers have been in residence for some 400 years, many of them called John. The current John, who lives in the cottage with his wife Rondi and lets the main house to holidaymakers, is unlikely to be the last. His Daughter and son-in-law and son John Richard, are waiting in the wings.”

“The key to self-catering holiday accommodation, in my views, is that it should either be better equipped and at least as comfortable, if not more comfortable than home, or it should be in such a lovely spot you can put up with a few discomforts.

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Parnacott luckily scores on both fronts. Great location, set in its own 12-acres with coast and country on the doorstep, and fabulously equipped to enable the cooks in the party to rustle up delicious meals, plus two huge TV's, WiFi - restricted only by the poor broadband service that affects much of the West-country

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- and superb comfort.

It is nice to have access to the to the internet, TV and the rest of the 21st century on tap. But Parnacott also offers more than just a taste of an earlier age. The magnificent dining room, with seating for 14 around a candle-lit table and family portraits glowering down, encourages good table manners and fine food and wine.”