Review: Penmarlam Lodge Retreats, near Fowey, Cornwall, UK /

High above the yacht-strewn River Tamar, the road crosses westwards from Devon to Cornwall. If many Cornish people, waving their black and white cross flags, had their way, we would enter another country. Also in this country they would speak Kernow the Cornish language.

Beyond Liskeard, as we head west, our route descends past emerald green valleys to a steep coastline. Then, on the east side of the River Fowey, Penmarlam Lodge Retreat peacefully awaits.

Cars are a rarity. After Penmarlam the road bends towards the small village of Bodinnick and the small ferry that runs the few hundred yards to Fowey. At Penmarlam Lodge Retreat guests hear much more birdsong than traffic.

Lovat Holiday Parks has created a new hamlet of some 30 lodges: a mix of two and three bedroom properties, some with hot tubs. Designed as long term second homes and holiday rentals, the lodges offer all the comfort and space of a home from home.

The welcome

Parking at the reception, we pick up our key and a map. Even though we are a bit early, Carol has everything ready for our arrival. Our three bedroom lodge has space for two cars to park right next to the main entrance. Unloading luggage takes less than two minutes. With milk in the fridge and a welcome pack with coffee, tea and biscuits, we soon have the kettle on.

The lodge

Our lodge has only been in operation since Easter 2023 and clearly feels new with contemporary decor. Deep-pile light gray carpet runs through the open living and dining room. Beige blinds with a geometric pattern keep the sun at bay. A gray L-shaped sofa and an inviting armchair provide plenty of indoor seating.

Fitted with a four-ring hob, oven and fridge-freezer, the kitchen, which also includes a wine fridge, is suitable for some serious self-catering.

Take a trip to Kittows of Fowey, a butcher’s shop that not only sells beef from the pedigree herds on the family farm, but also fresh fish and delicacies. Throw in bread from the Cornish Bakery, gin from Tarquins and you’ve got the ingredients for a gourmet feast. Fortunately, the lodge has a large dishwasher.

The master bedroom, with a 1.50 meter high bed topped by an oversized plush gray velvet headboard, has its own en-suite bathroom with both a bath and shower.

A family bathroom, again with bath and shower, is opposite the second and third bedrooms: two single beds adorned with gray bedspreads.

Services

The reception opens into a shop and provides the essentials you may have forgotten to self cater. An outdoor playground and a table tennis table provide entertainment for the younger guests.

As this is an excellent walking area, there are seasons when washing the dog is much appreciated.

Rent

Across the river is Fowey, a quaint little town with winding streets populated by cottages with names such as Sailors Return, Starboard and River View. Seagulls cry, red geraniums glisten in the sun and there’s a hint of sea salt in the air.

Fowey attracts foodies from far and wide and has an abundance of cafes and restaurants, often with seafood on the menu: think prawn salad, bouillabaisse, crab, fish ‘n chips, mackerel and mussels.

From Penmarlam, it’s a 50-minute drive west to the romantic tale of The Lost Gardens of Helican, just north of St Austell. Before the First World War, 22 men worked on the gardens. Although some survived the massacre, none returned to tend the gardens after the war. When the house was converted into apartments, the forgotten gardens became so overgrown with brambles that a machete was an essential gardening tool.

Many years of blood, sweat and tears later, as well as a cost of around half a million pounds, the multi-tiered gardens opened to the public in 1992. The mantra of restoring the lost continues. Returning beavers to the wild. Rediscovering a lost pea. Working again with long-forgotten gardening techniques, such as the country’s only pineapple plantation.

With Heligan recovered, Sir Tim Smit needed a new project. He found it in the 30 acres of a former clay quarry. A location unlikely for Smit’s vision, inspired by Conan Doyle’s Lost world but now The Eden Project attracts about a million visitors a year.

Beneath biomes that look like soapsuds that stretch across the landscape, The Eden Project takes visitors on a global ecological tour through rainforest and Mediterranean terrain.

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Other nice keys

Double doors open onto a large decking area that wraps around two sides of the lodge. Patio furniture is an ideal place to watch the sunset with a glass of wine in hand.

Radiators in every room make the lodges a cozy retreat from busy life all year round. Even in the dead of winter, the South West Coastal Path is there to walk.

Costs

A three night weekend stay (Friday to Monday) or a four night midweek stay (Monday to Friday) at Penmarlam Lodge Retreat costs from £330 (total) with accommodation in a three bedroom holiday home for six people.

The best bit

Along a sun-drenched single-lane road, past ferns and purple-blooming fireweeds, a half-mile downhill walk leads to the Old Ferry Inn in Bodinnick. This pub-hotel overlooks the estuary where a ferry has operated to Fowey for over six centuries.

It’s a historic place for a break from self-catering. Ferryside, across the lane, is where novelist Daphne du Maurier first fell in love with Cornwall.

The final verdict

Perfectly located in peaceful rural Cornwall, Penmarlam Lodge Retreat is just a short ferry ride from the charms of Fowey.

These lodge retreats, many of which are dog-friendly, offer year-round comfort and provide a luxurious base for exploring South Cornwall.

Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored by Penmarlam Lodge Retreat.