Dartmoor Medlar Blue

About this property

Country comfort awaits with this two-bedroom cottage, perfect for families and welcoming pets, just a mile or so from the village of Chaddlehanger and within easy distance of Dartmoor National Park. A true countryside home from home!

If you always pictured yourselves snuggling up next to a glowing warm wood burner reading a book or watching a movie with your dog at your feet; then this cottage is for you!

This charming two bedroom, two bathroom cottage nestling next to it's own stream just a mile from the edge of Dartmoor and 2 miles from the historic market town of Tavistock.

Walk in to a spacious and relaxing living room decorated with style & panache. Light to log burner and enjoy cooking in it's well equipped farm house style kitchen, complete with iconic Smeg fridge/freezer.

It's an ideal cottage for families and couples at any time of the year.

Outside there is parking for two cars in the shared courtyard and the small, unfenced garden has a table and chairs next to the stream.

Amenities include:

? Electric storage radiators with boost switches

? Electric oven and hob

? Dishwasher

? Microwave

? Smeg fridge/freezer

? Washer/dryer

? Iron & ironing board

? TV & DVD

? iPod dock

? Free Wi-Fi

? A selection of books & DVDs

? Hair dryer

? Equipped with crisp white linens, towels and luxury toiletries.

? Outside parking for two cars.

If you want great food but would like someone else to prepare it for you, the owner offers a range of high quality seasonal home-made dishes. An example menu which can be pre-ordered for your arrival or prepared for you during your stay.

We are spoilt for choice when eating out and we are happy to recommend and organize bookings at the many excellent local restaurants. These include the Endsleigh, The Cornish Arms, the two Michelin Star Gidleigh Park, Hugh Fernley Whittingstall's River Cottage Canteen and The Dartmoor Inn at Lydford.

Specification: Gas fired central heating; electric oven and hob; dish washer; microwave; fridge/freezer; iron & ironing board; TV, DVD, iPod dock, free Wi-Fi; a selection of books & DVDs; hair dryer; equipped with crisp white linens, towels and luxury toiletries.

The cottage is very dog friendly. Dartmoor is perfect for taking your dog for longs walks - endless miles for frolicking and adventures. Or if he is a salty old sea dog - the beaches on the North and South coasts such as Bovisand Bay 23.8 miles away) are easy to explore from here. Then at the end of a long day - come back to a warm welcome - even the Welcome Basket has dog treats!

There are dog towels, water & food bowls available for your use and spare dog food and tic removers are available at a nominal charge. There is also a local vet 2 miles away in Tavistock.

The river Tamar is a couple of miles away and fishing can be arranged on this renown stretch of water or further downstream you could go canoeing. Roadford Lake, ten miles away, is the South West's largest lake for water sports; on the way back you could stop off at Lewtrenchard Manor for their incredible Devon cream tea.

Chaddlehanger is a tiny hamlet near Tavistock which has the best of all worlds. It has views over the valley to Bodmin moor but is situated on the edge of Dartmoor being only a couple of miles from the popular market town of Tavistock. The cottage is only a few miles from the border with Cornwall giving easy access to explore that country too, making it an ideal base to explore the South West.

For those who like days out, south is Plymouth and the River Tamar, north is Okehampton and onto Bideford in North Devon, east is the wilds of Dartmoor and west is Bodmin Moor and onto Wadebridge and Padstow!

The cottage is therefore wonderfully well placed to explore Dartmoor, the North of Devon and down on into Cornwall. Crossing the moor to South Devon, you can visit Princetown, the highest settlement on Dartmoor, famous for its prison dating back to 1806 and housing at times up to 9000 inmates!

Travel onward to Dartmeet, (where the East and West Dart rivers combine) for the compulsory Devon cream tea then up the the hill, dodging the Dartmoor ponies, who have a habit of wandering on the moorland roads and onto Ashburton. From here you can reach Exeter quickly or to Plymouth in the opposite direction, via the A38. Alternatively head to another market town, Newton Abbot and on to Torbay (Torquay, Paignton, Brixham), famous for its recent 3rd place "Best Destination" rankings in the UK just behind London and Edinburgh.

Tavistock has all that any visitors needs; a very rich history and it's a World Heritage Site dating from 961 AD. There is a rich assortment of individual shops and wonderful restaurants and has been voted "Best Food Town" in the UK.

Devon has a number of Pannier markets (Devonian slang for fruit and veg, coming from the baskets that used to carry the product, but now this name covers all types of businesses) but Tavistock is one of the best and has a wide range of stalls and surrounding shops to browse. The Pannier market status was granted by Royal Charter to the Tavistock monks by Henry 1st in 1105. There is also a Farmers market, voted recently 'Best Farmers' Market in the South West'. The market takes place on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month (9am - 1pm). Everything is produced within the local area, and stallholders are the farmers, growers or producers themselves.

There are some wonderful food shops: Crebers the Grocers, Country Cheeses which Mary Portas raved about in the Telegraph Magazine, a great fishmonger with the daily catch from Plymouth, butchers selling locally sourced produce or de la Torres which specialize in North African and Mediterranean food.

The biggest event in the town's calendar is the annual Goose Fair or "Goosey Fair" which has been around since 1116. This takes place on the second Wednesday of October, and draws crowds for several days which outweighs the resident population by far. Traditionally, an opportunity for locals to purchase their Christmas goose it allowed plenty of time for them to fatten the bird before Christmas!

There is also a popular annual 2-day Garden Festival held on the Spring Bank Holiday weekend and a Carnival with a 2-day Balloon Fiesta each August bank holiday weekend. In May there is also an annual music Festival "Tavistock Music & Arts Festival".

Also a largely unknown fact is that around 1540, the famous Sir Francis Drake, our most notable English explorer was born at Crowndale Farm, just to the west of what is now Tavistock College!

Also close by are two villages that date back to the Domesday Book of 1086, Mary Tavy and Peter Tavy. Named with the River Tavy in mind, you can reach back to times gone by and imagine life as it used to be. Not always as safe however and we are pretty confident you won't be accosted, but to deter highwaymen from attacking travellers along the road between Tavistock and Okehampton, captured highwaymen were hanged from a gibbet on what is now known as 'Gibbet Hill' close by to Mary Tavy. Mary Tavy also used to be home to the world's largest copper mine: "Wheal Friendship", as well as a number of local lead and tin mines!

For those who like a hike and moorland walks, there are endless opportunities, the closest of which is Brent Tor and is one of the most impressive rock outcrops in Dartmoor. With St Michael's Church at its top, it makes a distinctive silhouette on the Dartmoor skyline. The Tor is especially unusual, as geologists will tell you as it is one of the few on Dartmoor not to be made of granite, but from basaltic lava!

The area is of course a dog walkers paradise and both the cottages are dog friendly. Dog walkers are always asked to respect the moor and area and especially livestock: The general rules are:

- Always control your dog, so that it does not scare or disturb cattle, sheep or ponies;
- If your dog is chasing sheep or cattle, a farmer is entitled to shoot your dog;
- When walking your dog on Dartmoor, please keep it on a short lead during the lambing and bird breeding season (1 March - 31 July);
- Regular worming of your dog keeps it healthy and protects Dartmoor's livestock;
- Please ensure that you clear up after your dog and dispose of poo bags responsibly.

There is however "The Dartmoor Way Cycle Route" is a 95 mile-long circular route, which passes via Tavistock, which winds its way around the natural beauty of Dartmoor National Park, linking hamlets, villages and towns along its length. Cyclists will discover full days of pedalling, and wonderful places to stay a while, and explore.

This recreational route takes cyclists through the varying landscape surrounding the High Moor, seeing attractive and interesting locations.

The well-signed posted Dartmoor Way Cycle Route follows the often high hedged Devon lanes and minor roads,and uses traffic-free cycle tracks wherever possible.

In addition to the main circular route, there is a 27 mile-long High Moorland link. This allows you to follow a 'figure of eight' route, or alternatively enjoy either of the shorter north or south circular routes.