You can see small granite cottages like this in their hundreds in Cornwall, but it would be hard to find one in a more remote, romantic and secluded place than this, tucked down at the head of Frenchman’s Creek on the Helford River. It was built in about 1840 for a farm worker or boatman; there were once two more cottages here and a small quay. Between the Wars, it was rented as a retreat by Maria Pendragon and Clara Vyvyan, who describes it in her book The Helford River. The last inhabitants moved out a few years ago, and the National Trust, which owns the land around, suggested a joint scheme to us, as the only alternative to letting it fall down.

The Creek, one of many along the shores of the tidal river, runs like a finger, deep into the woods, giving brief sparkling glimpses of water between the trees; at high tide it is passable by boat. The quarter-mile path down to the cottage is steep (and sometimes slippery; you may need to leave your car at the top). In summer you descend into greenness, for the woods are mainly oak, with the light filtered through leaves. It is a place for those who worship the woods and the water and are prepared to be temporarily dominated by them. Should you want to go elsewhere there is the Lizard to explore, and Mounts Bay, or to the east the granite elegance of Falmouth.

Sleeps: 4