Notes from the host
Tranquil Old Devonshire Country House
Coryton House is a lovely Grade II house in west Devon, very close to Dartmoor National Park. It is an ideal place for a friends reunion or family celebration, with enough space for personal privacy but great opportunities for enjoying being together.
We also have excellent Wifi internet with a downloading speed of around 40 Mbps and upload of over 10 Mbps. So if you need to get some work done or play games, it should be easy.
The House is south facing and built on the side of a gentle slope with terraced gardens and woodland above and overlooking sheep filled fields across the Lyd Valley below. This is an exceptionally peaceful and beautiful valley, hidden away from the tourist traffic and the world in general. The north and south Devon and Cornwall beaches are just over 20 miles away and can be reached in under an hour. The market towns of Tavistock, Okehampton, and Launceston are close by and have excellent butchers, bakers, fishmongers, greengrocers - plus all the usual supermarkets. Waitrose and Tescos, and many others, deliver straight to the house.
The house has fine antique furniture, paintings and original features (leaded mullioned windows and fireplaces) which suit its style and age. The studded front door has a bell pull and huge bolts. Inside the door is a stone flagged entrance hall with space for walking sticks and dog beds: and there is a large loo with a splendid view (and no need to take off your walking boots!). The Dining Hall is a marvellous place for gathering friends and family together: it is 40' long with a large dining table at one end, and dining chairs with tapestry seats sewn by my great great grandmother. The open fire has comfy seating around large Knole sofas and deep armchairs. The lighting includes two large chandeliers, and lots of more subtle side lights, all reflected in huge mirrors. It has wooden parquet flooring, and a long window seat catches the afternoon sun. Two doors and a hatch lead from the dining room to the slate flagged kitchen with its 4 oven AGA, electric cooker (oven, grill and hob), double Belfast sinks (both big enough for large AGA pans), two dishwashers, and a large fridge The kitchen table seats 10 comfortably. In the pantry next door there is another large fridge, an under counter deep freeze, more storage space, and a table for preparing drinks etc.
The large south facing sitting room has a wood burning stove, lots of comfy seating, a desk, and a huge leaded window with long window seat (and gloriously warm radiator underneath!). The big bookcase has a range of books including local guides and maps, board games, playing cards, and jigsaw puzzles.
The south facing terrace is sheltered from the wind and has expansive views, with a large table and plenty of chairs: we have eaten outside every month of the year. It is also a fabulous spot for star watching with pretty much no other light to spoil your view. The garden and woodland are full of camellias, snowdrops, bluebells, wild garlic, and hydrangeas. In the summer the swallows twist and turn around the garden and at night the bats take over. The owls hoot all year long and, quite often, all day long.
The house has 4 attractive double bedrooms on the first floor, all en suite (one super-king double bed can be turned into twins). On the top floor there are another 4 bedrooms: 2 double (one of which is a super-king that be turned into twins), 1 x 3 bedded 'dorm', and 1 single bedroom, and 2 bathrooms. This means that every bedroom either has its own en suite bathroom, or is immediately next door to a bathroom. There are two cloakrooms on the ground floor. Lots of coat hooks and boot space by the back door.
There is a washing machine and a tumble drier in the back corridor.
Up to two well behaved dogs are very welcome. There is space for dog beds and crates. We ask they they do not go onto furniture or upstairs and are not left alone in the house unless in a dog crate.
Most of the garden is entirely yours. You can walk up the drive and then wander along the woodland path to a sunny glade where, if you look very carefully, you can see Brentor Church on the horizon. There is a path back down to the drive, or you can carry on along the 'Vicar's Walk' and either drop down the steep steps into the upper garden, or continue along the Walk until it leads you down to the Kitchen Garden. If you want to visit the church, go through the metal gate and on a short way down the road. Or you can return through the Kitchen Garden, to the upper garden and take the steps down towards the kitchen and back door. Note: these steps are very slippery when wet so hang on to the hand rail! Please help yourself to the herbs by these steps: sage, rosemary, thyme, and mint.
