Anchor Cottage Porthleven – a gem from Secret Bolthole

We recently had the absolute pleasure to spend a complimentary weekend at the incredibly special Anchor Cottage, Porthleven in Cornwall, one of the properties owned by Secret Bolthole. Owners Charlotte and Steve have an amazing eye for detail, if you have seen any of my posts about Up Sticks Glamping the glamping site that started their love of holiday letting, you will know how fantastic they are at creating luxurious, aesthetically beautiful places to holiday. Along with being gorgeous, they have everything you need on a practical level too for a comfortable, relaxed holiday. They invited us to be the first testers of their brand new property, a perfect cottage quite literally a stone’s throw from the beach in Porthleven, a harbour town in Cornwall. We had high expectations having stayed at Up Sticks on many occasions and knowing how well done it is but even we were blown away by Anchor Cottage! They haven’t asked for this review but it was too nice not to share with you all!

Accommodation at Anchor Cottage

The cottage has 3 fantastic sized bedrooms, all double or king sized, 2 with the most breathtaking sea views. The beds, just as in Up Sticks are ridiculously comfortable, like sleeping in warm clouds, every time we stay we come away saying that we are going to ask them where they get the duvets and pillows from. There is a large bathroom with a fancy shower with rain and massage settings. Each bedroom has plenty of storage for clothing and are beautifully decorated.

Downstairs there is a large sitting room and dining area with a log burner for chilly days. There is a tv with Netflix which was a real bonus as we could all curl up and watch a film when the kids were tired after a busy day on the beach. Two large sofas for relaxing and a big table with plenty of seating for family meals. Both windows in the room have sea views and so you can sit and eat watching the waves crashing just across the way. Every window has a deep seat with blankets and cushions for curling up and reading a book or just watching the gulls soaring about the waves. Outside the front is a large secure patio with a big table and chairs.

The kitchen in the cottage is a great size and so well equipped with a state of the art kettle and toaster, fridge, freezer, microwave, oven, hob and even a utility area with a washing machine and tumble dryer. Something that actually makes all the difference when you are away with children, especially children like mine who take every opportunity to get soaking wet or muddy! There is a downstairs toilet as well. Toiletries are provided and all bedding and towels. The cottage is really spacious, there was plenty of room for the four of us and Hendrix but it also feels really cosy too.

Local Area

The cottage is perfectly situated on a quiet one way road that leads out of the town. The entrance to one of the many beaches in the area is literally opposite the gate. With a coarse sand beach (not quite shingle but also not the yellow sand ideal for perfect sandcastles) and loads of rock pools, this is where the children spent most of their time. Finding anemones and crabs and building sand forts, also hunting for the perfect smooth stones, of which there were plenty!

Turning immediately right out of the gate took you down the little paths that criss cross the town, sneaking between the houses. You can take this path all the way into town, avoiding most of the road which is nice. A 5 minute walk maximum. The town of Porthleven is a bustling harbour town packed full of usual seaside pubs, cafes, restaurants, art galleries, gift and clothes shops and ice cream parlours. It is set around the harbour inlet and there are plenty of fishing boats to watch coming in and out. It has a really lovely feel about it, with the houses stretching away up the cliff in terraces. Due to the one way system, it is pretty quiet in the main shopping area when it comes to cars too. We were there for 3 days and didn’t even begin to feel we had seen the whole town.

Dog Friendly

Anchor Cottage is dog friendly and Charlotte and Steve are dog owners themselves so provide a bed, bowls, bags and a create for if you leave your pooch to keep them safe on hot days and also off the sofas. The walks for dogs are endless. The beach opposite is restricted for part of the year but there are many more beaches a short walk away and also miles of cliff top walks to explore with them. We really enjoyed taking the National Trust Penrose Trail to Loe Pool, just a few km from the house. Turn left out of the gate and follow the road up. Where it splits, take the right fork and meander through the houses. Look out for the mermaids in the very interesting yard where they have made a lot of art and sculptures from things found in the sea! Follow the road along and take the steps up from the car park. It goes across the top of the cliff with the most stunning views until it reaches Loe Bay and Pool. Be aware that swimming is forbidden here as it is so dangerous.

We took the path along the top to The Stables which is a National Trust cafe serving ice creams, cakes and drinks. Along the way there is a ‘green gym’ which we all had fun on and kept the children’s interest and the path leads through lovely woods which were packed with bluebells when we visited in early May. We walked from the cottage to The Stables and back with our two children who are 8 and 10 and it was a lovely walk for them, around 8km with just a couple of steep bits so very manageable, I’d recommend sturdy footwear but the path is well maintained so can also an option in trainers but you might struggle in flip-flops as there are some rocky areas.

Eating and Drinking

The cottage has everything you would need to be fully self catering but we had a take away of fish and chips one night, (it was actually quite disappointing which was a shame!) and a meal in the Harbour Hotel which was very nice food wise but make sure you check serving times as they finished taking food orders at 6pm when we went on Bank Holiday Sunday. We sat outside, (complying with the covid regulations) but because of the sunny weather, I think a lot of people had been drinking all day and so it was a little on the rowdy side for the children. I think as things return to a sort of normality and things start to reopen, everyone’s excitement at being allowed out again will ease a little! Plus it was slightly chilly and breezy and so we wouldn’t generally have chosen to sat outside so that probably added to us not enjoying it as much as we could have so don’t take this as an accurate representation of what it is usually like!! The children also had pasties for lunch and really enjoyed them.

There is a shop in town that is well stocked for food but it is, (as in all these places) slightly on the pricey side. One of the thoughtful details that makes a stay at any of Charlotte and Steve’s properties so nice was a lovely welcome pack when we arrived with bread, butter, eggs, milk, coffee, tea and a very lovely touch, scones with locally made jam and clotted cream. There were also staples like oil for cooking and sugar.

Parking at Anchor Cottage, Porthleven

The cottage has it’s own parking space! This is something that made everything so much easier for our stay! It is quite a small space so it’s better to unload everyone before pulling into it but as we arrived late in the evening, it was easy to unpack everything with the car outside the gate and then park. We didn’t move the car for the whole weekend as there was so much to do right on the doorstep but for a longer stay that would have alleviated any issues with going out to explore and then needing to find a space when we got back if it was busy.

In Conclusion

I think it is clear from this post how much we enjoyed it at Anchor Cottage, Porthleven. We had such a glorious weekend here, the children would have been happy spending all of their time on the beach in front, despite it being freezing cold but there is so much to do in the area that we could easily have spent a week there. The cottage has all the comforts you need for a really relaxed break, I think it would be perfect for a holiday all year round as there is something so magical about the thought of curling up in the window seat with a good book and the fire on on an Autumn afternoon. One of my favourite things is a storm by the seaside and I grew up by the coast so bad weather doesn’t put me off plus I’m well aware that some of the nicest weather is out of season!

There are so many walks to explore, lots to do in the area for wet days and it’s an outdoor adventurer’s dream with SUPs to hire, mountain biking trails and so much more. It’s a short drive to many other beautiful Cornish towns and villages and if you prefer just relaxing and pottering around the shops, that’s an option here too. Then coming back and enjoying a glass of wine on the patio as the sun goes down. Bliss! You can see more about our adventures there, including a video tour of the cottage on my instagram stories. Check availability and pricing for Anchor Cottage Porthleven Cornwall here.