Pinfold Holiday Cottage

Pinfold Holiday Cottage is a low, white-rendered cottage standing on its own plot on Pinfold Hill, above the shore at Laxey. One bedroom, one long living space, and no shared walls with anybody.

You pull off the road onto the cottage’s own tarmac apron, where there is room to leave a car, then climb a short flight of timber steps to a private front door. Pot plants stand on the step and a clipped hedge closes off the far side. Inside, the cottage is on one level throughout.

One room, kitchen end to sofa end

The living space runs the length of the cottage under a ceiling that follows the pitch of the roof. Oak-fronted units, an oven, a dishwasher and a washing machine take the kitchen end. A cloth-covered table and pine chairs sit in the middle, and an armchair and sofa face a flat-screen television at the far end. Wood floors run through and windows on both sides keep it bright.

The double behind the glazed doors

The bedroom holds a double bed and a deep pine wardrobe, with glazed doors opening onto the green at the side of the cottage and a small pine dressing table under the window. The sofa in the living room folds out, so four can stay. Linen and towels are laid out, and the bathroom has a bath as well as a walk-in shower behind glass.

Down the hill to the shore

Laxey Beach is a short walk away, and the village of Laxey climbs the glen behind it, with the great red waterwheel up at the head of the valley and the electric tramway rattling through on its way along the coast.

Two, or a family of four

A couple gets a whole detached cottage to themselves. A family gets a level floor with no stairs inside, a washing machine and tumble dryer for wet clothes, and a kitchen you can genuinely cook in. Paul, who hosts it, keeps it self-contained and quiet.