Birland Cottage and gardens

Birland Cottage is a very special place to stay and eat on the Bere Peninsula, Devon. This refurbished traditional slate-hung ‘one-up-one-down’ former silver miner’s cottage was built in the mid-1800s. Set within the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, the cottage has wonderful views over to Cornwall. Our quarter acre garden with lawns, flower beds, patios, small orchard, vegetable garden and chickens is also available for guests to share and enjoy.

Local walk and veiws down the Tamar River_edited.jpg

The Bere Peninsula

The Peninsula is a very special place, lying between the Rivers Tavy and Tamar, and off the main tourist
route. There are endless beautiful public footpaths on the doorstep where you can walk through
fields and woods, spotting old mines and a scattering of farmsteads, enjoying the peace and quiet.
On the banks of the rivers you can see shelducks, avocets, herons and if you’re lucky, kingfishers. A
European Roller bird even came to visit this autumn. It’s a great place for cycling as well as walking
and if you’re visiting in the spring, the hedgerows are full of wonderful Tamar Valley daffodils, of
which there are over 100 varieties. Bere Alston, our village, has a post office with a bakery, a
butcher’s and two small supermarkets. There’s also a pub and you may choose to go down to The
Olde Plough Inn in Bere Ferrers for the river setting.

Nearby and beyond

The market town of Tavistock is just 15 minutes’ drive away and offers a wide selection of independent shops and the newly opened Tavistock Guildhall heritage centre. Just beyond are the western fringes of Dartmoor National Park and all its splendour. The Peninsula is also just 45 minutes from either the North or South Cornwall coasts. If you hanker after the bright lights, Plymouth is 12 miles away and there’s a Tamar Valley Line train to there from the village, which also goes up to Calstock and Gunnislake. If you don’t want to dine in, The Horn of Plenty, just a few miles away and The Cornish Arms in Tavistock both offer high quality food.

The cottage

A self-contained annexe to the Vine House where we live, Birland Cottage has its own private entrance
with a keysafe. Downstairs, the small kitchen area comes with induction hob, microwave, fridge,
sink, kettle (plus tea, coffee and milk), toaster and all your cooking, crockery and cutlery essentials.
There’s also a sofa and a dining table and chairs – with eating on the patio in the summer an option.
Upstairs, you’ll find a double bed, chest of drawers, TV, books to read, an en suite shower room and
the best views across the countryside to Cornwall. Free Wifi is available throughout.

Breakfast & evening meals

If you don’t want to self-cater, we can provide breakfast and/or an evening meal, prepared in our
top hygiene rated kitchen. Breakfast choices include organic museli, our own free range eggs, local
saddleback dry cure bacon or a vegetarian alternative, sourdough toast and homemade jam (from our garden fruit). A typical evening meal would be a garden salad to start, grilled free range chicken
with salsa verde and fresh vegetables from our garden, followed by panna cotta with a homemade
fruit compote – with vegetarian options available. Breakfast: £12 per person. Three
course evening meal: £24 per person.