A romantic break in Devon comes down to what you want to walk out to: a harbour and a restaurant, a log fire on the moor, or a hot tub in your own garden. The stays below all sleep two, and each kind has a catch worth knowing before you book. Some have a curtain where you might expect a bedroom door, and some have an open staircase.
Dartmouth and Salcombe: walk out to dinner
Dartmouth has been a port since the Middle Ages, and we list 219 stays there, with another 142 in Salcombe. Both suit couples who would rather park once and walk.
Sailors Rest is a first-floor Dartmouth apartment with a super-king four-poster bed. The shop, pub and beach are all about 0.1 miles away. There is no allocated parking, and the roadside is limited to two hours between 9am and 6pm from April to September.
Across the river in Kingswear, The Banjo has a balcony over the marina and a double bedroom with a Juliet balcony. A shop and a pub are under 100 metres away, one carport space comes with the flat, and the ferry crosses to Dartmouth. Expect a few flights of internal stairs.
In Salcombe, 1 Lyndhurst is a central apartment with a king-size bed, adults only, one off-road parking space, a shop three minutes away and a pub about ten minutes. Several Salcombe properties sit up hills, so ask exactly where this one is.
Dartmoor barns with a wood burner
A barn on the edge of the moor gives you a fire in the evening and a long walk in the day. The cost is distance: these are not places to nip out for dinner.
Townend Barn sits in the middle of Lydford, and a pub is within a mile. It is a single-level conversion with a woodburning stove and a Steinway grand piano. The double bedroom is separated by a heavy curtain rather than a door. National Trust Lydford Gorge is close by, and the sea is about 25 miles away.
Lingcombe Barn is 2.9 miles from Chagford, with a king-size bedroom that has its own balcony and a woodburning stove in the living space. Castle Drogo, Lutyens’ granite castle above the Teign Gorge, makes a day out. The lane is narrow and bumpy and not for low cars, and there are two steps down into the kitchen. Children are not taken.
Swallows Nest in Widecombe-in-the-Moor is a mezzanine conversion built around a woodburning stove. The pub is 2.3 miles away and the shop 4.4 miles, so shop before you arrive. An open wooden staircase climbs to the double bed.
North Devon with a private hot tub
Two of these have a private hot tub and the third a wood-fired one on its deck, all in the north of the county. For a wider choice, see our cottages with hot tubs in Devon.
Fullers Retreat is at the top of a farm lane near Umberleigh, with a king-size bedroom and a private balcony. A wrought-iron spiral staircase leads from the balcony to the garden. The water is changed between stays, so the tub may not reach full temperature until the evening you arrive. The Rising Sun is roughly a mile away across the fields.
The Roost in Lee is a one-room cottage with a king bed and a wood burner. The hot tub sits on a deck below the veranda. Reaching the door means gravel steps and a wooden staircase, and the garden has a deep pond. The pub is 0.5 miles away and Lee Bay is a mile off.
Little Merryfield at Guineaford has a wood-fired tub on the decking of an enclosed garden. Use is included for the first three days, then a charge applies for cleaning, refilling and wood, so ask what that costs for a longer stay.
Shepherd’s huts for two
A hut is one room with a stove, a small kitchen and a bed. Expect ladders, steps and, in one case, no television.
Hembury Gate The Shepherds Hut near Sheepwash has a private wood-fired hot tub, a covered outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven, and a raised double bed reached by a ladder. The pub is 2 miles away.
Rock View Shepherd’s Hut sits in woodland at Gulworthy, five steps up to the door, with a private wood-fired hot tub. There is no TV or WiFi, and the nearest shop and pub are 3.5 miles away in Gunnislake.
Two Moors Shepherds Hut stands in a Hittisleigh meadow on the Two Moors Way. The dining area folds into the double bed, and arrivals are on Fridays only.
Lynmouth, Brendon and Appledore
Lynmouth is a harbour village on the edge of Exmoor. Clooneavin Apartment 2 is a ground-floor flat with sea views from the sitting room, one parking space and a pub 0.1 miles away. The path down to the harbour needs care after rain.
Four miles from Lynmouth, Brendon Barn in Brendon has a super-king bedroom on the ground floor, a lounge with moorland views and a wood burner up some steps, and a pub about 800 metres away.
On the Torridge estuary, Captain’s View in Appledore is a one-bedroom flat close to the quay, shops and pubs. There is no dedicated parking, only roadside spaces or a public car park with charges.
Final checks before you book
Use each property page to narrow the choice, then confirm dates, price, access and any critical facility on the booking site it links to, which handles the booking and payment. Our links may earn a commission when you book.
For a couple, the details that matter are the bed, the hot tub and the walk to dinner. Ask whether a hot tub is private to your stay and how the water is refilled between guests. Check that the bed is a double or king, how many steps lead to the door and bedroom, where the car goes, and how far the nearest pub really is.
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