Mermaid Cottage, Carbis Bay

Mermaid Cottage is a four-bedroom apartment on Headland Road in Carbis Bay, a coastal village one mile from St Ives centred on a 500-metre arc of Blue Flag sand. The property has sea views from a private balcony and accepts dogs.

Four bedrooms sit on the first floor: two super-kings (convertible to twins), a bunk room suited to children, and a double sofa bed room that opens onto the balcony. A family bathroom with bath and shower over serves this floor, with a separate cloakroom on the ground floor. The open-plan kitchen and dining area has space for the whole group around a large table, while the living room is set up with sofas and a TV.

The rear garden has an outdoor dining suite and lawn space for games. A private balcony off one bedroom faces the sea - a good spot for morning coffee. Parking is provided on site, and a dishwasher, washing machine, and WiFi are all included.

Carbis Bay Beach is 900m away, with seasonal lifeguard cover, a beachside cafe, and sheltered water for kayaking and paddleboarding. Porthkidney Beach, a wide dune-backed strand popular with birdwatchers, is 1.3km further along the coast. The South West Coast Path passes within a 3-minute walk, and St Ives is reachable on foot in 25 minutes or by one stop on the branch line from Carbis Bay halt.