Tre Lowen

Contemporary four-bedroom house in Goonhavern village, 3.4km inland from Perranporth - around ten minutes by car. Sleeps eight, with two bathrooms and a detached games room out the back containing a full-size pool table. The open-plan kitchen-diner runs the length of the ground floor and opens onto a sun terrace through patio doors.

The garden has a BBQ, lawn, and seating for outdoor evenings. Off-street parking takes a couple of cars. The village itself has a Londis store, a garden centre with the Bay Tree cafe inside, and the New Inn pub for traditional pub lunches a short walk away.

Perranporth's three miles of Atlantic sand is the headline beach. The Watering Hole sits on the sand at the south end - the only pub built on a beach in mainland Britain. From here the South West Coast Path runs south to St Agnes (3.6 miles, around 90 minutes on foot) past the Wheal Coates engine house, or north past the dunes toward Holywell Bay. St Piran's Round, a medieval amphitheatre, sits in the dunes nearby.

Best for: a family or two of eight wanting space, a games room for rainy days, and short drives to multiple beaches. Less good for: groups who want the beach on the doorstep - this is a village stay, not a seafront one.