COASTAL TIN MINER'S COTTAGE WITH SEA VIEWS BETWEEN ST. JUST & ST IVES

Dear Micheline,

we just wanted to wish you and your family a happy new year and many more lovely days in Tin Miner's Cottage. We stayed in Boscaswell in the beginning of summer 2012 and I am afraid we never found the time to thank you enough for this little precious cottage you have restored. We really loved to stay there, although the weather was "medium", and spent a lovely vacation we love to remember! Everything was exactly as you described it and we took advantage of many of the recommendations you gave us. Especially the Pendeen farmer's market was an event - we bought the most amazing pies there, 100% home made :-) We hope we can go back again some day and spend more time at your place!

The owner seems to be a lovely person who adores this rather shabby property but if they wish to charge others to stay there needs, at the very least, to buy heaters that are not so old and tired that they no longer heat the house. The floors are granite with no substantial rugs and the walls are unlined meaning that any heating put on is instantly absorbed. In addition, when the house has been empty, money needs to be spent on warming and drying the house so that guests do not have to sleep fully clothed on a damp mattress, under damp bedding in a freezing cold room. I am sure that in the summer this house might be “quaint” and the location is great, but in the winter it is freezing! (We have lived in many old properties, some without central heating but have NEVER been as cold as we were here). The owner needs to buy 4 modern oil filled radiators, with timers so that people can at least make the house warm if they are willing to spend the large sums of money swallowed by the settings on the coin meter (it costs around £3 to heat one tank of water for a bath! And guests are expected to buy an entire bottle of calor gas if the one there runs out and as you can imagine, the granite bathroom with metal bath and leaky windows is unusable without it!).In addition a proper, usable cooker needs to be installed and the bare copper wire, wrapped around a mains cable holding up the curtain rail needs to be removed immediately! My partner, an electrician, declared this the most dangerous thing he had ever seen.The property is very small and with one 2 seater sofa and very limited space in the kitchen is only suitable for a couple. The car park is full (despite my specific question to the owner as we have a brand new estate car) and on most occasions we had to park next to a wall and merely hope that the turning bus didn’t reverse into it! I am sorry for writing this review, it really is the first negative review I have ever written about anything much preferring to take the time to say positive things, but what was supposed to have been a romantic Christmas getaway, felt like a nightmare and I do not want others to have such a disappointing and uncomfortable winter break. We seriously considered returning home after the first 2 freezing, damp nights but having paid £400 decided that we would at least see some of the area and by the time we had spent a week and a fortune on coal (£46) and electricity (£20) the place was almost mildly warm when we left.

We have just come back from the wonderfully relaxing, refreshing time ever. I really could have stayed forever!
The cottage was clean, beautifully decorated and really cosy. Waking up to views of the sea everyday was definitely a big bonus. We spent days out going to Sennen Cove and walking along the coastal path exploring the old tin mines. One of the highlights of the week was a long coastal walk to St Ives on Thurs which was 13.5miles and took us a total of 6.5hrs but was worth it. Such stunning scenery. After that we felt entitled to a few days rest and recuperation - reading, playing scrabble and yoga. We spent most evenings in next to the wood burning stove and eating lovely meals made in the surprisingly well equipped kitchen.
The cottage really is the most special place in the most wonderful location in the world and I feel very lucky to have been able to spend time there so thank you again!