I could talk about the three ways to approach this cottage in Looe, along the very narrow lanes, however, the name of the cottage derives from the three views from the cottage – the East and West Looe Rivers that converge at the harbour and out to sea via Looe Bay. The views are wonderful! There is however, a price to pay for the views: the steep hill on which the cottage is placed – which, yes, does lead me to talk about the three ways to approach this cottage. Thankfully the directions we received from the letting agent, “Cornish Collection”:http://www.cornishcollection.co.uk, took us in the easiest way. The sign at the top of the lane leading to the parking pad above the cottage has been changed from 6’ 6” clearance for vehicles to 6’ 3” by some helpful local resident. They weren’t kidding. The lane is very narrow and there is a sharp left turn onto the parking pad. After we unloaded our vehicle down the three sets of stairs to the cottage (more about the cottage later), we headed into Liskeard to get provisions at Morrison’s. Our driver, my uncle, decided to continue down the lane towards the harbour rather than head back out the way we arrived. It was a very adventurous drive down to the harbour with hairpin turns and only just enough room to get the car down. On our return he decided to follow our sadistic GPS which took us back up the lanes with more hairpin turns that required five or six point turns to get around them. A couple of them we only just made it around with a few slips falling backwards. Thanks to my uncle’s driving skills we made it mostly unscathed – the wing mirrors suffered a couple of scrapes before being tucked in. In future we ventured in and out via the route provided by the letting agency and ignored the GPS.
Three Ways cottage is a lovely three bedroom, two bathroom, two-story cottage in East Looe and was our home base for a week. There were some things that could be improved: blackout blinds in the bedrooms for those who need darkness to sleep; a better mattress pad to cover up the zip link in the bed in the second bedroom; the legs evening off on the bed in the third bedroom as the legs on the left side of the bed are shorter than the right side so the bed is slanted to the left (my aunt joked that she needed an ice pick to help her climb up the bed); a welcome basket of local goodies; a simpler coffee maker in the kitchen; and non-noisy dining chairs – the legs needed tightening and we weren’t able to find an appropriate tool in the tool bag. However, the cottage has recently been refurbished and has a nice modern kitchen and bathrooms and the kitchen had some staples: tea, coffee, sugar, and some bottles of wine and other liquor. All three bedrooms have views over the harbour. The master bedroom has plenty of cupboard space and an ensuite with a walk in shower. The second bedroom has a wardrobe and little dresser while the third bedroom has a shelf and some hangers behind the door. There is comfortable seating in the living room and the big bay window provides wonderful views. The blinds can be pushed up to take in the scenery or adjusted to any height or level of openness. In warmer weather there is a patio between the first and third set of stairs behind the house with furniture stored under the parking pad. Although we had plenty of sunshine, it wasn’t quite warm enough in May to sit out there in the evenings. The first and third sets of stairs are wooden and steep. The second set of stairs is stone and very narrow. When unloading and loading the vehicle they were all a bit of a challenge. When we booked the holiday we were all fit and ready for the hills of Cornwall. However, as the holiday drew near one of our number had some glute and leg issues so walking in Cornwall proved to be demanding, not just the stairs down to the cottage. In the end, although some days we were knackered, we all survived and ended up being able to talk while walking up hills and taking fewer breaks to stretch aching muscles.
There is free Wifi with the cottage, a 42” TV, a wood stove in the living room, a washer and dryer, gas central heating, a dish washer, and full size fridge and freezer. There are some games, a deck of cards and a puzzle if you feel so inclined. We also found a book about the cottage and the man the cottage pays homage to – his photographs, tattoos and story make up much of the artwork in the cottage.
All in all we had a lovely time here. When booking we were looking for a Friday change over day which most do not provide. Most sites want a Saturday change over day and charge extra (usually double) for a different change over day. Prices for a week’s stay vary depending on the time of year. Our week in May was £550. A nice extra on this booking site is the 360 degree tour you can take of the cottage on line in addition to the photographs. I can imagine that the views are lovely in the autumn as there are woods between the two rivers that are probably a riot of colour.
