We love visiting Cornwall outside of peak season. The charm of the coastal towns feels much more intimate when there are fewer people around. Remote work gives us the flexibility to spend more time here, and we’ve been making the most of that. Two years ago, we swapped our home office for seaside views in a Vrbo cottage in Mousehole for a winter workation, and we loved it so much that we’ve just been back for another stay. Here’s an updated review of the cottage.
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Why we chose this Vrbo cottage in Mousehole
My mum lives in Penzance, and so we usually stay nearby on most of our trips to Cornwall. It’s a beautiful part of the country, with the coastline in that far corner of the UK having a unique, almost barren beauty that just isn’t the same anywhere else.
It takes quite a drive to get there – even once you’ve crossed the border from Devon into Cornwall, it’s another 90 minutes if you’re lucky to get good traffic! – but the reward waiting at the destination makes the effort worthwhile.
Given the journey length, we usually stay for a significant amount of time, and for our first visit to this cottage we were looking for somewhere to spend a fortnight. Our recent return trip was for a week.
More often than not, we’ll book to stay in self-catered accommodation for our Cornwall trips. We have a very boisterous dog, who is a bit much for my mum these days, and also both me and Lisa need our own space where we can work. As this trip was for a workation in Cornwall, these were some of the criteria we had in mind:
- Location – we wanted somewhere quiet and scenic, but also close enough to shops and attractions for when we had time to explore.
- Work space – we needed space for two of us to work, so we looked mainly for properties that had a working area in the living room and/or bedrooms, and ideally a desk.
- Two bedrooms – this is our preference for trips like this, as a second bedroom is useful for storage or as an office.
- Dog friendly – including an enclosed garden space so we could let him out off-lead.
- Something special – perhaps a nice view or a particularly quirky feature that would make the stay memorable.
Why Vrbo and not other accommodation sites?
Vrbo has become our go-to for self-catered accommodation when we travel. We prefer not to use Airbnb given the frequent evidence of ethical issues with the platform, and also because of how much it mistreated travel blogging community during the pandemic, which left many of our friends facing significant financial losses at an already difficult time.
Thankfully, there are many alternatives to Airbnb, and Vrbo is among the best. The reason we like it for this kind of trip in particular is that all Vrbo listings are whole-of-property rentals – no rooms within properties or shared rentals. This makes it ideal for our couple getaways when we want the space to ourselves.
Cheaper prices in the low season!
As you will read in our guide to visiting Cornwall in winter, one of the major benefits of visiting in low season is that everything is a lot cheaper. And the biggest cost saving by far is on accommodation.
Summer prices for self-catered accommodation in Cornwall have gone through the roof in recent years, which is all the more reason to come when it’s quieter. Our stay at this Vrbo cottage in Mousehole was in January, and we were able to get it at a fraction of peak season price.
See prices for the Mousehole sea view Vrbo cottage
Mousehole: the essence of Cornish seaside charm
You may have heard of Mousehole because of the famous illustrated children’s book, The Mousehole Cat. The village is a short distance beyond the larger centres of Penzance and Newlyn, close to the tip of the stunning Penwith Peninsula.
Mousehole is a quintessentially Cornish fishing village. Its close-knit buildings are huddled around a cosy harbour, with a little sandy beach at either side. There’s a welcoming pub, the Ship Inn, right at the centre, and the backstreets are riddled with small art galleries, gift shops and ice cream parlours.
There’s a lot to see and do nearby as well. The coastal path between Mousehole and Penzance features some of the very best walks in Cornwall. The artsy seaside town of St Ives is a short drive away, as is the beautifully desolate Lizard Peninsula, the southernmost tip of the UK.
On our return trip to the cottage we also had a lovely day out in St Just, a little town near the coast, where my grandmother was born. Lisa went to see an art exhibition at a local gallery while I took the dog for a coastal walk, and afterward, we had a tasty lunch at a fabulous little café called the Dog and Rabbit, which had been recommended to us by locals beforehand.
On one of our days off, we drove the short distance up to the north side of the peninsula and did the scenic hike from St Ives to Zennor – one of the more challenging routes on the coastal path, but also one of its most breathtaking sections.
Mousehole sea view Vrbo cottage: pros and cons
For quick reference, here are the main pros and cons of the Mousehole sea view Vrbo cottage:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Beautiful, peaceful setting with sea views from the living room and kitchen | It’s a bit of a walk to the nearest shops in Mousehole (with a steep uphill incline on the way back) |
| All rooms were immaculately clean, and the kitchen well stocked with amenities | The closest supermarket is 15 minutes drive away |
| Plenty of space for two of us to work, and strong wifi | Some very narrow and steep lanes to navigate on the drive to the property |
| Outdoor decking area with seating and a lovely, well kept garden | There was a slight hole in the fencing which meant we couldn’t let our dog off-lead in the garden |
Now, let’s take a closer look.
Mousehole sea view Vrbo cottage: our experience
Let’s begin with a quick run-down of the cottage’s features. It’s a bungalow cottage with the following characteristics:
- Two bedrooms – one double, one twin
- Living room, kitchen and bathroom
- Private garden space with decking area and grass
- Washer and drier
- Free wifi, Amazon Echo and HD television
- Fireplace with woodburner
Those sea views (and sunrises!)
The obvious standout quality of this Mousehole Vrbo is the sea view that comes with it. The cottage is situated a little way up the hill from Mousehole on the way to the village of Paul. From this vantage point on the hillside, you get a truly stunning sight of the waters just outside Mousehole harbour, where St Clement’s Isle nestles among blue sea.
Mousehole Harbour faces out to the east, which gives you a full view of the sunrise every morning from the cottage. We made sure we were up in time to see it – a real wow moment to start the day! It seemed the skies would be drenched in pink and orange hues every single time.
The garden at the rear of the property has a decking area with table and chairs, where you can sit and relax with the backdrop of the sea view.
A peacefully remote location
The Vrbo cottage is situated on a quiet cul-de-sac, around a 10–15 minute walk from both villages, Mousehole and Paul. We didn’t hear a peep of traffic the whole time we were there.
Mousehole is the larger of the two villages, and we liked to take a walk down to it with the dog each morning to enjoy the harbour.
With the nearest supermarket being 15 minutes’ drive away at the other side of Penzance, we made sure that we stocked up well for our stay so we wouldn’t need to make frequent trips out.
A dog-friendly cottage
The Vrbo cottage allow bookings with one dog. The only problem we had in this respect was that the garden fence had a small gap in it. Our dog soon found this and went off into the neighbours’ garden, and so we kept him on a lead after that.
The location is fantastic for dogs. With so much countryside right on the doorstep and the coastal path either side of Mousehole, we had so many options for our daily dog walks. Not to mention the beaches!
Our dog is a lurcher. If you haven’t heard of lurchers before, suffice to say they need quite a bit of exercise and space. While the cottage is smaller than the space we have at home, that didn’t matter as we were able to give him plenty enough stimulation with so many great walks and beaches nearby.
Clean and comfy rooms
First impressions are always important when you arrive at accommodation for a trip. Everything was immaculately clean at the cottage, and we loved the brightness of the rooms with off-white walls, subtle decorations, and lots of natural light through the windows.
The bedrooms aren’t huge, but neither are they tiny, and there was more than enough space for us. The living room was our favourite part of the property, which is good because that’s where we would spend most of our time.
In addition to a comfy sofa, the living room also has a reclining chair. Even better, there’s a wood burner! That’s always something we look out for, especially for winter stays. A basket of logs was included on both of our stays, which we very much appreciated and made full use of.
The kitchen is complete with modern fittings, and all the cutlery, crockery, glassware and utensils that we needed to cater for the two of us. The owner, a very nice and helpful guy called Simon, also left a bottle of wine for us on arrival.
Ample working space
While the cottage didn’t have a dedicated working space, it was easy for us to create one. On our first visit, we repurposed the dining table in the living room into a work desk, and set up our own fold-up desk (which we’d brought along) for a second one.
With this setup, we could gaze out on that sea view all day while working. It’s always our preference not to work in the bedrooms of the places we stay, and so this suited us just fine.
On our return visit, we didn’t bother with our fold-up desk and just used the dining table as a work desk for both of us. This still gave us plenty of space to work while enjoying the views.
Conclusion: a lovely stay for a couple or small family
In summary, we love this Vrbo cottage and I am sure we will stay there again on our future trips to Cornwall. I’m sure that couples like us would love it, whether for a workation or just a simple getaway, and it would also be suitable for small families (with one or two children).
You can check prices and book your stay on Vrbo.
If you decide to stay in this Mousehole sea view Vrbo, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share your experience in the comments below.
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