If you’re looking for your own peaceful & private place to stay just 5 minutes from the beach in Cornwall, then Rosehill Lodges is for you!
Situated on the edge of Porthtowan and just a short walk to the beach with access to some of my favourite areas of the South West Coast Path, this collection of self catering eco lodges is a little slice of heaven.
We were kindly invited to stay for the weekend (dogs included!) in one of Rosehill’s grass-roofed three person lodges, and boy what a gorgeous weekend we had. The sun was blazing down on us from Saturday morning through ’til Monday morning, which meant we spent pretty much the entire time outdoors – just as I like it!
We arrived on Friday evening after work and I was shown around the lodge by one of the team. Made from local FSC sourced Larch cladding and reclaimed or sustainable materials such as bamboo flooring, Rosehill Lodges become Gold Star Finalists in the Green Tourism Business Scheme and were mentioned as being in “the top 2% of the greenest businesses in the UK & Ireland”!
The lodges also feature grass roofs and are heated by solar panels and bio mass heating, and all feature log burners with sustainable, locally sourced wood. BUT all this focus on the environment hasn’t meant that Rosehill have sacrificed on quality – they have achieved Visit England’s 5 Star Gold Self-Catering standard, and have all the luxuries you could ever need from home.
Our lodge (named Wheal Clarence) featured two twin/double bedrooms, a family bathroom, a Master bedroom with ensuite, and an open plan kitchen/diner/lounge with wood burning stove. Outside, we had two decked areas – one with a store cupboard of beach toys (perfect for families!) and a heated outdoor shower (YES PLEASE!), and the other with al fresco dining and a 4 person hot tub, all under a glass roof so you can sit out or chill in the tub even when it’s raining!
I loved receiving our welcome packs when we arrived; one for us, filled with fresh bread, local eggs, milk, butter, jams, tea & coffee (cafetiere coffee of course!), and one for the dogs, with food bowls, treats, a blanket and bowl mat.
We made ourselves right at home that night with a meal, prepped with the fully fitted kitchen (complete with dishwasher!), and Netflix on the Smart TV. I was so happy to find out that Rosehill have Superfast internet too! Porthtowan is known for having no phone signal or 3G, so it made our lives so much easier to have great working internet throughout the weekend.
Even though I obviously love taking time to get away from our screens and live in the moment, because Alex and I are self employed (and Alex’s job is technically 24/7!), it actually causes MORE stress for us if we are somewhere with poor internet. Knowing that if something goes wrong or that if we remember something we really have to do, we can just do it without worrying about how we’re going to get wifi actually helps us relax more.
On Saturday morning we woke up to the bright sunshine, and made breakfast out on the decking. It was the perfect start to the day, and after whizzing out some emails quickly, we decided to head out on a nice long walk of the South West Coast Path from Porthtowan to Chapel Porth & Wheal Coates – one of my absolute favourite stretches of coastline!
Obviously being located just 5 minutes from the cliffs at Porthtowan meant we were on our way in no time, and it’s the perfect distance for the dogs too.
It was really warm in the sun, but thankfully there was a nice cool breeze to help keep us and the dogs cool throughout our walk. We crossed over Chapel Porth to explore Wheal Coates and Towanroath mine shaft, before heading back through Chapel Porth to grab some lunch from the cafe.
I haven’t eaten at this cafe for years, but because we lived so close when I was younger, we used to go to Chapel Porth regularly to eat their ‘Croques’ and ‘Hedgehog Icecreams’, so I was excited to relive my childhood memories.
I went for the Croque Rosemary (my favourite!!), which is rosemary sauteed mushrooms with melted cheese served inside a toasted garlic baguette and oh my…. the calories are crazy but it’s TOO GOOD not to have if you’re there. It’s all about that garlic baguette life 👌🏼
We walked back over the cliffs and back to the lodge for a lazy afternoon in the sun. As well as our own private decking, each lodge has a beautifully lush and green outdoor space with a picnic bench and firepit too, so we spent time sunbathing (yes that’s how warm it was!) out on the grass and on the deck with the dogs for the afternoon.
Because we only live 20 minutes away from Rosehill, it was so nice that all our friends were still nearby, so we all met up for a BBQ on Porthtowan beach that evening! It was so fun to see everyone and between us we had a feast of delicious food.
After watching the sun set, we headed back to Rosehill and rolled into bed, exhausted from our coast walk and a day in the fresh air. We’d both had a really busy week too, and it always seems to happen that as soon as you slow down/stop you just crash into a heap of tiredness! We definitely needed this little getaway.
We woke up the next morning ready for another walk. I love that Rosehill left some complimentary ‘Beauty Kubes’ for us in the bedroom; made in Cornwall, this company makes zero waste, plastic free, vegan shampoo cubes, that you simply crumble into your hand, make a paste with water and massage into your scalp instead of bottled shampoo. I’ve been wanting to try these for ages! Such a nice little touch and a great way to offer toiletries without the plastic waste.
Speaking of, Rosehill were really hot on their recycling and waste management too! We had our own recycling bins per lodge, plus a composting caddy in the kitchen for food waste as well.
This time we drove from Porthtowan over to St. Agnes head (a quick 10 minute drive) to park up and walk from the headland around to Trevaunance Cove. It was even hotter on this Sunday, with much less of a breeze, but the water was super still and the most incredible blue! We couldn’t stop saying ‘wow’ as we walked along…
Days like this seeing the water and coastline so beautiful, and fun weekends like this spent together always have us questioning why we ever go abroad! Who needs to when you have this on your doorstep? It makes all the rain and wind throughout Winter here 100% worth it.
We walked into the cove and planned to eat lunch at Driftwood. They do great food but because it was Sunday they had a different, roast-focused menu that we didn’t really fancy in the heat, so we tried out Schooners – a restaurant on the edge of the beach with the most fantastic view.
They offer a menu of small plates (kind of like tapas) and recommend 2 – 3 per person, but honestly the prices were CRAZY! We ordered two plates each plus a side of chips and our bill was £44, without drinks!! I would understand if the dishes were either more generous than we anticipated or the quality was out of this world but it was pretty average and we both came away feeling it was extremely overpriced. Totally understand you’re paying for the view with places like that, but I personally wouldn’t recommend.
We didn’t let it spoil our weekend though, don’t worry! We headed back along the coast path and back to the lodge to sit in the sun once again, and also spent time enjoying the beautiful hot tub too.
With a glass of bubbly of course! That is what hot tubs are for, right?
We had a truly special stay at Rosehill and I have no doubt I will look back at this weekend with really fond Summer memories. The dogs absolutely loved it, and particularly enjoyed lounging around outside in the grass and on the decking, and it really couldn’t be in a better location for access to the beach and beautiful coast path. I’m so grateful to Rosehill for having us to stay and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it as a wonderful place to stay!
* This trip was a gifted collaboration, but all thoughts are my own. We truly had a fantastic weekend!
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