Eating at The Dolphin Newton Ferrers.

Eating at The Dolphin Newton Ferrers on a hot Bank Holiday Monday during May Half Term was an absolute treat. After picking up Ava bright and early we headed to Anchor Cottage to crack on with the deep clean. As we headed down the narrow road into Noss I got that blissed out feeling, Anchor Cottage in the sunshine at high tide is properly beautiful, I know I’m completely biased but even so!

Preparing Anchor Cottage for guests

I had no idea how addicted I would become to cleaning when we set up Holiday Cottages Noss Mayo, I’ve learnt so much in the last 18 months. And actually I am going to keep our Deep Clean regime as standard. I’m working out ways that I can reduce chemicals and plastic but I think our guests deserve to have that ‘cleaned to within an inch of its life’ feeling when they arrive.

It takes Ava and I three and a half hours to deep clean Anchor Cottage, we hoover and wash and scrub and steam until everything is sparkling. Then we put on the freshly laundered bedding, pump the pillows and place the spa rolled towels.

Last jobs are to check & refill supplies – we’re serious about trying to reduce our single use plastic here – from Neal’s Yard Bubble Bath to Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Update the Tide Timetable – check our blog posts for more information about local tides. And prepare the Welcome Basket, we work in partnership with local suppliers to bring you a taste of Devon’s Finest!

One last check through Anchor Cottage from top to bottom to make sure everything is perfect and we’re done.

Swimming in the Yealm

Life is all about balance so after a hard morning’s clean it’s off to the Yealm for a nice cool dip. Straight in the water in just a cozzie – yay! There is a reason why cold water swimming is growing in popularity, it’s because it’s blooming brilliant! Here are the reasons why:

  1. You don’t need much kit – well not in the summer anyway – just a swimming costume.
  2. It’s free – you may have to pay to park at certain locations but at Anchor Cottage you can walk straight in off the slipway at high tide or walk round to the Town Quay.
  3. It makes you feel about 8 years old – when you weren’t afraid of cold water!!!
  4. The sense of freedom it gives you, it’s just you and the elements
  5. Bringer of joy – it’s really good fun splashing around in the water
  6. You feel totally euphoric afterwards, you release a huge amount of those happy hormones.

And of course it’s a great way to get fit and healthy and all that other adult stuff. For me I just love how it helps to bring out my ‘inner child’ & she really does love a swim! Two minutes of feeling cold are worth every second of delight that it brings I promise you!

Wild Oysters in the Yealm

Do take care when river swimming in the South Hams, there are lots of sharp wild oysters on the riverbed which can be especially tricky at low tide. I wear a good pair of neoprene boots to protect me. The Yealm Estuary acts as a bass hatchery is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as it supports so many protected species and there are cockles and oysters all over the river.

Lunch at The Dolphin

As we swam from the Town Quay and hadn’t managed to get to The Dolphin last weekend to check out the latest offering Ava & I met Rich and my mother-in-law for chips and beer. Managing to secure a lovely shaded spot outside we ordered skinny & fat chips from the menu. Everything was cooked freshly to order and was pretty quick. Just what you need after a refreshing swim. Perfect. And there’s loads more choice on the menu, what’s not to love?

You can ring to book but even on a Bank Holiday Monday we managed to get a table.