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Chris and I always love visiting Cornwall. The craggy coves and beaches, the fields and moors, the pretty harbour towns, the distinct cultural traditions combined with a thriving contemporary arts scene… It’s unlike anywhere else in the UK, and it draws us back time and time again. And, as we both have Cornish ancestry, it’s somewhere we feel deeply connected to.
Over the years we’ve taken numerous trips to the Penwith Peninsula and the area around Falmouth, but recently we got the chance to explore what is for us a lesser-known part of the county when we were invited to review Koto at The Point – a new cluster of design-led eco cabins set on the north Cornish coast, between the villages of Rock and Polzeath.
A collaboration between family-run leisure business The Point and sustainable prefab specialists Koto, Koto at The Point sits on the site of a former airstrip, next to The Point’s own health club, restaurant and golf course. It’s made up of 17 separate cabins, which are dotted among five acres of grassland created by Cornwall-based landscape designer Darren Hawkes. Most of them are for sale as holiday homes, but one – Rumps 16 – is available to book for breaks. It makes for a wonderfully relaxing and restorative escape, as we discovered during our stay…
The cabin
Founded by husband-and-wife architect duo Jonathan and Zoe Little, Koto takes inspiration from the natural landscape and from minimalist Nordic and Japanese aesthetics – something that was evident from the moment we pulled up outside the cabin. Like the others on site, it’s clad in blackened British larch and topped with a green roof that provides a habitat for wildlife, reduces water runoff and adds another layer of insulation. It’s framed by banks of textural grasses and wildflowers that billow gently in the breeze, softening the clean-lined architecture and ensuring it blends beautifully into the surrounding countryside.
Inside the cabin is light-filled and airy, with large picture windows and a lovely sense of flow. One end houses an open-plan living space, dining area and kitchen, the other three bedrooms (two kingsize doubles and a twin) plus two bathrooms (one ensuite). There’s plenty of space but it still feels intimate and cosy, with a mix of sociable areas and quieter nooks, so I reckon it would work equally well for couples, families and small groups of friends.
The interior design has been kept deliberately simple, placing the emphasis firmly on the sweeping views over rolling fields to the sea beyond. I loved the pale oak flooring and the calming palette of soft blues, greys and beiges, which is coastal-inspired without being contrived. And I was just as taken with the sleek black kitchen, which is separated from the rest of the space by an island unit (oh how I dream of having a kitchen big enough for an island unit of my own!) and has a letterbox window offering a tempting glimpse of the grounds.
Rugs, cushions and blankets add warmth and tactility, and dotted here and there are well-chosen Scandinavian design pieces (among others I spotted HAY Lounge chairs, a concrete-based ‘JWDA’ table lamp and sculptural ‘Fragilis’ bowl from Audo Copenhagen, and back-metal ‘Ombre’ and ‘Buddy’ lamps from Northern). Paintings and photographs of coastal scenes by Cornish artists give a local flavour, and there are plenty of cleverly concealed cupboards and drawers for storage.
We were lucky enough to stay over two warm and sunny September days, so we spent a large chunk of our time outside on the deck, where there’s a dining table, a BBQ and a pair of loungers that are ideally positioned for sundowners. But I can imagine a stay during colder weather being just as appealing, with armchairs and a cushioned window seat where you could curl up with a book or snuggle under a blanket to watch storms rolling in.
It’s worth noting that some of the surrounding cabins are still being finished, so if you stay anytime soon you’ll likely see diggers and builders on site during the working day. But we didn’t find them particularly noisy or intrusive, and the evenings and nights are blissfully peaceful. Save from birdsong and the occasional moo from a distant herd of cows, we barely heard a sound from dusk to dawn – a real treat for us city dwellers accustomed to the constant hum of traffic.
The local area
If you can drag yourself away from the gorgeous cabin, Koto at The Point is perfectly located for exploring this corner of Cornwall. A 15-minute walk in one direction is the surfers’ beach of Polzeath; a 30-minute downhill stroll in the other is Rock, an upmarket resort village set on a vast sweep of sand where the Camel Estuary meets the Atlantic.
We spent a wonderful day exploring the latter, which has a cluster of waterside boutiques, bars and restaurants (including Paul Ainsworth’s revamped gastropub The Mariners). We started with coffee and bagels from the outdoor café attached to the Camel waterski school, before heading to interiors and pottery shop Kiln for a look around. Then we followed the coastal path from Rock over Brea Hill to beautiful Daymer Bay, where another path cuts inland across the dunes to the 13th-century church of St Endoc and back to Koto at The Point.
A year-round ferry service connects Rock with the fishing town Padstow on the other side of the estuary, so during out stay we also took the opportunity to take the five-minute hop across the water for lunch. It’s another foodie favourite, and we had a delicious meal from the set-price three-course menu at Rick Stein’s famous Seafood Restaurant. (If you’re planning on going to Padstow yourself, be aware that the exact ferry departure points at both ends change according to the tide, so allow some extra time to find them!)
Slightly further afield from Koto at The Point is the stunning headland of Pentire Point and the secluded cove of Port Quin, both of which are managed by the National Trust. The picturesque fishing villages of Port Isaac and Boscatle plus rugged Tintagel Castle are also easily do-able as day trips.
Book a stay at Rumps 16 at Koto at The Point here. Rates start at £480 for a two-night break for two-six people. Guests also get access to the swimming pool, gym and restaurant at The Point health club, along with discounted rates at the golf course.
All photography by Abi Dare
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