Let the gentle sun warm you to your bones and the swirling sea breeze keep you refreshed as you traverse the section of the South West Coast Path that cradles Lizard Point – the UK’s most southerly point. The stunning scenery is best enjoyed from Victorian hotel Housel Bay, which sits on the coast overlooking the beautiful bay and offering first-class views of the Lizard Lighthouse, a National Trust property.
What I love about stays along the Cornish coast is that it invites its visitors to relax, leave their stresses behind and take on a simpler way of life for the duration of their stay. Set your worries aside and work on slowing down, exploring what the county has to offer and enjoying the best of the hotels and their delightful dining and relaxing rooms.
Take a seat in the hotel grounds letting the southerly sun envelope you in a warm embrace and uncover yet another Cornish foodie hot spot.
Hotel
Sitting in an enviable position on the coast, Housel Bay hotel has a magic that many others can’t quite muster. What it lacks in grandeur makes up for in its personal feel; rooms may not be the most luxe, but the views from them are unbeatable, and the food is simply glorious across both of its restaurants.
The Victorian-era hotel was first opened in the summer of 1894, with architecture designed by famous Cornishman, Silvanus Trevail, and has many of the original features remaining unchanged to this day. Past guests include the great Guglielmo Marconi, who is celebrated for sending the first signal across the ocean, mere metres from Housel Bay.
A small hotel, with 23 bedrooms, that is in the midst of gradual refurbishment, guests can expect excellent meals, a super relaxed stay in the most glorious surroundings and incredible surrounding scenery to devour, from bright, sun-filled sea views to brilliant night skies. Downtime can be spent in the lounge, Marconi’s Bar or snug, outside on the terrace or on a chair in the gardens overlooking the bay with a drink in hand.
If you want to switch off, breathe in some refreshing sea air, eat well and immerse yourself in some of the finest natural surroundings that Cornwall and the UK can offer, then you’ll be in good hands here.
Room
Book a panoramic room for the best views in the house. I was lucky enough to be staying in one with a bay window and couldn’t get enough of the surrounding scenery, whether it was a morning view of the gorgeous rolling green hills falling into the bright blue waters punctuated by the baby blue hues of the sky, or the incredible display of the night sky with the full moon and shining stars creating a dazzling display over the water. Magical.
Gazing out from the comfort of the king size bed or armchairs at the window at the view was a highlight and there was plenty of space to store belongings and ready myself for the day ahead or evening at the restaurants downstairs.
Rooms are a little tired in décor, but they are all gradually getting a facelift, and ours was comfortable with its king sized bed and offered a supreme spot for star gazing, seal spotting, and simply relaxing, as the Cornish coast invites you to do so well.
Food
Like many of Cornwall’s hotels, Housel Bay is host to an understated yet utterly delightful fine dining restaurant, Fallowfields. Named after its head chef Jospeh Fallowfield, the restaurant offers a short or long tasting menu, with optional paired wines within its cool, casual surroundings and makes use of the local larder within its offerings.
The Dawn of Warmth long tasting menu, served up in June, was a well balanced menu with a medley of flavours and textures bursting out of each dish and lots of little, well-thought out elements making each mouthful interesting. Creative combinations and well paired wines made the meal an enjoyable one, and my guest and I were lucky enough to have each dish brought out by Joseph himself to explain each plate of food.
Snacks to start came out on a wood board and consisted of a flower tart with whipped cheese in a crispy filo shell; crab with wild garlic mayonnaise and caviar served on a poppadom (10 out of 10); and a wild garlic, pine nut and parmesan loaf with whipped butter.
Scallop ceviche with chilli, lime, broad bean and a Bloody Mary granita was next a – mix between a Thai salad and English garden salad with fresh zingy elements and light delicate ingredients. This was followed with a wild garlic ravioli, goats’ curd and pumpkin seed dish – a green, delicately flavoured serving with al dente pasta and a welcome nuttiness from the seeds. A sumptuous Argentinian Cabernet Franc accompanied this and I was impressed with the excellent standard of cooking thus far.
Cod with asparagus, girolles, sea lettuce and Jersey Royals was paired with a Chilean Riesling and a creamy parsnip purée combined with a lip-smackingly good beurre blanc underneath a chunky piece of delicate cod. Mixed in some chopped greens and Jersey Royals bathing in the sauce and it resulted in a gorgeous plate of food.
Spring lamb with a pea risotto, mint, black garlic and broccoli had all the flavours you could want together on one plate, while a rich Belgian waffle topped with Langres cheese, raw honeycomb and truffle made for an unusual but delicious dish.
Another creative creation came next – a rather savoury Jerusalem artichoke ice cream with bitter chocolate and hazelnut, and this was followed with a sweet and scrumptious elderflower and lemon brulee with strawberry and meringue to end what had been a truly delectable, delicious and delightful meal.
For a more casual meal with the same great food, views and service, head to The Terrace – a conservatory where breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner are served.
For breakfast, hot dishes are served from the kitchen, while there’s a buffet in the conservatory dining room to pick from, which held pastries, fruit, juices and the tastiest granola. You can buy a bag at reception to take home with you and we didn’t hesitate to bring a bag home with us.
Dinner in the terrace is a more casual affair but still retains the elegance from the gorgeous food and affable staff who serve it, along with those winning views. Croquettes to start, seafood pasta and scallops to follow and a dark chocolate and espresso mousse were all devoured and thoroughly enjoyed in the relaxed setting. For summer, Sunday roasts have been swapped out for seafood Sundays and if we hadn’t been booked in for dinner, we would have been in there like a shot, the menu looked amazing.
To do
From relaxing in the snug with a book or boardgame to sunning yourself in the gardens, enjoying a tipple on the terrace or winding down with yoga in The Studio, there are many ways to keep the pace slow here. If you’d rather get your heart rate going you can join the South West Coast Path at the foot of the gardens and head west towards Lizard Point, the lighthouse and beyond or east toward Church Cove and explore the beauty of the Lizard Peninsula and take in the captivating coastline.
Stop off at a café on the way, pop into the shops in the village, spot seals bobbing in the water, take a refreshing dip in the waters below the hotel, immerse yourself in nature, explore the waters with Lizard Adventure and sit back and enjoy the views.
In a nutshell
Top-notch food, first-class views, an unbeatable location, Housel Bay hotel on the Lizard Peninsula is an enticing place and a provides a great base for exploring locally.
Factbox
Rooms start at £115 a night in low season.
Address: Housel Bay, Lizard, Helston, TR12 7PG
Tel: 01326 567500
Email: stay@houselbay.com
Website: houselbay.com
Instagram: @houselbay
See snippets of my travels on Instagram @tashheard_food_travel
All imagery provided by Housel Bay hotel
