What better outside space could you have than the wide, wild and wonderful three-mile sands of Woolacombe Bay, spread out before you and best observed from the wooden balcony or the padded window seat? Don’t forget the wine.
Stay out for a picnic in the small, secluded garden down the steps. Grill your supper on the gas barbecue and toast the eagle views of Lundy from your cliffside eyrie.
This is a home for 21 st -century living, yet it offers more than a backward glance towards a glorious past. Once an officers’ club for American soldiers during the D-Day landings, then latterly owned by a family of actors, Ocean Outlook bears all the hallmarks of a life well lived on the Devon clifftops.
Restored with love by an interior designer, Ocean Outlook comes with mod cons married to endearing quirks accumulated through the years. It’s a 1930s gem, complete with authentic wooden floors, tiled fireplaces, cushions, throws and a delightful window seat for watching the waves wash on the beach below.
In the evening, as the sea fret gently flecks the windows, dig around in the dresser for board games, or pop on a DVD and light the fire. Get some photos in of the cool, calm interiors and post them to Insta on the BT Infinity. Step out onto the balcony for sunsets over Lundy Island and cocktails at dusk.
For on-site catering, local chef Dave Sargent’s your man. With a self-sourced menu, he offers buffets, canapes, barbecues, or even a cosy night in for two. But if you’re happy to fire up the electric oven yourself, you’ll also enjoy a well-equipped, modern kitchen that comes with fridge and fridge/freezer, microwave, toaster and dishwasher.
In the morning, grab coffee and croissants on the high stools around the breakfast bar. Then get together at night in the dining room with the Scandi-style shutters and the sash windows open to the call of the gulls in the briny and the view of the beach. Or get closer, out on the balcony that seems to hang over the bay, with grills from the barbie.
Take away tasty treats from Rockleigh House, serving fresh, wholesome food such as braised beef stroganoff and spicy chicken and chorizo. Pop down to Barricane Beach to the café, take a ticket and wait for your piping-hot curry. Or head over to Squire’s in Braunton for award-winning fresh fish and chips.
For Mexican-bean chilli, gastro-burger or chicken tarragon served under an English thatched roof, try the William Arms in Braunton. Grab the best of local bistro at Miss Fea’s Café and pick from spinach and ricotta tortellini or spring lamb ragu. Or clean your plates at The Beach House in Woolacombe, home of the freshest steak and fish.
Perched high on the Devon cliffs, you’ll sleep like heavy driftwood on the shoreline as the wind lifts the sea fret against the windows and the gulls wheel by. Sleeping six adults and two children, Ocean Outlook’s four bedrooms come with a high thread count, spring interior mattresses and toppers on the double beds.
Bedroom one on the first floor offers a kingsize bed with TV and en-suite, while bedroom two on the ground floor is also a kingsize with en-suite. At the rear of the first floor, bedroom three provides twin beds and a shower room shared with adjoining bedroom four (great for families), a kingsize with its own TV.
