Self-catering accommodation in Cornwall

Imagine the perfect traditional wooden beach chalet in Cornwall, with all the comfort and equipment you would expect from an exclusive boutique hotel. That's Driftwood Beach Chalet. Set amidst miles of unspoilt sand-dunes, minutes from the magical beach of Gwithian, with views across the bay to St Ives and Godrevy lighthouse. Driftwood will transport you to a simpler time and place, but with all the comforts and little necessities you need on holiday. Driftwood has been completely refurbished, and is now available for visitors to enjoy, for the first time in many years. We have tried to ensure Driftwood beach chalet is self catering accommodation in Cornwall at its very best.

At a glance…

Traditional beach chalet
Quiet unspoilt location
Sleeps 6 in 3 bedrooms
Changeover Saturday
Safe life-guarded beach

Dogs by arrangement
Parking for 2 cars
Moments from the beach
Rock-pools and surf
Flatscreen TV, DVD & Blu-ray

Wireless broadband & hi-fi
Private garden, BBQ & decking
Lots of games and books
Surfboards included
Locally-sourced welcome pack

Your perfect beach chalet, right by the beach

Driftwood is a small but high quality beach chalet, right on the coast at beautiful Gwithian Towans in St Ives bay, overlooking the beach on the dramatic North coast of Cornwall. Originally built in the 1930s, Driftwood has been carefully restored and extended to retain all of its original painted wooden charm, but with the furnishings and facilities that discerning guests expect. The chalet can sleep up to six in two double rooms and a bunk bedroom.

When you arrive you will find parking for two cars behind the chalet. You will enter into a light and comfortable open-plan living space, which opens via large floor-to-ceiling patio doors onto a decked area with sun chairs and views of Godrevy light-house and St Ives. In the lounge area you will find a large sofa for chilling out, original artworks by local artists decorating the walls, a flat-screen TV with DVD and up-to-the-minute Blu-ray player, a hi-fi with an iPod plug-in, and free wi-fi access. Throughout the chalet you will find the floors are either stripped or painted pine, with casual rugs for extra comfort giving Driftwood an easygoing and relaxed feel. And you'll find some unexpected things like two full size surfboards for you to use tucked above the open rafters, lots of beach and board games, a guitar, and drawing materials so you will never be short of things to do, whatever the weather.

The dining area can accommodate at least six in comfort around a pine table. You will even have under-seat heating in case the nights are chilly. The kitchen is generously equipped, as many of our guests are enthusiastic cooks. There is a large fridge and freezer, microwave, gas hob and electric oven, blender, toaster, espresso pot and all the utensils you can imagine. A ceramic sink is positioned with a view to St Ives so that even washing up by hand can be a pleasure!

Driftwood has a wooden and tiled wetroom-style shower indoors, as well as a hot and cold outdoor shower for getting out of wetsuits in comfort.

The main double bedroom is a good size and can accommodate a travel cot (which we can supply on request), the second is small but charming and cosy with a comfy full sized double bed and fitted wardrobe. Children or younger adults love our bunk room which has a sturdy safety rail on the top bunk. All of the bedrooms are furnished with comfortable duvets, plenty of pillows, organic cotton bed-linen, and beautiful quilts, throws or blankets. And you will find nice touches like shelves of books, reading lights and blackout blinds to make sure you get a good sleep even when the holiday sun comes up unreasonably early!

Outside, as well as the decked area looking towards St Ives bay, you will find a small but private garden complete with barbeque and an outdoor dining area, which catches the sun late into the afternoons and early evening as it sets across the bay and disappears behind the horizon off St Ives. You'll also find recycling and even composting facilities, to help make your stay as eco-friendly as possible.

Driftwood is great for family holidays, situated at Gwithian Towans, with its safe lifeguarded swimming and body-boarding areas, rockpools, cliff-top walks and literally miles of golden sand – we think it's simply Cornwall's best beach. It's also fantastic for serious surf breaks (Gwithian being one of the best and most popular surf beaches in the South West) and makes a great out-of-season base for walking, seal-watching or simply regenerating with its thoroughly equipped kitchen, well-stocked book shelves, full double glazing and cosy central heating for when you need it. Driftwood is set in a quiet corner of a picturesque cluster of chalets on the edge of Gwithian Towans, a designated Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The accommodation…

Two double bedrooms
Third bunk bedroom
Open-plan living area
Dining area seats 6-8
Well equipped kitchen
Shower-room/wetroom
Decked area with sea views
Outdoor dining area
Small enclosed private garden
Parking for 2 cars

The facilities…

Washing machine
Gas central heating
Indoor and outdoor showers
Gas hob, electric oven
Microwave, blender, toaster
Extensive kitchen equipment
7' 2" Alder (soft foam surfboard)
7' 10" NSP (durable surfboard)
Barbeque
Windbreak
Free wireless broadband
Hi-fi with iPod plug-in
22" flatscreen TV, DVD & Blu-ray
Library of books for all tastes and ages
Beach and rainy-day games
Organic cotton towels

Availability 2011…

December 2010

4 – 11-

11 – 18-

18 – 25-

25 – 1-

January 2011

1 – 8-

8 – 15£450

15 – 22£450

22 – 29£450

29 – 5-

February 2011

5 – 12£450

12 – 19£450

19 – 26£550

26 – 5£450

March 2011

5 – 12£450

12 – 19-

19 – 26£450

26 – 2£525

April 2011

2 – 9£595

9 – 16-

16 – 23£695

23 – 30£695

30 – 7£695

May 2011

7 – 14-

14 – 21-

21 – 28-

28 – 4-

June 2011

4 – 11£695

11 – 18£795

18 – 25£895

25 – 2£995

July 2011

2 – 9-

9 – 16£1150

16 – 23£1150

23 – 30-

30 – 6£1150

August 2011

6 – 13-

13 – 20-

20 – 27-

27 – 3£1150

September 2011

3 – 10-

10 – 17

17 – 24-

24 – 1£595

October 2011

1 – 8£450

8 – 15£450

15 – 22£450

22 – 29£550

29 – 5£450

November 2011

5 – 12£450

12 – 19-

19 – 26£450

26 – 3£450

December 2011

3 – 10£450

10 – 17£450

17 – 24£650*

24 – 31£895*

Key…

Available
Provisionally booked (enquire)
Booked

We are now taking 2011 bookings...
If we are already booked for the week that you want this year, sorry to disappoint. You can make a booking for next year, or why not join our mailing list so we can notify you of any cancellations and give you priority bookings in the future? Just send us an enquiry form (in the next section down)... fill in all the fields and put the dates you are hoping for, or just type 'Join List' in the message section.

How to book Driftwood Beach Chalet
To book Driftwood for your perfect beach chalet holiday in Cornwall please email the dates you would like using the form below, or telephone Phil on 07866 437528 or Maria on 01209 832042. We are happy to hold a provisional booking for 48 hours while you finalise other travel arrangements, and we ask for a 10% deposit to secure your reservation.

Changeover days
In the spring, summer and autumn, bookings at Driftwood are from Saturday to Saturday. We ask that you arrive at or after 3:00pm on the first day of your stay, and depart by 10:00am on the last day.

Short winter getaways
In the winter, between the autumn and spring half term weeks we can sometimes offer 'long weekends' that are more convenient for many people than complete weeks, subject to availability. Please ask about our flexible changeover days and treat yourself to a stormwatching weekend, seasonal chalet celebration, or escape to Cornwall to write that novel! For winter breaks shorter than a week the prices indicated in the table are 'for example' only, so let us know what you would like and we'll try to be accommodating.

Christmas and New Year*
Gwithian is the perfect place to get away from it all for Christmas or New Year. You'll find that Driftwood is warm and cosy - small enough to make a lovely bolt-hole for two, big enough for a group of friends! We appreciate that Saturday to Saturday breaks are unlikely to make sense over this period and are happy to be flexible about changeover days to suit your needs.

Availability & booking enquires…

To enquire about current availability, special offers or to book please complete the form below and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Book now…

To book please complete and send the enquiry form to the right or call…

Maria on 01209 832042, or
Phil on 07866 437528
Terms & conditions
Current special offers

How to find us…

Please note that the map location given here is not accurate due to a fault at Google. Driftwood is at Gwithian Towans right on the coast adjacent to the village of Gwithian, North-East of Hayle. You can find the exact Google location at 50.223115, -5.393445.

It will be easy for you to find Driftwood – but once you are here you can be as hidden away as you choose.

Carbon offsetting

Cornwall is a beautiful and unspoilt place, but like all coastal areas, and indeed the ecosystem of the entire world, it is under threat from climate change. You may already have joined the millions of people worldwide who make their holiday and business travel carbon neutral by contributing to a carbon offsetting scheme. Here is a link to one of the best, the World Land Trust (given top marks in a recent Which report). On the site you can use the simple Transport Calculator on the home page, and make your holiday carbon neutral by contributing to a conservation project or tree-planting scheme www.carbonbalanced.org

By road…

Follow the A30 into Cornwall and all the way to the Hayle junction. Take the fourth exit (signposted Hayle) then at the double-mini-roundabout turn right (signposted to Portreath, B3301). Follow the B3301 up a long, gentle hill for 1.5 miles and at the top look out for the 'Gwithian Towans' sign on the left (if you reach Gwithian village you have gone too far. Follow the lane down through the sand dunes all the way to the bottom of the hill. Don't turn off into the car-park, but continue ahead past a sign saying Private Chalets Only (that's you!). Take the third lane right, which will indicate chalets 61-78. Driftwood awaits, right in front of you.

By air…

Newquay Airport is just 18 miles from Driftwood Beach Chalet. You can fly to Newquay from over 20 different locations in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain, with 7 different airlines – Air Southwest, Flybe, Ryanair, Jet 2, Skybus, Lufthansa and BMI Baby.

Newquay Airport

By train…

Gwithian is about 3 miles for the nearest mainline station at Hayle. Regular and convenient services run from all over the UK.

Trainline

Things to do in and near Driftwood…

Beachlife

You can easily spend a holiday at Gwithian and not get further than the beach. Many do just that. Gwithian is a three-mile ribbon of fine golden sand with something for everyone. It offers rock-pools and safe sandy beach-pools to delight small children, acres of space at low tide for beach games and kite flying, as well as life-guarded bathing and surfing (daytime during the summer). If you crave seclusion take a stroll over the towans and find your very own sand-dune or quiet beach spot… or stay close to the facilities which include Sunset Surf which has all the ice-cream and beach gear you could wish for, or the ‘hidden gem’ of the Jam Pot, perfect for a cream tea, a morning bacon sarnie or something more exotic. Whatever your thing, take care on the beach… be aware of beach safety, and enjoy the Cornish sunshine but look after your beautiful skin!

Our favourite walks

At Driftwood you have literally miles of coast paths and footpaths right on your doorstep. In spring the sand dunes are at their loveliest and a walk in the dunes back towards Hayle will take you for as long (or as short) as you wish. As well as the sporadically market South West Coast Path, there are literally hundreds of other meandering routes. In the opposite direction, a more adventurous one hour walk takes you to Godrevy Point. Take binoculars for a good look at the Godrevy lighthouse, an 86 foot white octagonal tower, opened in 1859 and manned until 1934. Virginia Woolfe could see Godrevy lighthouse from her childhood holiday home across the bay in St Ives and it became an important motif in her writing, and of course the inspiration for ‘To The Lighthouse’. Keep walking along the cliff path (be brave but take care!) and you will come to Seal Cove and Mutton Cove where, in spring and autumn you may be lucky enough to see dozens of seals basking on the beach far below. Push on and you will be rewarded by a cafe at aptly named Hell’s Mouth… still further along the north cliffs takes you the five miles or so to Portreath. If you like serious walking, our advice is to get an OS map before you come (Explorer No 102 is good).