Nightingale Cottage

A characterful one-bedroom cottage in the old centre of Llantwit Major

Nightingale Cottage is a one-bedroom bolthole for two on College Street, right in the medieval tangle of lanes at the town’s heart. Behind an unassuming stone frontage it proves full of personality, with bold paint colours, a beamed sitting room and an inner courtyard draped in greenery, and it has won a warm 9.3 out of 10 from its guests. Dog-friendly and endlessly walkable, it is made for couples who want to leave the car parked and step straight into the life of the town.

Inside

The sitting room sets the mood with a stone hearth, a lit log-burner and a deep sofa to sink into after dinner; on a cool evening, with the fire going, it is the sort of room you settle into and stay. A dresser-lined kitchen has everything you need to cook in, there is a farmhouse table laid for two, and the double bedroom upstairs keeps the same confident style with a hardwood floor underfoot. Considered touches run throughout, from the reading chair by the window to the pictures on the walls, and wireless internet is on hand if you must stay in touch.

The courtyard

Out at the back, a sheltered stone courtyard with a bench and pots of colour gives you a private spot for a morning coffee or an evening glass of something. There is outdoor seating, a small picnic area and bicycle parking, and a flexible self-service arrival means you can turn up when the day allows rather than to somebody else’s clock.

At a glance

• One-bedroom cottage for two in the town centre
• Wood-burning fire and full-of-character interiors
• Private walled courtyard with a bench
• Dogs welcome by prior arrangement
• Well-stocked kitchen; wi-fi and bicycle parking
• Guest score 9.3/10; flexible self check-in

Life on the doorstep

Stay here and you are seconds from the best of Llantwit Major: the delis and galleries, the tearooms, and the trio of historic pubs where the town gathers of an evening. The remarkable church of St Illtud, with its Celtic crosses and a story reaching back fifteen hundred years, is a two-minute wander. For the shore, Tresilian Bay and its cliffs lie a mile and a half south, an easy amble on a bright day, while the market town of Cowbridge and its boutiques are a short drive north. Cardiff is roughly forty minutes by road, or twenty-odd from the little railway station that sits within walking distance of the front door.

A couple’s retreat

It is the sort of hideaway that couples come back to, year after year, once they have found it. Walkers arrive off the coast path and thaw out by the fire; anniversary weekenders book it for the character and the calm; and anyone weary of identikit rooms falls for the paint colours, the beams and that leafy little courtyard. Because everything the town offers is on the doorstep, from the Saturday bustle to a lazy Sunday breakfast out, you can happily abandon the car for days at a stretch. Bring the dog, light the log-burner and let the old town set the pace: a slow start, a wander to the church, lunch at a pub, an afternoon on the cliffs and home to that fire again.

Good to know

Nightingale is let from about £65 a night, which for a one-off town-centre cottage of this character is hard to argue with. Press the booking button to see which dates are still free and what they cost. The bedroom is upstairs, so bear that in mind for your party, and do let the owner know in advance if you are bringing the dog along.