Ty Coets, Morfa Farm

A detached two-bedroom farm cottage in the countryside above Llantwit Major

Ty Coets is a whitewashed cottage on Morfa Farm, set among fields on the lanes north of Llantwit Major and looking out over the river valley. Its Welsh name means the coach house, and the conversion has kept the honest, solid feel of a farm building while folding in every comfort a modern break asks for. Sleeping four across two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and awarded a full 10 out of 10 by its early guests, it is a place for people who would rather wake to birdsong and dark skies than to pavements outside the door.

The cottage

Indoors, two red-sofa sitting rooms give the party plenty of room to unwind, one of them warmed by a log fire when the evenings draw in. The farmhouse kitchen comes ready for real cooking, its oven, hob, dishwasher and washing machine a boon after muddy-boot days, and a big table stands waiting for shared meals. Both bedrooms are calm and restful, one bathroom keeps a reassuring walk-in shower, and the windows frame the fields and the river beyond. Broadband reaches the whole cottage, and there is generous private parking in the yard for several cars.

Room to roam

This is walking, cycling and fishing country. Farm tracks and quiet lanes lead off in every direction, a golf course lies a couple of miles down the road, and the river below tempts anglers to try their luck. Dogs are properly welcome here, which makes Ty Coets a firm favourite with families who never holiday without one.

At a glance

• Detached farm cottage; comfortable for four
• Two bedrooms and two bathrooms
• Twin sitting rooms, a log fire and farmhouse table
• Dogs welcome; angling and golf close at hand
• Room for several cars; broadband to the whole house
• Four-star graded, and rated a perfect 10 by guests

Coast and country

For all its rural calm, Ty Coets is barely ten minutes from the sea. The Heritage Coast unfolds to the south, where the striped cliffs and paired lighthouses at Nash Point make one of the finest walks in the region, and Tresilian Bay tucks its sea cave a little further along the shore. The dunes at Merthyr Mawr, among the tallest in Europe, lie a short drive west for a wilder day out. Llantwit Major, with its ancient church and its inns, is a five-minute run down the hill for supplies and a meal, Cardiff Airport is around twelve minutes away, and the capital under three-quarters of an hour.

A true country escape

The farm setting is the whole point. Children can watch the seasons turn in the fields, dogs have the run of the countryside, and the skies out here stay dark enough to pick out constellations you would never catch from a town. Days divide neatly between the coast to the south and the lanes all around: a morning rock-pooling below the cliffs, an afternoon casting a line on the river or strolling off lunch through the hedgerows. When you do fancy a little life and a table booked for dinner, the town is only minutes down the hill, and Cardiff waits for the day a bigger outing beckons. It is the sort of address that empties the mind after about a day and a half.

Good to know

Rates begin at about £75 a night for the whole cottage, fair going for a private farm retreat sleeping four. Up-to-date prices and availability sit behind the booking link. The final approach is along a country lane, so leave a little extra time when you first arrive, and keep an eye out for the odd tractor or farm gate along the way.