Checking in

Cowslip Cottage will be ready for you from 4pm on your date of arrival, you are most welcome to check-in independently. You will find the key under the door mat.

Directions

If you are travelling by car, postcode for Satnavs - PL14 4RD
• Travelling from Plymouth on the A38 towards Liskeard - continue past Liskeard staying on A38 bypass.
• After two miles and at next roundabout signed Twelvewoods, take second left, A390 signposted St Austell.
• At end of next village, East Taphouse, turn left onto B3359 - signposted Looe.
• After approx 2 miles, turn right at our signpost, Botelet.
• Turn left at next signpost and continue past the third sign, Cowslip is the first stone cottage on the left. 
• Park just outside or if dry weather, on the long grassy bank next to the lane.

The what3words location for Cowslip Cottage is ///breathed.earplugs.trails

Please see travel to us page of our website for assistance with international travel.

Key Contacts

Botelet: 01503 220 225 and stay@botelet.com

Julie’s mobile: 07900 133 135

Tia’s mobile: 07968 501 384

Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any queries.

Emergency numbers: 

General emergency: 999     
Quote Grid Reference:  0S201 18.4 60.3 or postcode PL14 4RD
For an emergency requiring ambulance, police or fire brigade.

Rosedean Doctors Surgery, Liskeard: 8 Dean Street, Liskeard, PL14 4AQ.  01579 343915

Liskeard Minor Injuries Unit: Clemo Rd, Liskeard PL14 3XD (casualty open 8am - 10pm daily).  01579 335 600

A&E at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth: Derriford Road, Crownhill, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 8DH.  01752 202082

NHS Direct: health advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Telephone: 111 

Dentist - Emergency dental treatment for unregistered patients is available at:

  • Smile Centre, 39 Church Street, Liskeard, PL14 3AQ (Private clinic).  01579 342 348 www.the-smile-centre.com

  • Windsor Place Dental Surgery, 8 Windsor Place, Liskeard, PL14 4BH (NHS clinic but also do private one-off emergency consultations).  01579 343 361.  

  • Community Dental Services – central number for emergency NHS dentist in Cornwall hospitals 01872 354 375.

  • Dental Access Centre, 1a Baring Street, Plymouth, PL4 8NF.  0845 155 8070

Fire Safety

To reduce the risk of fire, we ask that you: 

  • Do not place any items directly on top of, or hanging above, storage heaters.  The storage heaters become very hot and can be a serious fire hazard.

  • Do not leave any lighting materials directly beside the woodburner.  Follow instructions for using the woodburner and ensure you do not leave unattended when woodburner doors are open, or place any items on top of the woodburner.

  • Please be extremely careful with the use of electrical appliances such as an iron or hair straighteners, to ensure they are not left attended when on, or near flammable materials.

  • Please do not smoke, vape, use e-cigarettes or candles in the cottage. If smoking, please move right away from the cottage outside, and ensure cigarette butts are thoroughly extinguished. Please be especially careful in dry weather when the grass/plants may be particularly prone to catching fire.

  • Please shut doors behind you at night time.  If a fire started, this reduces the risk of it spreading quickly.

  • Please keep doorways, passageways, hallway, porch etc clear from obstructions during your stay.

  • If you lock the front door at night, we recommend that you leave the key in the lock for quick exit if required.

In the event of a fire:

Exit Cowslip Cottage as quickly as possible without stopping to collect belongings. Exit through the front door if you have access. Other exit routes are through the front windows in the sitting room, and through the pantry door that adjoins the kitchen.

Once outside the cottage, meet in the field gateway immediately across the road.

Call 999 and ask for the fire brigade.  Quote postcode PL14 4RD or grid reference: UK SX 18469 60082 (six digit UK grid SX184600)

Fire extinguishers can be found beside the kitchen sideboard and at the top of the stairs. A fire blanket is on the wall in the kitchen fire place. We ask that you prioritise getting yourself and any other members of your party out of the cottage safely, over and above fire-fighting.

Alert us as soon as possible - in the farmhouse or: 01503 220 225, Tia - 07968 501 384, Richard - 07979 570 508

History of Cowslip Cottage

Cowslip Cottage was formerly two cottages built in the early 1800’s. Housing a blacksmith and a carpenter and their families, they practiced their craft in buildings just outside in the field. Their trades served this tiny hamlet known as Hollowparks and also those living in the surrounding farms and villages. The four or five cottages there at the time were part of Botelet and on the 1871 census there were 31 people recorded as living there. Later that century they became homes to generations who worked on the farm. 

The Tamblyns have lived at Botelet Farm for around 160 years.  Barbara’s late husband David’s grandfather Thomas and his wife Elizabeth were the first Tamblyns to farm at Botelet, living in the Manor House as tenants of Squire Trelawny.  In 1884, by the request of the current generation's great grand parents, Squire Trelawny came to inspect the condition of Botelet Manor House. When he nearly fell through the rotten floor, he ordered his men to build the current farmhouse just across the cobbled courtyard.  David’s father Cyrus was born in the farmhouse in the year it was built; he lived at Botelet to the tender age of 103!  David was also born in the farmhouse in 1924, and Barbara moved to Botelet in 1956 after their marriage.

The family focused on farming beef cattle along with sheep up until the 1980s with David specialising in breeding Charolais bulls; he was the first person in Cornwall to do so.  The family sold much of their cattle and sheep in the late 1980s with a shifting focus on more diverse farming activities including restoring buildings and historical features, improving the hedgerows and fences, and farming in a very gentle way as part of the Environmental Stewardship Scheme. 

Heating in Cowslip Cottage

Heating in Cowslip Cottage comes from two sources - the woodburning stove and night storage heaters. If you wish to adjust the heating the woodburning stove will give you the quickest change and the storage heaters will provide a change of heat over a 24 hour period.

Storage heaters
Please note: do not adjust or switch off the storage heater under the stairs, this is attached to the solar panels on the roof and must remain on.

All other storage heaters can be adjusted individually using the dials on the top right hand side of the heater. The two dials are for ‘Auto-Set Control and "Room Temperature” or switched off completely via the lower wall switch next to each heater.

  • Auto-Set control: how much heat will be produced when turned on.  Increase or decrease using the dial

  • Room Temperature: how quickly the heat will be released (low numbers on dial = slowly, high numbers = quickly). 

We recommend having the ‘room temperature’ dial set at about 2 or 3 and the heat will release gradually, meaning the heater will stay warm for longer. If the room temperature dial is up high, the heat will be released quickly then the heater will be cold until recharged.

The heaters charge electricity at night during a seven hour period when power is priced at half price.

Storage heaters continue to release heat slowly after they have been turned off (the rate at which they release heat will depend on the ‘Room Temperature” setting) giving an ambient heat even when they may appear to be turned off as they are not charging.

Please do not place any items on top of storage heaters to dry, as this creates a serious fire risk.
Please be aware that the heaters can become very hot to touch – warn children to keep away from them.

Woodburning stove
The woodburner will be lit when you arrive except during hot weather. Keep the wheel on the front of the woodburner closed at all times except when lighting from scratch. Keep feeding with wood before fire dies down and fill if you are heading out or at night to keep the fire alive. Make sure the stainless steel rod (middle bottom of burner) is just 1cm open at all times except when lighting the fire.  Do not leave any lighting materials directly beside the woodburner and do not dry anything on or near the fire. 

Newspapers, firelighters and matches can be found in the alcove to the right of the fire. Logs are located in the basket next to the fire, in the porch and outside in the garage facing into the lane. You will find plenty of small twigs in the lane or hedgerow to use as kindling. Dry the wood out indoors (away from the woodburner) for use the next day.

Energy use at Botelet

We have taken steps to reduce energy consumption at Botelet, whilst trying to maintain the home comforts we expect. We hope that your holiday will leave only a gentle footprint. 

The solar panels on the roof heat the hot water and one storage heater (under the stairs - to be kept on at all times)

To help ‘green’ your holiday at Botelet you can:

  • Save electricity by setting the timer on dishwasher and washing machine to run between 1am and 7am

  • Turn off lights and appliances when not being used and when you leave the house.

  • Use recycling and compost facilities (see below) for waste where appropriate.

Hot water

Hot water in Cowslip is provided by the energy from the solar panels. There is also an automatic electric emersion heater to top up. We hope this will meet your hot water needs, please leave both switches outside the bathroom door ON. 

If you run short of hot water for baths remember that the shower above the bath is electric, therefore will provide a constant supply of hot water at all times.

Supplies

You will find in Cowslip Cottage kitchen olive oil, salt and pepper, breakfast tea and a small selection of herbal teas, please bring all other kitchen supplies and condiments required for your stay. Please note that we don’t supply coffee - we find that everyone has different preferences and don’t want freshly ground coffee to go to waste! You will find a cafetiere and stovetop coffee maker in Manor and we highly recommend coffee roasters Lars & Margo, based in Liskeard, for locally sourced coffee.

Laundry and cleaning items such as washing-up liquid, laundry detergent and loo roll are supplied to get you started, please be prepared to top-up during your stay.  

Washing, drying & ironing clothes

The washing machine is located in the pantry adjoining the kitchen.  You will find some washing powder/liquid to keep you going in the basket on top of the washing machine, if you run out.

There are various options for drying clothes:

  • There is a washing line in the garden to the rear of Cowslip Cottage, you will find pegs in a tub in the pantry.

  • There is an electric drying rack stored in the pantry.

  • The airing cupboard in the bathroom has shelves to ‘air’ folded clothes.

 Note: please do not place any items on top of storage heaters to dry, as this creates a serious fire risk.

An iron and ironing board can be found in the pantry.

Rubbish, Recycling & Compost

When your kitchen bag is full, please dispose of it into the metal dustbins housed in the shed, on the right as you go towards the higher garden. The compost bin is in the higher garden at the top end of the shed.

In the shed you will also find the bins to recycle glass bottles, plastic bottles, tin cans, cardboard and paper. Please:

  • Rinse and remove the tops from plastic bottles before recycling (place tops in general rubbish bins) and squash plastic bottles before placing in recycling

  • Rinse and remove tops from glass bottles

  • Rinse tin cans

  • Separate your recycling as appropriate

For fruit and vegetable waste that has not been cooked, we would be grateful if you could compost it.  The compost is located in the garden.

Any cooked food waste should be discarded of in the bins, thank you.

Any uncooked food that’s leftover at the end of your stay and you don’t want to take home, please leave in the fridge / place together on the side in the kitchen and we will pass on to the chickens.

Thank you for helping us to minimise food waste!

Wireless Internet

Wifi is available throughout Cowslip Cottage.  To sign in to the Cowslip wifi, the password is Cornwall.

Please be aware that living in a rural area, our internet connection is not always as robust as in cities!  If you have any problems getting online, do let us know.

Mobile phone coverage

Mobile coverage at Botelet varies enormously according to the provider.  Most phones receive a signal somewhere in Cowslip Cottage (often in or near the windows); some have full coverage - remember to turn on wi-fi calling if your phone has this option.  If your mobile does not have good coverage inside, try in the garden.  

Dishwasher

When using the dishwasher, please select the ‘eco’ setting – this prevents the glasses from becoming cloudy, thank you.

Barbeque

You will find a barbeque in the front garden of Cowslip Cottage.  Charcoal can be purchased from the Spar shop at Pelynt four miles away, or at local supermarkets - for details see food shopping recommendations.

Torch

You will find a torch in the kitchen by the door, plugged into a socket behind the microwave. This torch is provided to use as emergency lighting in case of fire.  Please ensure the torch is kept in its bracket.

Keys

The front door key of Cowslip can be found on the coat hook just inside and to the right of the door. If you lock the front door at night we recommend that you leave the key in the lock for quick exit if required incase of fire.

Breakages & damages

Please let us know about any breakages or damages that occur during your stay.  We ask that breakages and damages outside of normal wear and tear are paid for, thank you.

Wellbeing

We have a treatment room on-site offering therapeutic massage, along with wellbeing workshops. Please let us know if you would like to organise a treatment, advance booking highly recommended.

Departing from Botelet

When departing from Botelet we kindly ask that you:

  • Remove all food you have brought into the property - from fridges, freezer, cupboards and the pantry or kitchen. Please do not leave any food in the property when you vacate.

  • Ensure that all kitchen items you have used have been washed (all crockery, cutlery, glasses, pots, pans etc), either in the dishwasher or the sink. You are welcome to leave the dishwasher running when departing.

  • Please empty all bins and recycling inside the property into outside bins before departing, including bedroom, bathroom and kitchen bins.

  • Please check property thoroughly before departing - including under beds and in drawers.

  • Please depart promptly by 10am. Our cleaners need the full changeover time to be able to prepare the property for the next guests.

Thank you for leaving Cowslip Cottage clean and tidy.

Local recommendations

Please click here to see our list of local recommendations, from shopping to eating out, walks, beaches, historic houses and gardens, local towns and outdoor activities.

Very many thanks for staying with us here at Botelet, we hope to see you again soon,
The Tamblyns