Phillip M
June 2018
Our week at Bagtor Mill was absolutely wonderful.. We arrived to find this picture perfect little enclave of two thatched properties lying in a dip beside the River Lemon in a tree dappled valley. The mill wheel is still in place and there is a little stream that runs down the side of the property which feeds the two ponds. Very dreamy! Made all the more dreamy by an unusually perfect week on Dartmoor of wall to wall sunshine. The weather had been dry for a while which meant that the two beautiful ponds on the property were very low. Very appealing to the dogs, that both dived in to the mud on arrival after a long car journey! (there is a very useful hose on the side of the Workshop!)
The house is south east facing and breakfast every morning on the terrace in front of the house, in the sunshine, was a highlight. The terrace is bathed in sunshine (when we have it!) all day and is a quiet spot to while away the hours if not climbing the tors. Unfortunately the sun goes behind the hill in the evening so a jumper was necessary for supper.
The house sits in a woodland setting with the grounds meandering down the valley. The drive sweeps round infront of the house, but there is a secluded little grassy area down by the summer house, a little walk down the track, where you can sit in the sun, serenaded by bird song and cooled by the breeze up the valley. The track leads on through the woods for a lovely short walk with the dogs in the evening.
This is a place of real tranquility.
We were 8 adults (3 couples and two cousins!) so the sleeping arrangements worked out perfectly. There are 2 double rooms, 1 twin and 1 double with an additional single bed. All bedding was good quality with lovely comfortable mattresses and good quality fluffy bath and face towels for everyone (if this is important to you)
The kitchen was well equiped and there is an electric AGA with a surface mounted electric hob beside. Loads of cutlery and crockery so no endless washing up sessions in order to have a clean mug! The basics were provided - selection of individual teas/coffee; cooking oil; biscuits; milk; washing up liquid; loo paper; soap and individual shower gels/shampoos etc in the bathrooms. If I said that the only thing lacking was a knife sharpener, you will understand that Mark has pretty much thought of everything!
The sitting room is a great size for a large party and there are a good selection of books - Dartmoor/flowers/novels - and some games.
A useful community shop is only a few minutes up the hill in Ilsington (open Sunday mornings too) selling lovely fresh produce as well as essentials.
Perhaps my only disappointment was that there are no footpaths from the property on to the moors, so we had to use the cars every day. But the house is in easy access of some wonderful areas of the moors for walking, with some of the "big names" (Haytor/Widecombe/Dartmeet) all relative close by. The north part of the moors (Okehampton/Belstone) is probably a good 40-60mins through the magical Dartmoor lanes.
Mark is a wonderful host, friendly and at the end of the phone if needed. Bagtor Mill is a very special location for a real escape. Thank you Mark for sharing it everyone.