Coleton Fishacre

Coleton Fishacre is the 1920s country retreat of Rupert and Lady Dorothy D'Oyly Carte, whose family fortune came from staging Gilbert and Sullivan; the house was finished in 1926. Outside it is Arts and Crafts, inside it is Art Deco, with music playing through the rooms and the servants' quarters telling the upstairs and downstairs story. Below it an RHS-accredited garden drops through a sheltered valley to the sea, where a climate as mild as south Cornwall lets plants from the Mediterranean, South Africa and New Zealand thrive around the rill garden, ponds and terraced borders; a gate at the bottom joins the South West Coast Path above Pudcombe Cove, and a 2-mile circular walk reaches Coleton Camp. Dogs on leads are welcome in the garden, shop and cafe, but only assistance dogs in the house. Reviewers praise the plant labels and the benches all the way down. Tips from regulars: the paths are steep and slippery in rain so wear proper shoes, the narrow approach lane sometimes needs reversing, and there is no phone signal on site.