Bosinver Farm Cottages
Bosinver Farm Cottages is a family-run collection of 20 individually designed self-catering cottages in a wooded valley near St Austell, in south Cornwall, spread across 30 acres of farm, meadow and gardens. Families come for the working farm at its heart, with daily animal feeding, pony rides and a Forest School, a warm indoor pool and cottages that arrive already stocked with the cots, high chairs and baby kit most families would otherwise have to pack.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who Bosinver suits, what's on site and what to skim first.
The reason families keep coming back to Bosinver is the farm at the centre of it. Children feed the goats and sheep, collect eggs and take a rein-led pony ride, all included, and a warm indoor pool and a soft-play barn cover the wet Cornish days. The cottages are the other draw: 20 detached, individually designed places to stay, each already fitted with a cot, a toy box and the baby and toddler kit most families would otherwise pack, so you can arrive with a lighter car. What you don't get is a beach on the doorstep, a restaurant or a drop-off crèche, so this is a self-catering, self-directed week in the countryside rather than an all-in resort. You'll get the most from it with babies and young children, and if you're happy to drive 10 to 25 minutes when you want sand.
Best for
You want a calm, nature-rich countryside week with babies or young children, a farm on site and all the cots and kit provided, and you don't need childcare to make it work.
Maybe not for
You want sand on the doorstep, a restaurant or bar on site, evening entertainment or a drop-off kids' club.
Best ages
Babies and toddlers upwards. The farm, pool and trails suit the youngest, and pony rides run from pre-school to around age 12.
What stands out
The hands-on farm with Farmer Dave, the free baby and toddler kit and the loyalty that brings most families back each year.
What to check
The pool booking system, whether your cottage has an enclosed patio for a toddler and dog rules if you're travelling in peak weeks.
Where is it?
Trelowth, near Polgooth, about three miles west of St Austell in south Cornwall, off the A390.
Quick facts for families
What Bosinver is like
Where it sits, how the site is laid out and what that means with a pushchair.
Bosinver sits in a quiet wooded valley at Trelowth, next to the village of Polgooth and about three miles west of St Austell, off the A390. The 20 cottages are spread around the valley like a small hamlet, each detached and named after something local, far enough apart for privacy but close enough to walk between. It's a working farm as well as a place to stay, set in 30 acres of farmland, wildflower meadows and gardens, and the whole site is traffic-free for anyone on foot. For all the shared facilities, it isn't a hotel and it isn't a holiday park: it's one family's farm with 20 cottages let out on it, each privately your own for the week. For the wider county, its beaches and when to go, see our Cornwall guide.
The shared facilities all sit within a short walk of every cottage: the pool, the soft-play barn, a games room, a gym, the tennis court, the farm animals, a lake and the woodland. You pick up a site map at reception. The setting is a valley, so there are slopes, and a few cottages have steps up from the lane, Valley View and Higher Hill among them, while others are fully level. Bosinver has hard-surfaced the lane up to Lowen and the ramp to the games room as part of an accessibility audit, so those two routes are easier going than they were. Around the site you'll see rabbits, squirrels and deer, garden birds nesting close to the cottages, plus kingfishers and herons down by the lake, which is part of the appeal for children who like spotting wildlife.
The farm has been run by the same family, Pat and Dave Smith, since they arrived in 1998 and converted an old chalet park, building the cottages over the 25 years since. That continuity shows in the detail and in the loyalty of the guests: around 70% return year after year, and at least six families have been coming for more than 30 years. Dogs over a year old are welcome in 10 of the 20 cottages, though not during Whitsun week or the main summer holidays, and because the gardens aren't fenced you'll need a lead on site.
The cottages, every type
All 20 cottages at a glance, then which suit a family with a baby or toddler and why.
Every cottage is different, and all 20 are rated four or five stars Gold by the Quality in Tourism assessors. The table below is the full line-up: how many each sleeps, the number of bedrooms and what's worth knowing about it. Bosinver doesn't publish floor areas, so the table gives layout and space rather than a square-metre figure. They range from two-bedroom cottages sleeping four up to The Farmhouse, a listed thatched longhouse that sleeps 12.
| Cottage | Sleeps | Bedrooms | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley View | 4 | 2 | Dog friendly. Double and twin, both en suite, with a single that converts to a cot. A conservatory doubles as the dining room, with meadow and lake views. Steps up from the lane. |
| Rose | 4 | 2 | The most secluded cottage, with a private garden. Kingsize and twin, a favourite with couples and small families. |
| Polclay | 4 | 2 | Dog friendly. An 1830s cottage with low beamed ceilings and a granite fireplace. Kingsize and twin, with patio access straight from the main bedroom. |
| Pear | 4 | 2 | Dog friendly. In the old orchard, with a balcony. Kingsize and twin, both en suite. Pairs with Apple for a larger group. |
| Hydrangea | 4 | 2 | Dog friendly. Kingsize and twin, a south-facing conservatory with meadow views and a sunny patio. |
| Hillside | 4 | 2 | Dog friendly. A conservatory looking over the fields, and room to dry off dogs after a walk. |
| Coliza | 4 | 2 | A thatched cottage built in 2003, near the play area, with a log burner and a roll-top bath. Noted for families with toddlers. |
| Buddleia | 4 | 2 | Level access and suitable for limited mobility, with a south-facing conservatory. |
| Apple | 4 | 2 | Living area upstairs to make the most of the orchard views, with a balcony. Pairs with Pear. |
| Trerose | 5 | 3 | Single-storey, three bedrooms and garden views. Good for a smaller family or grandparents joining. |
| Pentree | 5 | 2 | Two bedrooms on one floor plus a hideaway third bed, level access, its own washing machine and a spot by the Play Barn. Recommended for babies and small children. |
| Well Close | 6 | 3 | Dog friendly. Three bedrooms on one level, easy access and an open-plan lounge and diner, set among trees. |
| Veronica | 6 | 3 | Dog friendly. Three bedrooms, a traditional feel, views down the valley and a garden. |
| Cherry | 6 | 3 | Dog friendly. Three bedrooms all on one storey, with field views. |
| Higher Hill | 6 | 3 | Three bedrooms in an upside-down layout, with a south-facing balcony over the meadow. Steps up from the lane. |
| Olearia | 6 | 4 | Four bedrooms all on one level, fully wheelchair accessible with a wet room. Good for three generations together. |
| Lowen | 8 | 4 | A zero-carbon eco-cottage with a garden hot tub, ground-floor wheelchair access, its own washing machine and a dedicated Type 2 EV charging point. |
| Laburnum | 8 | 4 | Four bedrooms, with a circular living-room window looking across the valley, golf course and sea. |
| Jack's Barn | 8 | 4 | Dog friendly. A converted barn with views over the fields, set up for two families together. |
| The Farmhouse | 12 | 6 | Dog friendly. A listed thatched longhouse dating from the 18th century, with an Aga, a garden hot tub and level parking for four cars. The largest cottage. |
For a family with a baby or toddler, the single-level cottages are the easiest to live in with a pushchair and a child who's into everything, so Pentree, Buddleia, Well Close, Olearia, Trerose and Cherry are the ones to look at first. Pentree sits right by the Play Barn and is specifically recommended for babies and small children, and thatched Coliza, near the main play area, is another Bosinver points families with toddlers towards. The important thing to weigh is the gardens: they're private but not enclosed or gated, so if you want a contained bit of outdoor space, ask Bosinver which cottage has an enclosed patio rather than assuming.
Four cottages work for guests with mobility needs. Buddleia has level access and suits limited mobility, Pentree is all on one floor, while Olearia and Lowen are fully wheelchair accessible, each with a wet room, grab rails and a wheel-in shower, plus a shower stool or shower wheelchair to borrow. Lowen is also Bosinver's zero-carbon eco-cottage, energy self-sufficient from solar panels and a ground source heat pump, with a garden hot tub and its own dedicated Type 2 EV charging point, and The Farmhouse has a hot tub too.
Whichever you choose, the kit is the same. Every cottage comes with hypo-allergenic pillows and duvets, with bed linen and towels provided, a folding wooden cot (a full-size one measures 117 by 54cm, the smaller version 92 by 54cm), a toy box, free WiFi and a barbecue you bring your own charcoal for. Electricity, gas and heating are all included in the price. The one thing to pack is cot bedding, which isn't provided, and if you'd rather use a travel cot there's one per cottage to request when you book.
The pool
The heated indoor pool and how you book it, the beaches you'll drive to and everything for babies and toddlers.
The pool is a heated indoor one, 16 metres long by 8 wide, an even 1.2 metres deep throughout and kept at 29°C, which is warm enough for a nervous first-timer. The building faces south and has an outdoor sun deck, and you get to the water down a few steps with a handrail. It isn't staffed and there's no lifeguard at any time, so you supervise your own children. Infants under two need a swim nappy under a neoprene swimsuit to contain accidents, and the reusable ones are available from reception. There are floats, noodles and toys to use.
How you get in the water takes a little planning. Each cottage has one private, exclusive hour every other day, booked through an online pool calendar or at reception. Within the week only one of those slots can be a prime morning, from 9 to 11am, and only one a prime evening, from 4 to 6pm, with the others falling at other times of day. On top of that there's a shared open swim from midday to 1pm every day except Saturday, capped at 25 people. Bosinver's own pages don't all describe the private slots the same way, so it's worth confirming the current system when you book. The pool building also houses a sauna, though it's currently closed, so check whether it's back in use if that matters to you. There's no outdoor pool and no splash pad or separate water-play feature.
If you want lessons, Dawn Haden, a qualified instructor, runs them in the pool for all abilities, from a first dip upwards, as a paid extra arranged within your pool slot. A parent and baby session is £30, a one-to-one of 40 minutes is £35 and a two-to-one is £50, with discounts for several lessons (last checked June 2026). You book these directly with her, separately from your stay.
Beaches nearby
Bosinver is inland, about three miles from the coast, so there's no beach on site and a beach day means a short drive. Porthpean is the closest, roughly 10 minutes away, a sheltered, south-facing sandy bay with rock pools that suits young children. Mevagissey, about 15 minutes, is a working fishing harbour with an inner wall made for crabbing, along with fish and chips and ice cream, and Charlestown, a historic tall-ship harbour, is a short drive too. A little further, Porthluney Cove at Caerhays, about 20 minutes, is a quiet south-facing family beach with soft sand, rock pools, a seasonal cafe and toilets, and dogs are welcome year-round. Polkerris, about 25 minutes, is a sheltered cove with rock pools, water sports and hire, Sam's on the Beach, a family restaurant in an old lifeboat station, and the Rashleigh Inn pub. Par Sands is another sandy option on the same stretch of coast.
Bosinver takes some of the packing out of a beach day: bodyboards, including recycled Zumba Jay boards, fishing nets, crab lines and buckets and spades are all free to borrow from a small shed by reception, returned cleaned.
Babies and toddlers
The thing parents with babies rate most here is arriving with a lighter car. There's a folding cot already in every cottage, and on top of that you can borrow, at no charge, travel cots, stair gates, booster and car seats, high chairs, bed guards, blackout blinds, McLaren strollers, framed and soft baby carriers, baby baths, monitors, bumbos, sterilisers, wellies and DVDs and board games for a rainy afternoon in the cottage. It's the reason many parents call Bosinver an easy first holiday with a baby.
There's no formal registered crèche or drop-off childcare, so this isn't a place to hand the children over for the morning. What there is instead is the Wild Kids Club, an outdoor Forest School led by qualified Forest School Leader Tatum, usually on a Thursday afternoon, one afternoon a week and included in the stay. It's a supervised group activity rather than childcare, and it isn't guaranteed: it needs at least eight children in low season, along with the right weather and staff, so confirm the schedule when you book. For an evening to yourselves, babysitting can be booked in advance through Bosinver using experienced local sitters, so book early as demand is high.
The farm is where the youngest children spend their time. Animal feeding runs at 9:30am every day except Saturday with Farmer Dave and Helen: you can hand-feed the goats and sheep, feed the chickens and ducks crushed digestive biscuits or cornflakes rather than bread, then collect the eggs, and a baby in a pram or a carrier can watch and touch along the way. Pony rides on Crystal and Ginger are rein-led and hand-held with a parent right alongside, on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10am, weather permitting, and suit children from pre-school to around age 12 depending on size, with a weight limit of eight stone and a height limit of five feet; a safety hat is provided and you sign up at reception. Three shire horses, Wilfred, Juna and Angel, belong to neighbouring farmer Alfie of Pikna Shire Horses but live at Bosinver for most of the year, and horse-drawn carriage rides around the local lanes can be arranged directly with him. Bosinver asks you not to feed the horses, as it makes them unwell. There's also a sensory garden of flowers and pollinators for the youngest babies to explore.
Things to do on site
The play barn, trails and sport included in the price, then the food, the services and how you get around.
A lot is included in the stay, a package Bosinver values at around £475, and it's enough to fill several days without leaving the site. The Play Barn is a converted granite barn near Pentree with tubes to crawl through, a whirly slide, biff-bash mats and little bikes, plus a sofa for parents; it's open around the clock, apart from a cleaning window between 8:30 and 9:30am, and works from babies up to primary age. The games room near Well Close has table football, table tennis, a pool table, a retro games machine and Pucket, and its doors are wheelchair accessible. The gym by the pool has free weights, a running machine, a spinning cycle and a cross trainer. It's open 9am to 8pm, except when the Therapy Room next door is in use, and it's adults only, with under-16s not allowed unaccompanied.
Outdoors, the main play area has a sandpit, swings, climbing frames, a ride-on tractor and combine, a Wendy house and a large trampoline, and a separate adventure area by the lake adds a zip wire, a bendy slide and rope swings. Across the site there are trails for children to follow: a Gruffalo Trail you borrow the book for, a Wellie Hunt to find 10 hidden wellies, a Hidden Animals Trail, plus woodland and lake walks. There's a full-size hard tennis court, open all year with no need to book, racquets and balls available from reception. Pickleball lines are marked on the same court, with paddles and balls also available from reception, and that's the sport on site: there's no pitch-and-putt and nothing beyond tennis and pickleball. The lake itself is kept mostly for wildlife rather than serious fishing, though children can net-fish from the bank for fun, and there's a herb garden to help yourself from and Nanny Pat's baking box to borrow for a baking afternoon in the cottage. There's no evening entertainment programme, which fits the quiet countryside feel.
Self-catering, with help nearbyFood and supplies
Bosinver is fully self-catering. There's no restaurant or bar on site, and every cottage has a well-equipped kitchen with a cooker, hob, fridge freezer and dishwasher. Polgooth Stores, the village shop about 10 minutes' walk down the lane, bakes fresh bread daily and will deliver groceries to your cottage before you arrive, and the major supermarkets deliver to the area too, so you can order a shop timed for after the 4:30pm check-in, giving your cottage name and a mobile number. Baby food and formula can go in that delivery. The Polgooth Inn, an award-winning family and dog-friendly pub, is within about 15 minutes' walk and is the one place you can walk to for a meal out.
If you'd rather not cook every night, Bosinver can pre-arrange a few things through the booking process: homemade frozen meals from Hannah delivered to your cottage freezer before you arrive, a private chef in the cottage or local veg and food boxes. For eating out, Sam's on the Beach at Polkerris is about 25 minutes away, and Mevagissey harbour, about 15 minutes, has fish and chips and ice cream.
Little extrasExtras and services
A handful of paid services round things out. Visiting therapists, Sharon Sweet of The Secret Spa Cornwall and Sarah Quintrell of Kernewek Therapy, offer treatments in the therapy room or in your cottage, though there's no dedicated spa facility. A mid-stay cleaning service can be added at booking, priced by cottage size, and isn't available on Sundays. Dog owners can use an on-site kennel to leave a dog for a few hours when they go out. Lowen and Pentree have their own washing machines; every other cottage uses a free central laundry room, with tumble dryers taking £1 coins to nudge people towards the outdoor lines and covered drying room.
The people are part of the character too. Farmer Dave runs the animal feeding and pony rides, and Nanny Pat, who looks after the look of the cottages and keeps a book of local things to do, is a familiar name to returning families. Lucy, the head housekeeper, also helps lead the pony rides alongside Farmer Dave. Paul, one of Pat and Dave's sons, is involved in the day-to-day running of the farm, and Tatum leads the Wild Kids Forest School.
Access and getting aroundAccessibility and getting around
Bosinver holds a Silver award for inclusive and accessible tourism from the 2023/4 Cornwall Tourism Awards, following an audit by the Access Cornwall team, and its staff are trained in accessibility. Olearia and Lowen are fully wheelchair accessible with wet rooms, and Buddleia and Pentree are level-access single-storey cottages. There's a Sunflower lanyard scheme for hidden disabilities and a sensory box to borrow, and the site has a good track record with neurodiverse children, who tend to find the calm, outdoor pace easy.
For getting around with a pushchair, most of the site is walkable on flat tarmac and gravel, and the pool, Play Barn, gym, games room, animal enclosures and tennis court are all reachable on foot. The single-level cottages are the most practical for a pushchair inside and around the patio, while a few cottages have steps up from the lane. There are several EV charging points around the site, and Lowen has its own dedicated Type 2 charger for its guests.
The area and days out
The days out within reach, what families rate and flag, how it compares, the journey in and the weather.
Bosinver sits in a well-served corner of Cornwall for family days out. Within about 15 minutes are the Eden Project, with its giant biome greenhouses, rainforest and displays on sustainable living, suited to all ages, and the Lost Gardens of Heligan near St Austell, 200 acres of woodland trails, rope bridges and a jungle section. Closer still, Glenleigh Fishery is about a mile away for coarse fishing with good access for wheelchair users, and Innis Fly Fishery, with three trout lakes, is around five miles off.
A little further afield there's more for children. Camel Creek, a family adventure park with rides, rollercoasters and animal encounters, is about 30 minutes, though some rides need children to be 90cm, worth checking with a toddler. The Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek rehabilitates seals, and Paradise Park at Hayle has flamingos, penguins and bird shows. Falmouth, a harbour town with its own events, is about 45 minutes. For a slower day there are steam railways at Bodmin and Lappa Valley, indoor play at Kidzworld in St Austell, animals and soft play at Dairyland Farm Park, and the National Trust's Trelissick Gardens with its woodland and small beach. Further out again are Newquay with its zoo and surf beaches, the harbour town of Fowey and St Michael's Mount, the tidal island you reach on foot at low tide or by boat at high. St Ives is a scenic branch-line train ride, there's cycling and bike hire around Cardinham Woods, the Camel Trail and the Pentewan Valley, and six-hour deep-sea fishing trips run from Mevagissey on the Aquila, with all the gear provided.
What families sayLoves and gripes
This is our read across guest reviews, family blogs and the quotes on Bosinver's own site, the good and the honest caveats.
What families love
- Farmer Dave and the hands-on animal contact, singled out again and again.
- Arriving with a lighter car thanks to the free baby and toddler kit.
- The self-contained feel, with families happy to spend whole days on site.
- The warm pool and the private sessions for the youngest swimmers.
- Staff warmth, and a calm setting that suits neurodiverse children.
- The trails and the pony rides, both toddler favourites.
Common gripes
- No beach on site, so a beach day means a 10 to 25 minute drive.
- Pool access is limited and needs planning around the booking system.
- The sauna is currently closed.
- Wild Kids isn't guaranteed, especially out of season.
- No restaurant on site, and only one pub within walking distance.
- Dogs are restricted in peak weeks, and the gardens aren't enclosed.
- The pool isn't staffed, so you supervise your own children.
- The postcode misdirects sat-navs, so follow Bosinver's own directions in.
How it compares
Within the Cornwall shortlist, Bosinver is the only farm-cottage complex, and it's the countryside choice for families with babies and young children who don't need childcare laid on. It's also the one families are most likely to rebook. Against Pentewan Sands, with its private beach and flume pool, Bosinver loses on sand-on-the-doorstep but wins on the farm, the animals, the baby kit and cottage quality, so Pentewan suits beach-first families and Bosinver those happy to drive to the coast. Hendra near Newquay has a much bigger pool with slides and a baby pool, better for a splash-park day, where Bosinver is quieter and more personal.
Landal Gwel an Mor has paid soft play and a wildlife centre at a more commercial scale; Bosinver's soft play is free and it's better known for under-fives. If you specifically need childcare time, Retallack has a Jelly Tots crèche from three months, which Bosinver has no equivalent to, and Haven parks like Riviere Sands offer organised entertainment and beach access on a tighter budget. Bosinver is the quieter, more personal, no-crèche option for a nature-led week.
Getting there and backGetting there and when to go
It's a drive-only place in practice, off the A390 three miles west of St Austell. The one thing to get right is the sat-nav: the postcode, PL26 7DT, is for post only and will send you to the wrong place, so follow Bosinver's own directions instead. There's parking at or alongside each cottage. By train, St Austell is the nearest mainline station, with services from London Paddington and from Birmingham and Bristol, and taxis wait at the station. The nearest airport is Newquay Cornwall, and while Bosinver doesn't publish a transfer time, allow around 30 to 40 minutes by road; there's no airport transfer, so you arrange your own taxi or hire car.
On booking, high season from mid-May to mid-September runs weekly, mostly Saturday to Saturday with some Friday arrivals, and short breaks from three nights are available from September to June on any day. Christmas breaks run too, up to 10 nights for the price of seven. Check-in is 4:30pm and check-out 10am, and if you'll arrive after 6pm it's worth letting Bosinver know. Reception is usually staffed 9am to 4pm, Monday to Thursday. A 25% non-refundable deposit holds the booking, with the balance due two months before arrival, and payment is by debit card or bank transfer, not credit card. If you need to cancel, Bosinver refunds 75% for 62 or more days' notice, 50% for 15 to 61 days and 25% for 14 days or fewer. Prices vary a lot by cottage size and season, so book direct through Bosinver for current rates.
The warmest months and the fullest programme are June to August, which are also the priciest and go by the week. May and September are good shoulder weeks at lower prices with shorter stays possible, handy if you can travel before your children start school. Off-season is well priced and the indoor pool and Play Barn make wet weather manageable, though Wild Kids is less likely to run when numbers are low.
When to goWeather
South Cornwall has a mild maritime climate, and St Austell sits on the sheltered south coast, which tends to be milder and drier than the north. Bosinver is open year-round, including Christmas, so the figures below cover the whole year. Treat them as long-term averages rather than a forecast.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9° | 4.5° | 106 mm | 16 | 10° |
| February | 9.5° | 4.5° | 89 mm | 14 | 9° |
| March | 10.5° | 5.5° | 68 mm | 13 | 9° |
| April | 12° | 6.5° | 68 mm | 12 | 10° |
| May | 15° | 9° | 70 mm | 11 | 12° |
| June | 17.5° | 11.5° | 60 mm | 10 | 15° |
| July | 19° | 13.5° | 65 mm | 11 | 17° |
| August | 19.5° | 14° | 68 mm | 11 | 17° |
| September | 17.5° | 12° | 70 mm | 11 | 16° |
| October | 14.5° | 10° | 111 mm | 16 | 15° |
| November | 11.5° | 7.5° | 125 mm | 18 | 13° |
| December | 9.5° | 5° | 113 mm | 16 | 11° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. Bosinver is open year-round, including Christmas.
Whatever the month, the sea off this coast is cool by southern European standards, so most swimmers will want a wetsuit even at the August peak. With the indoor pool, the Play Barn and the games room on site, a wet day is more of an inconvenience here than a write-off.
Questions
The things families ask most, the awards behind the site, useful links and when this guide was last updated.
Is there a crèche or kids’ club for babies and toddlers?
No. There's no drop-off childcare at Bosinver. The Wild Kids Forest School is a supervised group session one afternoon a week, and it isn't guaranteed on every stay. If you need an evening to yourselves, book a babysitter through Bosinver as early as you can, since local sitters get booked up.
Can we use the pool whenever we want?
Not quite. Each cottage gets a private hour in the pool every other day, plus a shared open swim from midday to 1pm daily except Saturday. The wording varies across Bosinver's own pages, so confirm the current system when you book, and remember the pool has no lifeguard, so you supervise your own children.
Is Bosinver right for a baby who isn’t walking yet?
Yes. Little ones can watch the animal feeding from a pram, explore the sensory garden and get used to the warm pool, and single-level cottages keep it simple. One thing to check: the cottage gardens aren't fenced, so ask for one with an enclosed patio if you want a contained bit of outdoor space.
How far are the nearest beaches?
There's no beach on site, so plan on a short drive. Porthpean is about 10 minutes, Mevagissey about 15, Porthluney about 20 and Polkerris about 25. Bosinver lends bodyboards, buckets, spades and crab lines free, so you can pack the car before you go.
Do we need to bring a cot, stair gates and a high chair?
No. There's a folding wooden cot in every cottage, and travel cots, stair gates, high chairs, bed guards, monitors and more are all free to borrow. The one thing to pack is cot bedding, which isn't provided.
Can we bring our dog?
Ten of the 20 cottages take dogs over a year old, but not during Whitsun week or the main summer holidays. The gardens aren't gated, so you'll need a lead on site, and there's a kennel to leave a dog for a few hours. Check the specific cottage is dog friendly when you book.
What’s the minimum stay?
In high season, from mid-May to mid-September, cottages go by the week, mostly Saturday to Saturday. From September to June you can book short breaks from three nights. Christmas breaks also run, with up to 10 nights for the price of 7.
How accessible is it for wheelchair users or hidden disabilities?
Olearia and Lowen are wheelchair accessible with wet rooms, and Buddleia and Pentree are level-access single-storey cottages. Bosinver runs the Sunflower lanyard scheme for hidden disabilities and has a sensory box to borrow, and its staff are trained in accessibility, work that won it a Cornwall tourism award.
Ratings and awards
Bosinver has a strong run of awards. It took Gold as VisitEngland's Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year for 2026 and Gold for Best Self-Catering in Cornwall at the 2025/6 Cornwall Tourism Awards, with further golds for sustainability and wildlife-friendly tourism and a Silver for accessible tourism. All 20 cottages are rated four or five stars Gold by Quality in Tourism. Guest reviews are consistently warm, the recurring themes being Farmer Dave, the hands-on animals and how much children want to come back.
See more Bosinver photos
Open the Bosinver photo gallery →
Useful links
- Bosinver Farm Cottages: the farm's own site for the cottages, the facilities and booking.
- Cornwall with little ones: our guide to the wider county, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated July 2026.
