Blackdown Hills, South West England

We have a thatched cottage in a rural but not remote location in Somerset. We have no immediate neighbours, peace and quiet and a menagerie of pets - 3dogs , 2 cats (one live outdoors, one sleeps in the kitchen ), 11 chickens . The animals are pretty low maintenance- the dogs are older, happy to be left for hours in the day and potter down the lane in the evening. One of the dogs has previously been an escape artist if left unattended in the garden , or if the kitchen door is left open and so any house sitter would need to be mindful of this ( he is perfect tho in the house and on walks!)

The cats need zero attention bar feeding ( although one does like to say hi) and we keep the chickens in their run in the day if we’re not around- they can free range otherwise

The setting of the house is lovely with footpaths on the doorstep four good pubs and an excellent village shop within a 10 min drive . We are a 30 ish minute drive to Lyme Regis , Sidmouth and some other lovely beaches in Dorset and within 45 -60 mins of Exeter, Bristol , Wells, Bath and Glastonbury.
The house is 6 miles ( 20 mins) from Taunton with restaurants, large supermarkets, a cinema and usual array of high street stores.

We have high speed WiFi via Starlink satellite system. The garden is fantastic for bird watching and dark starry skies!

A car is essential - we are rural with no reliable bus services ( nearest bus stop is 3 miles away) and although supermarkets deliver we are not served by Deliveroo / Uber type services Read more...