A new home for Sawday's Special Self-Catering Places in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Eire, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal

A fine beach at Portsalon, a tree-sheltered garden and a deep-country approach for this enchanting flagged and thatched cottage

Not only does it look like beloved great-granny's storybook cottage, it actually is Michael's 300-year-old ancestral home, and its renovation shows how much he and Margaret love it. The deep-country approach, the cobbled yard, half door and thatch outside, the amazing flagged floor inside, the open fire with its old cooking utensils (for you to use...) will transport you to never-neverland. Both living rooms are properly furnished with rustic antiques and old pottery pieces, red and white gingham giving the final cottagey flourish. It's a lesson in conservation: even light switches are hidden in old shelves in old walls. Upstairs, the enchantment is contained beneath pine-clad attic ceilings. One bedroom, on a raised wooden floor, has tiny eyes to the outside world, little windows dug deep in the gable ends, and soft cotton fabrics. The other has an old iron bedstead and larger windows. Through their arched doors, they are simple and inviting. Add a lovely tree-sheltered garden, Portsalon's fine beach, endless wonderful walks and Rathmullan House for an evening treat and you have perfect seclusion and rest.