“This is a place for lovers. Or couples, or old friends, or lovers of nature. But mostly for lovers.

It’s a bit like a living meditation. From the moment you walk in and take off your shoes you know you have arrived. All the talk about being in the present moment, just being; being in the here and now – well it’s right here.

You’re immediately immersed in the silence, the nature. It all wraps you up in it and it makes you smile.

Bek and Paul have put so much love into this gorgeous 1860’s stone cottage it literally envelops you with a hug as you enter. Years of collecting treasured pieces with a past from the world over find their natural home here as though they had been individually selected for their particular positions.

Bek and Paul revitalised the cottage to be their forever dream home – which it will be eventually – so saying a lot of thought has gone into it is a bit of an understatement. There’s an extraordinary amount of detail, from the comfort and warmth of luxurious soft linens and textures to the incredible colours which harmonise with those outdoors. French doors, original windows, thick stone walls; wonderful atmospheric lighting all together weave a magic beyond the realm of reason.

Sitting in the bath watching the granite of the Hazard Mountains across the waters of Great Oyster Bay change colour from grey to pink in the last of the sunlight, my breath is stolen from me with the sheer beauty of what I’m seeing. I feel as though I don’t belong in the world I’ve just left but I’m somehow suspended between that and the nature that’s all around me. It’s a wonderful feeling I don’t want to ever end – this feeling its evoking of being free, away from everything that mattered half an hour ago; and I’m completely in the ‘now’. It’s as though I’m caught up in nature’s embrace in this enchanted cottage, caught somewhere between what is and what will be.

Of course the bath water grows cold and the darkness descends, but then come the stars and the constellations which mesmerise with their magnificence. You can see forever.

The evenings will be remembered for a long time to come – sitting by the fire with a glass or several of a local Pinot. The ample kitchen allows easy meals to be created, time not wasted so as to enjoy the most of the cottage’s magic.

The cottage has an overwhelmingly beautiful view from it’s high position – the dusk, the dawn and everything in between is breathtaking.

This remarkably soulful little cottage is perfect in its completeness. I never want to leave.

Bek and Paul have done everything to make their guests feel good and it’s all about how you feel anyway right, so they’ve achieved that 100 per cent – staying here is such a gift. I can’t wait to come back … “

ALI P - JUNE 2020