Handpicked for you...

When the children were small and we needed to go to a beach where they could play safely all day and swim in the shallow waters, our first choice was always Boulders Beach in the sleepy village of Simon’s Town. It is still one of our favourite Cape Town beaches. Baxter House sits perfectly positioned above Boulders, making for easy trips up and down to the beach with your flip-flops and beach towel tucked under your arm and kids in tow, dragging boogie boards.

Baxter House is, at first, deceptive – from the outside it looks like a typical clapboard beach house. It is only when you enter that you realise quite how spacious it is: there are rooms unfolding around each corner! While cosy nooks abound, the overall effect is airy and nautical. This home bursts with character and history, and the well-stocked kitchen (a pleasure to cook in) leads into the large dining room – with a fireplace for chilly evenings – and living room. You’ll have to draw straws to see which lucky couple gets to call the upstairs master suite home for your stay: this delightful space with its expansive sea views includes a private lounge, bathroom and a writing nook with desk and chair. Downstairs, the other bedrooms are invitingly cosy, and two lead onto a secret garden with wonderful views across the bay to Fish Hoek.

The relaxed, shabby-chic interior features vintage collectables, loosely slip-covered couches and junk-shop finds that sit alongside lovingly restored family heirlooms. The feeling is one of utter relaxation, and the home is simply beautiful.

I have fallen totally in love with Baxter House and feel so privileged that the owners are willing to share their precious seaside home with us and others. This is somewhere I would choose to spend a long beach holiday with my family – it ticks all the boxes!

What we love…

• The sense that time has stood still in this charming, unpretentious and warmly welcoming beach cottage.
• The barefoot luxury: you know you can curl up on the couch with a great book after a day on the beach.
• Sharing our outdoor spaces with the penguins from the Boulders Beach colony – wow!
• The sheltered, beautiful cove – perfect for safe swimming – and massive granite boulders on the beach below the house.

What you need to know…

• The beach almost disappears at low tide, so head down early to ‘book’ your own piece of paradise before out-of-town visitors arrive.
• Remember to pack your Wild Card – there’s a National Parks fee for Boulders Beach. Windmill and Water’s Edge beaches are free.

Sleeps 10