Our Story
Stoneleigh Knowle
Nestled between the notable ancient Manors of Penfound and Penhallym, our special piece of Cornwall has been providing for its community through farming, woodland management and apple pressing from the time when the first Medieval settlement stood here on a ‘Stone Noll’.
Creating an eco-system
Since The Palmer family became custodians of the estate, their approach has been to create and improve the eco system enabling a very rich natural and diverse landscape in which flora and fauna can thrive. Now a place to really enjoy Cornwall’s wildlife, native bluebells and wild primroses now generously decorate the woodland floors. Deer, badgers, foxes, owls, and bats have sought refuge in the sanctuaries created for them within the woodland and hedges that have been traditionally steeped to create safe wildlife corridors and bird nesting sites.
Meadows and woodland
Meadows are cut late in the year to allow wildflowers to grow providing for butterflies, bees and other pollinators and to offer cover for ground nesting birds. Our woodlands are slowly being reverted to native broadleaf. Timber extracted from them is dried naturally and provided to our guests as a sustainable and carbon friendly source of fuel for our log burners.
Our sustainable cottages
Our sustainable approach has naturally spilled over to the management of the cottages. Careful choices are made over everything from cleaning products to our fixtures and furnishings, attempting to reduce our carbon footprint and the effects we have on the environment whilst still offering the luxury we know our guests want and love.