Great British & Irish Hotels 2016

GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS 2016

PERFECT PLACES FOR WEEKENDS AWAY PLUS

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Editor’s Letter

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elcome to this, our fourth annual edition of Great British & Irish Hotels, now firmly established as an invaluable, independently selected showcase of the best hotels and inns in the land.

Each of our four guides so far has been different from the last, and this year’s is no exception. In our 2016 edition, you’ll find a particularly exciting crop of just-opened addresses and these are mixed with trusted old favourites, as well as established places that are nevertheless new to me, in Ireland especially, discovered while researching and writing my weekly column for the Sunday Telegraph.

Even after 30 years of writing about British hotels, it’s as sobering as it is uplifting to find that there are treasures out there still to be unearthed and reported on. With over 44,000 accredited places to stay in the British Isles, treasure-hunting happily remains, for me, a full-time occupation.

And it’s once more a delight for me to present my finds in this vibrant and glamorous publication. Of course, we all search for hotels online these days and physical guide books, once so prolific, are now rare, but we’ve found that people love having this book, both to use as a search tool and to display, for it is as beautiful as it is, I hope, practical.

The evocative images that represent the regions of the British Isles into which our selection is divided are once again the work of the talented winners of the Landscape Photography of the Year Awards, while this year’s front cover was shot at Olga Polizzi’s divine Hotel Endsleigh. Inside, you’ll find descriptions of over 220 hotels, each one handpicked. We also include, as ever, a useful selection of gorgeous private houses to rent.

But you won’t just find hotels. The food you eat is every bit as important as the bed in which you sleep, and we are lucky to have ‘Local Foodie’ Henrietta Green’s hugely knowledgeable insights into the culinary highlights of each region, whether a gourmet pit stop on the A30, a knockout restaurant, a cheese shop or ‘the best crab sandwich in the world’. Add the treasured recipes of some of our favourite chefs and you have a hotel guide that puts food exactly where it should be: centre stage.

The best hotels are like people. They are no more or less than expressions of the personalities that own and run them. You won’t find bland, corporate places in these pages; you will find the hotels that Britain and Ireland are best at, whether grand or humble: ones that are full of character. If you are looking for hotels with soul, you will find them in these pages.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP The Gurnard’s Head, Cornwall; The Merrion, Dublin; Glenapp Castle, Scotland; Claridge’s, London

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169 87

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B O O D LES. CO M / W I S T ER I A

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Contents 183

140 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Gregans Castle, Ireland; Askham Hall, Cumbria; Mist Rolling In, Mawddach Estuary, Gwynedd by Ann Paine (Commended, Take a view 2015); Eel and potato salad by Hambleton Hall’s Aaron Patterson

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26

Devon, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly The West Country Dorset / Somerset / Wiltshire

42

56

Hampshire & the Isle of Wight The Home Counties Berkshire / Buckinghamshire / Kent /Sussex

76 100

London The Cotswolds

150

Gloucestershire / Oxfordshire / Warwickshire / Wiltshire

114

Mid Country Derbyshire / Lincolnshire / Nottinghamshire / Rutland Warwickshire / West Midlands

124

East Anglia Cambridgeshire / Essex / Norfolk / Suffolk

134

The North County Durham / Cheshire / Cumbria / Lancashire / Northumberland / Yorkshire

150 162 174 186 192

Wales & The Marches Scotland Ireland Private Houses Index

121 ON THE COVER Camilla Babbington at Models 1 wears Diamond print silk brigitte backless maxi dress by Kalita at matchesfashion.com Photographer: Louise Samuelsen Fashion director: Lucy Bond Hair and make-up: Frances Prescott at S Management using Sisley make-up and skincare and Aveda hair products Photographer's assistant: Jessica Segal LOCATION With thanks to Hotel Endsleigh, Devon (hotelendsleigh.com) LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR The landscape photography in this guide is from the Take a View: Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards; the annual competition that showcases images of Britain’s most beautiful locations by some of today’s best landscape photographers. The Awards are held in association with VisitBritain and the GREAT Britain #OMGB campaign.

Winners will be announced at the end of October and the Awards book, Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 10 (AA Publishing) is available from 24 October 2016. An exhibition of best entries will be held in London at the end of the year. take-a-view.co.uk

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Devon, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly ‘More than in gardened Surrey, nature spills A wealth of heather, kidney-vetch and squills Over these long-defended Cornish hills.’

From Cornish Cliffs by John Betjeman, 1966

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Nicholas White, Dartmoor Pony, near Little Staple Tor, Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England.

(Commended, Take a view 2015) nicholasjrwhite.co.uk

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BEST OUTING

Taking Hotel Tresanton’s (p18) magnificent eightmetre classic sailing yacht, Pinuccia, for a trip (accompanied by the skipper!) around Falmouth Bay, with a freshly prepared picnic and cold white wine for lunch on board.

ABOVE: Bodmin Moor, Devon RIGHT: Hotel Tresanton’s yacht Pinuccia

Wet and Wild It’s not just about the seaside, the moors are just as wild and enthralling

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Cream tea

The Nare

MOST SPOILING TREAT

The Eden Project

The Dart Estuary, with Dartmouth across the water, from every single window and terrace at adorable Nonsuch House (p19), once the home of a sea captain.

At The Nare (p19), they look after their guests, from nippers to nonagenarians, with special kindness. Can’t get to Cornwall by car or public transport?

They’ll come and collect you in the Nareblue Range Rover – wherever you live.

BEST NEW ADDRESS

Caerhays Tower, Cornwall

Paul Ainsworth’s fabulous new guesthouse, Padstow Townhouse (p21). I challenge you to find one luxurious extra that he, his wife Emma and sister Michelle have not thought of.

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

hat would we do without the Southwest kicking out into the Atlantic and the sun, fun, surfing and endless golden sands that it brings?

But Devon and Cornwall are about more than just wetsuits, bikinis and sandcastles. The region is home to some of the coolest festivals and the best chefs in the country. Nor are its attractions confined to the summer months... Cornwall’s famous sub-tropical gardens and the all-year Eden Project alone see to that. And then there are the cream teas, bracing coastal walks, enchanting manor houses, the hills, valleys and wild moors – Dartmoor, Exmoor, Bodmin Moor – that can be enjoyed at any time of the year.

As for the Isles of Scilly, nowhere in the British Isles is the light – on a clear day – as translucent and beautiful, nor the feeling of being far from home so strong.

BEST VIEW

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FISH IS THE DISH Penzance, Cornwall

As Rick Stein’s former head chef, it comes as no surprise that Bruce Rennie really understands and knows how to cook Cornish fish. At his new place The Shore Restaurant, fish is sourced from from day boats, ingredients are seriously seasonal and the menus owe a fair amount to his own – as well as Rick’s – globetrotting. Think monkfish poached in nori or gurnard with coconut and lemongrass noodles. theshorerestaurant.uk SAY CHEESE, Newlyn, Cornwall Now under new ownership, Newlyn Cheese & Charcuterie is specialising in cheeses from the Southwest. Try the subtly blue Helford, Trelawny with a pronounced citrus tang made

by Sue Proudfoot, or Rachel, a rind-washed goat’s milk cheese with a reverberating, creamy nuttiness that make it an all-time favourite. newlyncheese.co.uk

ODE TO DEVON, Devon Tim and Clare Bouguet’s admirable mission is to offer ‘planet friendly food accessible for all budgets’. First off was Ode Dining in Shaldon, next Ode Ness Cove, a beachside café with its microbrewery and, recently, came Ode Gara Rock with superb views over South Hams, as well as Ode on the Road, a pizza van travelling around South Devon. odetruefood.com

Local Foodie From Outlaws to odes

PHOTOS: NICK HOOK PHOTOGRAPHY; DAVID GRIFFEN PHOTOGRAPHY

CATCHING CRABS Port Isaac, Cornwall He may be a Michelin-starred chef but for the ‘best crab sandwiches in the world’, Nathan Outlaw goes to Fresh from the Sea. Caught in the bay, it is cooked and hand-picked on the premises and sold whole, dressed in a sandwich or salad, and even alive. freshfromthesea.co.uk

PIT STOP A30, Devon Tired out by the interminable drive on the A30? Plan a pit stop at Hog & Hedge, a member of the new generation of service stations at Whiddon Down. Food is great and they claim, ‘we don’t do fried food, we are real people who cook real food from fresh ingredients’, and the barista coffee will certainly perk you up. hogandhedge.co.uk

HOT OFF THE PRESS Exeter, Devon

Exeter’s newest cookery school is opening this June. With a range of courses to suit all levels, from beginners through to experienced cooks and a wide range of subjects, it sounds like there’s plenty to learn and enjoy in their spanking new, purpose-built kitchen classrooms. exetercookeryschool.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 11

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Lucky Number Paul Ainsworth of No 6 found food nirvana at Frantzén in Stockholm

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

My earliest food memory is of my dad making the most amazing bacon sandwich.

He and my mum ran a B&B and he did all the breakfasts. My mum, who comes from the Seychelles and whose style is much more flamboyant, would do the evening meals towards the end of the week.

The best meal I’ve ever eaten was at Restaurant Frantzén in Stockholm – it was phenomenal. I’d expected a Nordic feast, and in a way it was, but it was also grounded in classical cooking. And there were a few surprises; I remember the bread was proving on your table when you sat down, then it was whisked off, cooked over charcoal and served halfway through the meal with three different butters – one made at the table, a goat’s butter and a caramelised butter similar to a beurre noisette.

I was trained classically and I belong to the school of ‘no mucking about’. No molecular gastronomy, no foraging – just good honest cooking to show as much care and respect for the ingredients as possible.

It’s all about the ingredients and serving food that you want to eat.

I’ve been lucky enough to work for some of the ‘greats’ in Britain and from each one, I learnt something different. Gordon Ramsay taught self-respect, discipline and precision, Marcus Wareing is an incredible craftsman – technically very astute and Gary

Rhodes – well, he was so far ahead of his time. What I learnt from him in 1998 about sourcing is now so relevant.

My top ingredient to always have in the kitchen is Cornish Sea Salt, with its softness and rounded flavour.

My local food hero is Philip Warren, my butcher. His Belted Galloway beef is in on the menu now. They are grazed on grass for beautiful marbling and then aged for 45 days to achieve melt in the mouth texture.

My desert island dish would have to be my wife Emma’s roast dinner. She does a superb roast – and if I had to choose one it would be her roast pork with lots of crackling.

Butter the bread and take off the crusts, cut the bread into triangles; brush the Pyrex dish with butter. Build up the bread in the dish like a jigsaw, sprinkling sultanas over every layer, apart from the top one.

Next, make the custard by bringing the milk, cream and vanilla to the boil. Whisk the egg yolks with sugar until they become very pale. Pour the cream mixture INGREDIENTS over the egg one and stir » 12 slices of white bread » 125g butter with a wooden » 30g sultanas spoon. Then » 450g Cornish place the bowl double cream » 150ml milk over some » 2 vanilla pods boiling water » 140g egg yolk and stir the » 175g sugar » One Pyrex dish about custard until it five litres coats the back of the spoon.

Pass through a sieve then pour it over the bread, leaving a bit behind to top up later.

Leave the pudding for about six hours, then top up with the excess custard and place the dish in a bath of water and into the oven at 130°C. Cook for about 25 minutes until it has a slight wobble. Leave to cool slightly. Sprinkle with caster sugar and glaze using a blowtorch to create a crispy top before serving.

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ARTIST RESIDENCE

PHOTO BELOW: STEVE PANKIEWICZ

PENZANCE, CORNWALL

Following on from the success of their Artist Residence in Brighton (see page 63) and before opening in Pimlico (see page 83), it’s not surprising that Justin and Charlie (Charlotte) Salisbury turned to Cornwall with its vibrant art scene for their second venture. In the charming old quarter of Penzance, they have converted a handsome, 17th-century house into another delightfully eclectic hotel, decorated with works of art from top to toe. In the 13 airy bedrooms and five self-contained apartments, walls are adorned with funky murals painted by British artists, original canvases and limited-edition prints. From sleigh beds to packing crate tables, the carefully chosen furniture has panache.

Downstairs, the spruced up Cornish Barn restaurant, overlooking historic Chapel Street, has reclaimed wooden walls and bar, metal tables and more art. The look is a cross between kooky and industrial. Drinks and snacks are on tap all day, but don’t miss the outstanding cooked breakfast or sharing dishes served in the evening.

TOP TIP... Spend time wandering through the many local art galleries or book a workshop at the Newlyn School of Art. Doubles from £75 +44 (0)1736 365664; artistresidencecornwall.co.uk

THE BEACH AT BUDE BUDE, CORNWALL

After 18 months of renovation work, The Beach reopened in 2011, looking the epitome of seaside chic. Its skilful update has kept the character of the Victorian house, but with decoration that feels fresh and modern, and it swiftly became the hottest of the North Cornish hotspots. The groovy Beach Bar positively hums at weekends, with its inventive cocktail menu and summer terrace drawing a young crowd. The hotel has a resplendent position, with views over Summerleaze Beach and the spectacular scenery around Bude. There are four types of room: Classic, Classic Plus, Superior and Deluxe. Opt for one in the top two categories, if you can – they have the sea views. All are decorated in a breezy New England style, furnished with Lloyd Loom chairs, limed-oak furniture and Vi-Spring beds. Don’t miss lunch or dinner in the Beach Restaurant, where head chef, Joe Simmonds has a passion for developing menus that use fresh local ingredients. Not surprisingly, fish is the highlight.

TOP TIP... The hotel is just metres from Summerleaze Beach, popular amongst locals and visitors for walks and watersports, and home to Bude Sea Pool.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1288 389800; thebeachatbude.co.uk 14 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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DRIFTWOOD ROSEVINE, CORNWALL

There’s no more fabulous vista, more Mediterranean than Cornish, than from clifftop Driftwood. Overlooking Gerrans Bay on the Roseland Peninsula, it includes seven acres of gardens full of secluded, shady spots, leading to a perfect crescent of private beach.

Halfway down is a restored cabin with two bedrooms and a sitting room: a magical place to stay in summer. A wildflower garden is home to bees that produce honey for the restaurant.

The house itself, a ’30s building transformed with the aid of dusky blue clapboard, makes the most of the views. Whether in the bedrooms, relaxing on the generous terrace, or indulging in the Michelin-starred cooking of chef Chris Eden in the chic dining room, one finds oneself rooted to the spot. Driftwood was opened by Paul and Fiona Robinson 14 years ago; neither were hoteliers but Fiona’s skill as an interior designer, plus their handson approach and ease with guests, have created a delightful Cornish hotel, stylish and seasidefresh but devoid of pretension.

TOP TIP... Take a picnic and a chilled bottle of wine down to the hotel’s private beach.

Doubles from £180 +44 (0)1872 580644; driftwoodhotel.co.uk

FOWEY HALL FOWEY, CORNWALL

High above the delightful, literary waterside town of Fowey, which famously inspired the author Daphne du Maurier, stands the handsome country house that was also an inspiration for Toad Hall in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. Inside, as in all the Luxury Family Hotels (see also Moonfleet Manor, page 37), all the ingredients of a grown-up establishment – heralded by a hall with open fires, antiques and chandeliers – are mixed with all the constituents of a children’s paradise: indoor and outdoor play areas, Ofsted-registered crèche, baby listening and more. There are 36 rooms and suites, all different, all beautifully furnished with antiques and pretty fabrics, and the candlelit, oak panelled dining room is the setting for delicious dinners, with special menus and high teas for children. Don’t think you have to have a family with you to come to Fowey Hall: cleverly, it’s a hotel that works just as well for couples.

TOP TIP... Hop across the river on the Polruan ferry to strike out along the famous Hall Walk, taking in stunning estuary views on a circular four-mile route via Pont Creek.

Doubles from £190 +44 (0)1726 833866; foweyhallhotel.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 15

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GIDLEIGH PARK CHAGFORD, DEVON

‘Keep heart’ reads a sign along the narrow, twisting lane to Gidleigh Park, ‘you are still en route’. It may be remote, but it’s a haven of luxury. For nearly 40 years, the Tudor-style house, embraced in abundant gardens, river and woods on Dartmoor’s edge, was the quintessential country-house hotel, all ticking clocks and curled-up cats. Then, in 2005, it was sold to Andrew Brownsword who, with his wife Christina, sensitively extended and upgraded the house, embellishing the interior with smart fabrics and arts and craft furniture, but refrained from adding a spa or gym (‘Dartmoor’s our gym’).

Instead, they created several ‘spa suites’, perfect for the in-room treatments. Gidleigh’s food has always been as sensational as its accommodation, first under the renowned Michael Caines and now, since January 2016, two Michelin-starred Michael Wignall, previously of Pennyhill Park.

Gidleigh’s remote location, seamless service, divine bedrooms and Michael’s cooking means that the hotel works equally as a spoiling rural retreat or a glamorous venue for a celebration.

TOP TIP... Ask Michael Wignall for his top tips on foraging on the estate.

Doubles from £250 +44 (0)1647 432367; gidleigh.co.uk

THE GURNARD’S HEAD ZENNOR, CORNWALL

‘The simple things in life done well,’ say brothers Edmund and Charlie Inkin about their three delightful hostelries: The Gurnard’s Head and The Old Coastguard here in Cornwall (see page 20), and The Felin Fach Griffin in Wales (see page 157). Nothing could be closer to the truth, or more perfectly exemplified than at this sunshine-yellow dining pub with rooms, its name writ large on its tiled roof. Set in the wild landscape of Cornwall’s Atlantic coast, it’s an unpretentious haven.

In the brightly painted bedrooms, you’ll find new beds, jam jars filled with fresh flowers and Roberts radios but no TVs. Or phones, despite the fact that mobile signals don’t have so much as a nodding acquaintance with the skies in these parts. But panic at being cut off quickly gives way to a sense of peace and satisfaction, only reinforced by the menu: short, locally sourced and seasonal, it changes every day according to what’s brought to the back door.

TOP TIP... Take part in the ‘Forage and Feast’ days – walk the footpaths, hedgerows and shorelines of West Penwith, before heading back to the pub for a foraged lunch.

Doubles from £115 +44 (0)1736 796928; gurnardshead.co.uk 16 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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HELL BAY

BRYHER, ISLES OF SCILLY

California meets the Atlantic Ocean at this terrific hotel on Bryher, the smallest community in the Isles of Scilly. It takes commitment to get there by ferry and jeep but, when you do, you’ll find nothing but grass, golden sand, a jumble of rocks and the vast ocean between you and America. It’s the creation of Robert DorrienSmith, hereditary owner of neighbouring island of Tresco. He has filled the seaside-fresh hotel with modern art, all with a regional connection.

The 25 beautiful, airy suites – many of which can be divided into two – can each sleep up to four with huge double beds and attractive armchair beds for children, and are decorated with Malabar fabrics and Lloyd Loom furniture.

There’s also a pool, tennis court, play area, games and fitness rooms, as well as a sumptuous spa treatment room. Delicious, colourful dishes, including local produce, such as Bryher crabs and Tresco beef, are served in sunny weather on the wide terrace where you can drink in those astonishing views.

TOP TIP... Book early to secure a seat at Crab Shack, a pop-up serving Bryher crab in a rustic setting.

Doubles from £125 +44 (0)1720 422947; hellbay.co.uk

THE HORN OF PLENTY TAVISTOCK, DEVON

Many pleasures await you at The Horn of Plenty, not least of which are the views. The Tamar makes a silver dash as it flows through its deep, rocky gorge, and among the thick woods that rise above it, several curious chimneys poke above the trees, a reminder of the area’s copper mining past. In fact, this gracious house, one of Devon’s best restaurants (with those compelling views from its picture windows) for more than 40 years, was built in 1866 for the Mine Captain, James Richards. And then there’s the peace and the pretty gardens that surround the house, where tea is served in summer. And the house itself: airy and elegant with wooden floors and picture windows. There are 16 stylish bedrooms (six in a sleek new wing, most with stunning views), the gracefully simple reception rooms, with stripped floors, gilt mirrors and fine pictures, and the locally sourced, beautifully presented modern British food displays equally high standards. A much loved address, in the best of hands.

TOP TIP... Take the scenic river walk from Calstock to Cotehele, or visit Cotehele House and Gardens – gorgeous whatever the season.

Doubles from £110 +44 (0)1822 832528; thehornofplenty.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 17

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HOTEL ENDSLEIGH MILTON ABBOT, DEVON

Owned by Olga Polizzi, this delightful Regency cottage orné, as featured on the cover, is set down a mile-long drive in its own secret valley. Built for the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, its gardens were designed by Humphry Repton, who also hid chimneys in the woods so that they could see smoke curling prettily above the trees. Today, over a delicious meal, you can gaze on the same view from lovely terraces. Repton’s Yew Walk, the River Tamar and the tumbling woods beyond are a mesmerising sight. With its wooden floors and doors, Endsleigh brings to mind an endearingly old-fashioned Scottish shooting lodge, but one artfully blended with contemporary luxury, and recent redecoration means that it has never looked so good. The new sitting room is nothing short of stunning and a fabulous family suite has been created in the stable block, bringing the total number of stylish and unfussy bedrooms to 17. As for the grounds, they are a fantasy of dells and grottos, cascades and crags.

TOP TIP... With an eight-mile exclusive stretch of the River Tamar running through the gardens and a ghillie to show you the ropes, a fishing trip is a must.

Doubles from £190 +44 (0)1822 870000; hotelendsleigh.com

HOTEL TRESANTON ST MAWES, CORNWALL

With fabulous views over Falmouth Bay, Tresanton became a landmark when renowned hotelier Olga Polizzi created the first truly fashionable and chic British seaside hotel. Seventeen years on, it effortlessly holds its own without any of the pretension of newer, glossier addresses.

Bedrooms are engaging and stylish, and there’s a ship’s deck of a terrace. But the hotel also has cosiness, underpinned by professional service from waiters in white, silver-buttoned jackets.

As well as the bedrooms in the main house, furnished with antiques and Cornish art, there are three each in separate Rock Cottage and The Nook, which can also be rented as a whole.

Three fabulous suites are perfect for families, including Lamorran, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, large sitting room and breathtaking sea views, while the fabulous master suite in Rock Cottage has a wood burner and a crow’s nest terrace. As for the locally sourced food, it’s served in a magical Mediterranean room, sunlit by day, candlelit by night.

TOP TIP... Set sail around Falmouth Bay aboard the hotel’s magnificent eight-metre classic yacht, Pinuccia, from May to the end of September.

Doubles from £260 +44 (0)1326 270055; tresanton.com 18 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE NARE

VERYAN, CORNWALL

Opened in 1988 by Bettye Gray, whose family has been central to the Cornish hotel scene since 1908, The Nare was the county’s first luxury establishment. Today, owner Toby Ashworth continues to uphold his beloved grandmother’s vision of warm, traditional British hospitality.

As a result, it’s a hotel to which guests return each year, drawn by the enveloping kindness, the offer of collection by car from their home, the location on stunning Carne Beach and the good food in the splendid dining room, where waitresses dart about in black skirts and white pinnies and the flambée trolley is on hand. Children are embraced. Dogs have their own menus. There’s a fine spa with two pools. No bothersome advance booking is required for activities: in fact, Toby likes nothing better than to suggest a sail in his Cornish Crabber, picnic stowed, or to visit some of the many gardens nearby. The hotel also has its own motor launch, Alice Rose. A unique address, perfect for extended families.

TOP TIP... Stay on a Tuesday evening and enjoy a chilled glass of champagne at the complimentary pre-dinner drinks party hosted by Toby himself.

Doubles from £290 +44 (0)1872 501111; narehotel.co.uk

NONSUCH HOUSE DARTMOUTH, DEVON

Run with great care and commitment by Kit and Penny Noble, Nonsuch House is a tall, slim building that stands high above the Dartmouth ferry at Kingswear. The views, looking across the river towards Dartmouth, are superb and can be seen from all the windows. The four fresh, pretty bedrooms, named after shipping forecasts, are comfortable and well equipped. The sitting room is decorated in rich, warm colours and furnished with comfy sofas and an open fire. Award-winning breakfasts – it is hard to imagine better – and delicious, locally sourced dinners, prepared by Kit, are served in the modern conservatory that also has stunning views over the river to the sea. This in turn leads down the hill to a lovely little garden for residents to use. Kit and Penny will organise any of the varied activities around Dartmouth, such as sailing, river trips or bracing walks.

A perfect guesthouse, and one that has been quietly and genuinely green for many years.

TOP TIP... Take a boat up the River Dart to Totnes and soak up the breathtaking scenery – views don’t get much better than this.

Doubles from £130 +44 (0)1803 752829; hoteldartmouth.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 19

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE OLD COASTGUARD MOUSEHOLE, CORNWALL

Of Charlie and Edmund Inkin’s collection of effortlessly laid-back places to stay, (see pages 16 and 157), this has the best location: overlooking the sea in the enchanting fishing village of Mousehole, noted for its artists, Christmas illuminations and legend of ‘Stargazy Pie’. A hotel since Victorian times, the 14 sea-facing bedrooms have happily submitted to Charlie’s penchant for tongue and groove panelling, pale blue or mustard yellow walls, auction room finds and striped curtains. Downstairs, in the openplan, wood-floored bar/dining room, you’ll tuck into superb dishes from head chef Matt Smith – perhaps Newlyn crab, gin-cured salmon or pheasant sausage with puy lentils and pickled onions, followed by a rich fish or beef stew.

Making the most of the view through picture windows, the sun-filled sitting area, embellished by striped armchairs and handsome sofas, runs the length of the ground floor. Lazing there, looking across the palm-filled garden to the shining sea, you’ll keep delaying your departure by another hour. It’s that sort of place.

TOP TIP... Visit Minack, a unique open-air theatre perched high on the cliffs.

Doubles from £135 +44 (0)1736 731222; oldcoastguardhotel.co.uk

THE OLD QUAY HOUSE FOWEY, CORNWALL

Location, location, location. None finer than at The Old Quay House, a characterful Victorian building, once a retreat for seamen, in the centre of delightful, literary Fowey, which stretches all the way back from bustling Fore Street to the beautiful estuary. A sun-filled deck overlooks the water, perfect for watching the comings and goings on the river over a delicious seafood lunch. Inside, the airy ground floor is set with oak tables and upholstered chairs, while upstairs, the 11 bedrooms, many recently refreshed and refurbished, are ranged over three floors: all different, all cool and calm with big, comfy beds and stylish bathrooms. And umbrellas and rain macs – just in case. Several have their own small balconies and most look out over the estuary. Best are the corner rooms – and best of all is the Penthouse, its comfortable sitting room set in what feels like a glass turret.

Treat yourselves: it’s magical. As for the food, it’s tasty and seaside fresh; Fowey River oysters and Cornish cheeses a must.

TOP TIP... Follow the foosteps of former Fowey resident, author Daphne Du Maurier, and explore the surrounding coast and countryside.

Doubles from £190 +44 (0)1726 833302; theoldquayhouse.com 20 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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PADSTOW TOWNHOUSE PADSTOW, CORNWALL

The lovely fishing town of Padstow has an astonishing knack for food and hospitality.

Not only does it harbour Rick Stein’s restaurants and guesthouses but also young Paul Ainsworth, the most friendly, grounded Michelin-starred chef you could hope to meet. He has two restaurants: at No 6 enjoy creative, fun, delicately flavoured meat and fish dishes, while Rojano’s is for cut-above pizzas, pastas and burgers.

And it’s for elegant breakfasts, if you are lucky enough to stay at Paul’s handsome new sixbedroom guesthouse, run with great kindness by his sister Michelle and set high in the pretty old town (their electric BMW will transport you in inclement weather). The attention to detail is astonishing, with a superbly stocked ‘honesty’ pantry that’s positively glamorous, a flat roof turned lawn, dotted with antique gardening tools, and bedrooms overflowing with thoughtful extras, from bath racks equipped with champagne glasses to flasks of hot chocolate at bedtime. Each one is a haven of luxury, created with love and care.

TOP TIP... Mother Ivey’s Bay – a sheltered, soft, and sandy beach – is perfect in all weathers.

Doubles from £280 +44 (0)1841 550950; padstowtownhouse.co.uk

THE PIG – AT COMBE GITTISHAM, DEVON

Combe House breathes romance. As you approach down the mile-long drive, surrounded by meadows, the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor slips tantalisingly in and out of sight. It has always been a special place but now it’s brimful of life, bonhomie and informal, stylish character, having become the latest – and most exciting yet – PIG hotel.

With the main bar installed in the historic Great Hall, the fun starts the moment you walk inside. There’s a fantastic informal restaurant with bare wood floors, restored shutters and incredible views; cosy snugs with roaring fires; a derelict chic garden folly with wood-fired oven; huge rafter bedrooms in the attic; a wonderful private dining room in the original, Georgian kitchen and so much more. In the walled infusion garden two potting sheds are now delightful treatment rooms, beyond which lies 3,500 acres of lush Devonshire countryside.

Close by are the wide-open spaces of Dartmoor and the World Heritage coast. A total joy.

TOP TIP... Look out across the open landscape and you will be able to see the Arabian horses from Combe Farm dancing in the fields.

Doubles from £145 +44 (0)3452 259494; thepighotel.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 21

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT PADSTOW, CORNWALL

Padstow is Rick Stein. And if a restaurant can be a hub, then his famous Seafood Restaurant is just that, where red-aproned waiters whisk about in the airy, colourful dining room and a chandelier made of a shoal of bobbing white fish creates an eye-catching start to a memorable meal.

Or you can eat more simply at Rick Stein’s Café, St Petroc’s Bistro or Stein’s Fish & Chips, equally fun. As for sleeping, choose from a variety of stylish lodgings, designed by Jill Stein, and set in charming, white-painted village houses. There are lovely rooms above The Seafood Restaurant, while the cheapest are those above the Café and the most expensive in St Edmund’s House, with oak floors, American shutters and views across the Camel Estuary. There are also four sunny rooms in Prospect House, situated behind St Petroc’s, which has a further ten. The one-bedroom cottage in the heart of Padstow, Bryn Cottage, has estuary views, secluded garden and a kitchen.

TOP TIP... Spend a day at Rick Stein’s Cookery School for the perfect balance of chef demonstrations and hands-on lessons, as well as plenty of time to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Doubles from £115 +44 (0)1841 532700; rickstein.com

ST ENODOC ROCK, CORNWALL

Well-heeled British families have flocked to Rock for their bucket-and-spade holidays for generations, but it wasn’t until the emergence, in the late 1990s, of classic seaside hotel St Enodoc, following a total makeover, that they had somewhere to stay that was both stylish and relaxed, as well as just right for all ages. Today, James Nathan is in charge of the food at the brassserie-style restaurant and its Mediterranean feel, clean lines, easygoing comfort and wide terrace for outdoor dining are in perfect harmony with its location. Modern European dishes are fresh, healthy and locally sourced.

Upstairs, the bedrooms – many with views across the water – are brightly painted, with original art on the walls. St Enodoc Hotel and Spa makes the ideal seaside base, with surrounding sandy beaches, the ferry to Padstow and St Enodoc golf course on the doorstep. There’s fine walking too: don’t miss hidden St Enodoc Church, resting place of Sir John Betjeman, who loved this area.

TOP TIP... The Camel Estuary is perfect for watersports, why not walk down the road to the Camel Ski School for paddleboarding or waterskiing.

Doubles from £195 +44 (0)1208 863394; enodoc-hotel.co.uk 22 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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DEVON, CORNWALL & THE ISLES OF SCILLY

ST MORITZ

TREBETHERICK, CORNWALL

If St Moritz conjures up the image of stylish exclusivity in an alpine wonderland, that’s fine by the owners of this coolly sophisticated hotel, as alluring in winter as it is in summer. From October to March, Cornwall is at its understated best, when you can walk the coastal path and tramp across the great, windswept surfing beaches all around, or simply curl up by a roaring fire. In spring, which arrives a month earlier than the rest of the country, there are the county’s famous gardens to visit and summer is the time for sunbathing, surfing, sailing and swimming. Rooms and suites are modern, sassy, deeply comfortable and affordable. Book a king and a stripy poolside beach hut is yours too.

When you’ve tired of the great outdoors, indulge yourself at the world-renowned Cowshed spa and then a cocktail at their Sea Side Restaurant & Bar with stunning views of the North Cornwall coast. Alternatively, join head chef David Williams in their fine dining restaurant as he takes the freshest, locally sourced produce and creates simply exquisite dishes.

TOP TIP... Take a stroll to St Enodoc Church, the final resting place of Sir John Betjeman.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1208 862242; stmoritzhotel.co.uk

THE STAR CASTLE ST MARY’S, ISLES OF SCILLY

Fashioned from a perfect, star-shaped, 16thcentury castle set on a headland above Hugh Town, this hotel is a stellar find. Stretching out behind the castle are the modern Garden Rooms, fresh, attractive and perfect for families, plus an indoor pool and conservatory dining room, all set in lush gardens. It was once the most secure prison in the British Isles but, nowadays, this castle has the charm and intimacy of a Cotswold cottage. As well as the cosy bar (formerly the dungeon), first-floor sitting room and stone-walled dining room, there are eight charming bedrooms in the castle itself, plus three in former guardrooms embedded in the castle walls. As for food, you can indulge in owner Robert Francis’s two passions, fishing and wine, by eating a steamed lobster that he has caught himself and drinking a fabulous bottle from his carefully selected wine list. At breakfast, outings are arranged personally for each guest

by Robert’s son, James. A family affair.

TOP TIP... Visit Holy Vale Vineyard on St Mary’s and explore the world of viticulture, as well as sampling locally produced wines with matching tapas.

Doubles from £154 +44 (0)1720 422317; star-castle.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 23

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

TREGULLAND LAUNCESTON, CORNWALL

It isn’t technically a hotel, but it can be, though not one filled with strangers but your nearest and dearest. Gather together a minimum of ten of them, a maximum of 22, each paying far cheaper prices for their rooms than in a hotel equivalent, and head for Cornwall. Tregulland is a superlative holiday rental property boasting exemplary eco-credentials. But it’s more than that: as well as being beautifully located overlooking Bodmin Moor, superbly equipped (with indoor pool and steam room) and cleverly, amusingly, artistically furnished, it offers elements – from the quality of the beds, linen and a bespoke concierge service from manager Bonny Shanks – that are normally only found in fine hotels. All of which make guests feel as if they are staying both in a hotel and in a holiday house at once. As a concept, it works superbly, a forerunner amongst a whole new style of flexible, private accommodation – let’s call it a ‘hometel’.

TOP TIP... One of Tregulland’s favourite beaches is Bossiney, near Tintagel, a beautiful cove off the beaten track with plentiful room when the tide is out.

Doubles from £70 +44 (0)1566 770880; tregulland.co.uk

WATERGATE BAY HOTEL WATERGATE BAY

‘The closest thing to a ski resort you can find on a beach’: that’s how Watergate Bay Hotel describes itself. It has so many different elements: Swim Club has a 25m infinity pool with a shallow area for youngsters, a studio for classes, treatment rooms, a cliff-top hot tub and rooms for storing surfboards and drying wet-suits; Kids’ Zone is centred around an outdoor play area and activity room; whilst Extreme Academy is where you learn to surf, kitesurf, hand plane and SUP, amongst other sports. There are four different places to eat, each with its own menu based on local produce, including the laid-back Beach Hut, The Living Space in the hotel with a large sitting area, bar and deck, Zacry’s the hotel’s newest restaurant and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall. The only hotel in the spectacular bay, it was built in 1904 but feels contemporary, stylish and fun. The comfortable, flexible, familyfriendly accommodation is in spruce, seaside style. A happy, sorted hotel bringing you the best in Cornish contemporary comfort.

TOP TIP... Check out the action-packed calendar of beach events, including barbecues, sandball and Polo on the Beach.

Doubles from £145 +44 (0)1637 860543; watergatebay.co.uk 24 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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CHESNEY’S LONDON

NEW YORK

SHANGHAI

Fireplace and stove dealers throughout the UK chesneys.co.uk

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The West Country ‘The swallows flew in the curves of an eight Above the river-gleam In the wet June’s last beam: Like little crossbows animate The swallows flew in the curves of an eight Above the river-gleam.’

From Thomas Hardy’s Overlooking The River Stour, 1914

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Misty Past, Corfe Castle, Dorset by Frank Leavesley (Commended, Take a view 2015) easystockimages.com

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BEST LOCATION

John Wood the Younger’s classic Georgian terrace, Royal Crescent, never fails to quicken the heart; its magnificent sweep and giant Ionic columns create an astonishing impression of grandeur and the elegant Royal Crescent hotel (p40) is slap-bang in the middle of it.

ABOVE: Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast RIGHT: Royal Crescent, Bath

Go West

« BEST NEW ADDRESS

Y

es, it’s the part of England you drive through on your way to Devon and Cornwall, but there’s so much more to Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. Slow right down, escape the A303 and discover the richness of the Jurassic Coast for a spot of fossil hunting and lyrical Hardy country inland. Visit the part of Somerset around Bruton that has become a haven of country cool (check out At The Chapel and Hauser & Wirth), not forgetting the cider; and that soaring symphony in stone, Salisbury Cathedral, whose spire is visible for miles around, plus a wealth of magical, small historic houses, gardens and follies that are scattered across the whole region. And then there’s Bath, whose sweeping, honey stone Georgian crescents spread over a green and hilly bowl, make it shoo-in for England’s most beautiful small city.

10 Castle Street

BEST GARDEN

Salisbury Cathedral

Roman Baths and Bath Abbey

Choose between the famous pleasure grounds at Bowood Hotel (p33), complete with arboretum, adventure playground and, in May and June, fabulous rhododendron walks, and the pub garden at the Beckford Arms (p32): pétanque piste, hammocks, kids’ games area and a bath for the dogs. When you are there, be sure to pop into their new Beckford Bottle Shop in nearby Tisbury.

Under a vintage American tin ceiling, relax on a poster red leather sofa with a plate of antipasti and a glass of something – it’s more than just a place to buy Bowood Hotel a bottle.

Part members’ club, part hotel, all very cool and laid back, 10 Castle Street (p41) may sound humble but in fact it’s a glorious early 18thcentury mansion set in stately gardens, whose scale and beauty is a surprise and a thrill.

BEST SURPRISE Finding the headstone of World War I poet Siegfried Sassoon in St Andrew’s churchyard in Mells, Somerset, then climbing past an unusual faceless clock, up the bell tower for a bird’s eye view of a perfect English village and its heavenly Talbot Inn, below (p40).

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

From craggy coastlines to beautiful Bath

28 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE WEST COUNTRY

FARM FRIDAYS Axminster, Devon

River Cottage, food campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s HQ on the Dorset/ Devon borders, now runs on-farm Friday and Saturday night suppers. This is communal dining at its best, so if cosying up to your neighbour isn’t your thing, give it a wide berth. Go dressed in loose clothes as portions of impeccably sourced produce can be gargantuan and dress down and warmly – there’s a tractor drive to take you up the hill at the end of the evening. rivercottage.net CHAMPION CHEESE, Bath Cheddar – proper Cheddar made with unpasteurised milk into huge truckles that are fussed over, turned and matured for months – is the champion of cheeses. Contenders for the crown are Montgomery, Westcombe Dairy and Keens, all made in Somerset. Sample them all and find out which is your favourite at The Fine Cheese Company in Bath. finecheese.co.uk

ONE FOR ALL SEASONS, Bristol In just one year, Casamia in Bristol lost one of its partners and moved into new quarters but, relax, the restaurant has lost none of its vigour, inventiveness or excellence and still serves some of the best food in Britain. Its mission is to astound your sense of the four seasons through appealing to your taste, sight, hearing, smell and touch, so go, eat and enjoy. sanchez-brothers.co.uk

Local Foodie Homegrown scrumpy and mature cheddar

PHOTOS: JOHN ARANDHARA-BLACKWELL; JASON LOWE

BELLE OF BRUTON Bruton, Somerset At The Chapel, a grade II listed former chapel in Bruton, is a bakery, wine shop, café, bar and restaurant rolled into one. In summer you can sit outside on the terrace while tucking into the best chargrilled chicken from nearby Castlemead Farm, served with proper garlic laden aïoli. atthechapel.co.uk

BOTTOMS UP Crawthorne, Dorset Belong to the ‘I can’t believe it’s British’ school of food and drink? Be prepared to lose your prejudices by tasting Langham’s sparkling wine. A blend of the classic champagne grape varieties – chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, grown on a 30-acre farm near Dorset, its reputation is understandably growing very nicely. Enjoy a tour and tasting in an old milking parlour. langhamwine.co.uk

MASTER BAKING Bath

Want to improve your bakery skills? Book into The Bertinet Kitchen Cookery School in Bath for a masterclass in bread or pastry taught by the master himself, Richard Bertinet. You will be surprised how much he packs in to one day. thebertinetkitchen.com

SCRUMPING SUNDAYS Glastonbury, Somerset Come September, exercise your inner hunter-gatherer and go apple-picking near Glastonbury at West Bradley orchards, home to Orchard Pig cider. Open over the weekends there are plenty of unusual varieties of eating and cider apples and pears.

Better yet, there’s Scrumping Sunday, when the friendly orchard owners will help you juice apples with all equipment, tuition and bottles thoughtfully provided. 01458 850227

2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 29

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

Wild Thing

WARM SALAD OF TRUFFLED PEAS AND BROAD BEANS with caramelised shallot vinaigrette

Sam Moody of Bath Priory finds magic in mushrooms My earliest food memory is around the age five or six and helping out my dad in his vegetable patch. He grew all sorts – rhubarb, brussel sprouts, pumpkins, leeks – and at the time he wasn’t working, so they mattered. We picked them and ate them, and never understood why my friends didn’t want to eat them, as I loved them.

It helped me to learn to respect food.

The biggest influences on my cooking are the two chefs that I worked for. Stephen Crane of Ockenden Manor, who taught me about building a team and how to motivate them, and Michael Caines when he was at Gidleigh Park. From him, I learnt about the ‘detail of cooking’ and how to constantly keep ‘at it’ for intensity and purity.

My style of cooking is relaxed with a focus on bold flavours from simple ingredients.

Flavour is all important but so is the team.

We should have fun while working. My role is to inspire my team and to make sure they cook consistently so they never disappoint.

The best meal I’ve ever eaten was Éric Chavot’s tasting menu when he was at The Capital. It was amazing – such clarity of flavours. There were several courses but what stood out were chilled watermelon soup with a watermelon sorbet and pan-fried turbot with onions and mushrooms. For the first time, I realised what flavour can do to your palate. Simply put, it brought it to life.

My local food hero is Grace Macmillan from a little farm near Langridge. She raises Cotswold sheep – some as lamb, some overwintered as hogget and some as mutton. We buy the whole carcasses and hang them – the meat is great. She is a very small scale farmer but we take what she will let us have.

The top ingredient that I always have in the kitchen is mushrooms – so much of my cooking is based around or includes mushrooms.

I’ll use wild mushrooms in season – otherwise it may be plain button mushrooms. And how you cook them will give you the flavour.

For the shallot vinaigrette, heat the oil gently without letting it boil and add the finely chopped shallots with a good pinch of salt. Cook out on a medium heat for half an hour, or until the shallots have darkened and cooked through. Now remove from the heat and add the vinegar. This can be set aside to cool to room temperature. These quantities make a good amount of vinaigrette that can be used for various other meals, such as chicken dishes or salads.

For the pea purée, blanch the peas in boiling water for one minute, then remove and refresh in cold water. Once cold, mash the peas up using a rolling pin or in a food processor, making sure you don’t blitz them too fine. Put through a fine sieve.

Finish with salt, ground white pepper and a little INGREDIENTS sugar if it is required.

SERVES FOUR Pop the fresh peas » 60g fresh English peas and broad beans out of » 60g fresh English their pod, then blanch broad beans » 350g frozen peas in boiling salted water. » 500g chopped shallot The peas need blanching » 500g extra virgin olive oil for roughly a minute and » 50g sherry vinegar » 1 Wiltshire truffle refreshing in cold water. (or similar) The broad beans need » Pea shoots for garnish two minutes in boiling water, then refreshing.

Broad beans outer case is very bitter, which is why it needs removing before consuming.

To finish, mix the fresh peas and beans with 60g of shallot vinaigrette and a good amount of grated truffle. Heat very slowly to ensure the peas and beans don’t discolour. Put a teaspoon of the pea purée on each plate and add a tablespoon and a half of the peas and beans. Garnish the plate with a few slices of truffle and fresh pea shoots.

30 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE WEST COUNTRY

THE ABBEY HOTEL BATH

Bath hotels are not generally given to fun. By and large, they are a sedate bunch, where if you spied an Austen-esque character in bonnet and petticoats slipping through their Georgian front doors, you wouldn’t be too surprised. The Abbey, by contrast, delivers, not least because its owners Ian and Christa Taylor have forged close community ties, including with Bath Rugby Club and local art students, some of whose work adorns the walls. With city centre location, relaxed, sassy looks and affordable prices, the place has energy and a great mix of guests: we encountered an Austrian walking party, a visiting choir and a clutch of Radio One DJs. An animated year-round pavement terrace with sofas, tables and trees in tubs stretches the length of the three townhouses that make up the hotel, and the vaulted Igloo bar is just the place for a private party. As for the romantic, soothing Allium restaurant, it’s the province of top chef Chris Staines – and very good too.

TOP TIP... Just around the corner from The Abbey Hotel, is Thermae Bath Spa – Britain’s original natural thermal pool and the perfect place to unwind.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1225 461603; abbeyhotelbath.co.uk

AT THE CHAPEL BRUTON, SOMERSET

You may have stayed in some happening hotels, but few will have formerly been places of worship and none will have developed as organically as At the Chapel, run by Catherine Butler and Ahmed Sidki.

The former congregational chapel in Bruton is now many things all rolled into one lofty, white, tardis-like space: bar, café, restaurant, pizzeria, artisan bakery, wine shop and eight gorgeous bedrooms, some with ecclesiastical windows, and all with huge handmade beds. Michelin has consistently awarded the restaurant a Bib Gourmand since 2010. The all-day restaurant, decorated with modern art, uses the best West Country produce to serve the eclectic, artistic crowd a simple, well executed menu from an open kitchen. At the Chapel has also become a cultural hub in its own right, hosting film screenings, book launches, poetry and performances downstairs, in the chilled clubroom.

TOP TIP... Soak up the sunshine and gaze out over Bruton’s ancient rooftops from the hotel’s south-facing terrace.

Doubles from £125 +44 (0)1749 814070; atthechapel.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 31

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE BATH PRIORY BATH

A golden stone priory on the edge of Bath’s city centre combines all the attributes of a typical English country-house hotel – spacious rooms, huge, luxuriant garden, indoor and outdoor heated pools and cutting-edge spa – with the attractions of the Georgian city a stroll away through Victoria Park. The decoration is pitch perfect: sitting rooms are filled with fresh flowers, comfortable sofas and the family’s art collection, with plenty of nooks. Bedrooms, overlooking the landscaped gardens, are luxuriously romantic, and the Premier Deluxe rooms have recently been refurbished, with fresh fabrics and contemporary styling. Six gorgeous suites occupy a converted house next door. For lunch and dinner, there’s the principal dining room or its casual dining at The Pantry, both overseen by Executive Chef Sam Moody, awarded a Michelin star in 2012 for his modern European cooking. The Bath Priory is part of the excellent Brownsword Hotels stable, which also includes Gidleigh Park (see page 16).

TOP TIP... Escape the crowds and savour the magnificent views across the picturesque city of Bath on the National Trust’s skyline walking tour.

Doubles from £215 +44 (0)1225 331922; thebathpriory.co.uk

THE BECKFORD ARMS FONTHILL GIFFORD, WILTSHIRE

On the Fonthill Estate, founded by the eccentric William Beckford in the 18th century, the stylish yet immediately welcoming Beckford Arms combines country pub, restaurant and comforting place to stay in equal measure. You can eat in the animated bar, elegant dining room, pretty conservatory, private dining room in the library or the quiet sitting room, with log fire, sofas and table piled with books and magazines. You eat well: pickled quail’s eggs and homemade sausage rolls at the bar; hearty but imaginative lunches and dinners; peerless breakfasts. You sleep well: owners Dan Brod and Charlie Luxton have thought of everything for the sophisticated guest: luxurious beds; woolly hot water bottles; digital radios with iPod dock; garden flowers; great selection of DVDs; Chloë Luxton’s lovely Bramley toiletries; charmingly quirky pictures by local artist Zebedee Helm.

The garden rambles towards a professional boules piste, Sunday night is put-your-feetup TV night and the stone arch leading to romantic Fonthill and its lake is right opposite.

TOP TIP... Stop by The Beckford Bottle Shop in nearby Tisbury, which stocks over 350 wines.

Doubles from £95 +44 (0)1747 870385; beckfordarms.com 32 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE WEST COUNTRY

BOWOOD HOTEL, SPA AND GOLF RESORT CALNE, WILTSHIRE

There are 43 spacious, contemporary bedrooms in this fine estate hotel, but it’s the stunning reception rooms, designed by Lady Lansdowne, that make the place and will linger long in your memory: soft grey hall, book-lined library and sweeping Shelburne Bar and Restaurant, made for elegant but informal dinners. Stay here and one of the finest championship, all-weather golf courses in the Southwest is outside your window.

Take over the four-bedroom Queenwood Lodge, alternatively, as the occasion suits. Bowood House, home to the Lansdowne family since 1754, and its Pleasure Grounds, are also on the doorstep, when they open from late March to late October. Tour the house and grounds (including the Adventure Playground, Soft Play Area and Tractor Ted’s Little Farm, if you have children) and, in spring, don’t miss the spectacular rhododendrons. Alongside the hotel, enjoy a spot of lunch in the airy Clubhouse Brasserie, a spell in the spa and infinity pool, or 18 holes of golf.

So much to do, in such a lovely place.

TOP TIP... Explore Capability Brown’s parkland at Bowood to celebrate the tercentenary of his birth.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1249 822228; bowood.org

BROOKS GUESTHOUSE BATH

Part of Andrew and Carla Brooks’ portfolio of boutique bed and breakfasts, which includes Brooks Guesthouse, Bristol (see page 34) and Brooks Hotel, Edinburgh (see page 168), this double-fronted villa is set back from the road, with a magnificent magnolia outside and a colourful interior. Away from the bustling centre, it’s still within strolling distance of the sights. At its heart is the personal touch. If you want for anything, hands-on manager Veronica, or her kind staff, will see to it. There are newspapers and stacks of information leaflets in the cosy guests’ sitting room, where a coal fire glows in winter and you can unwind with a drink from the basement honesty bar. Breakfast is served in the airy room next to it, where locally sourced food is skilfully prepared in an open-toview kitchen. Upstairs, 22 distinctive, wellequipped bedrooms have designer wallpaper, an eclectic mix of furniture and sleek bathrooms. You’ll be hard pushed to find a better value base in Bath.

TOP TIP... Between April and October, watch the hot air balloons take off in Victoria Park.

Doubles from £79 +44 (0)1225 425543; brooksguesthouse.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 33

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BROOKS GUESTHOUSE BRISTOL

From its entrance through a large, gated, Mediterranean-style courtyard, this chic bed and breakfast in Bristol’s vibrant old city is immediately appealing. Named after its owners Carla and Andrew Brooks, who have two other eponymous city hotels in Bath (see page 33) and Edinburgh (see page 168), it occupies a revamped, creampainted former ’50s office building and is the sort of place that every UK city should offer. It has stylish, contemporary decoration, is both laid back and professionally run and offers 23 compact but comfortable rooms at hard-to-beat prices.

The rooms have plantation shutters, half-height panelling, charming wallpaper, good beds and White Company toiletries. If you’re looking for something fun and funky, go for one of the four rooftop Rockets: gleaming aluminium retro caravans, whose cosy interiors are equipped with a double bed and small bathroom. When it comes to breakfast in the open-plan dining/sitting room, your only difficulty will be choosing between such treats as homemade granola, fruit compote and various perfectly cooked dishes.

TOP TIP... Join the ping pong craze and play for free at one of the tables at the harbourside.

Doubles from £89 +44 (0)1179 300066; brooksguesthousebristol.com

THE KING JOHN INN TOLLARD ROYAL, WILTSHIRE

At weekends, The King John – in the heart of Cranborne Chase, with wide views, big skies and scattered villages – is buzzing with both well-heeled, Hunter-booted locals and urban couples looking for fresh country air. They love the rural, chic, open-plan ground floor decorated with arresting monochrome sporting photographs. And they love the outdoor kitchen, a delightful, Victorian-style pavilion serving summer classics on the barbecue, such as chargrilled lobster and pigeon salad. The bedrooms are beautifully decorated and refreshingly different.

Best is the King’s Room, with an elegant bay window dressed in exotic, flowerpatterned curtains, a bronze sculpture of a racehorse adorning an antique mahogany chest of drawers, and a roll-top bath and rain shower in the bathroom.

As for the food: pub grub at its best.

TOP TIP... Ramble the Thomas Hardy Walk up to Win Green Hill and enjoy the stunning views of up to four counties, if you are lucky with the weather.

Doubles from £90 +44 (0)1725 516207; kingjohninn.co.uk 34 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE WEST COUNTRY

THE LAMB HINDON HINDON, WILTSHIRE

Young’s has breathed new life into this ancient pub in a lovely rural village in the West Wiltshire Downs. The Lamb has been refreshing locals and travellers since the 12th century and had become a popular coaching inn by the end of the 19th. Young’s has updated sympathetically, retaining much of the building’s original character – flagstone floors, wood panelling, exposed beams, inglenook fireplaces – whilst bringing the 18 bedrooms bang up to the 21st century. Spruce and individually decorated in handsome, contemporary colours, they have walls of closely hung, framed photographs, fun, retro furniture and plenty of touches you wouldn’t expect in a pub room – a sleigh bed, perhaps, or a roll-top bath. The food – served in the dining room and at the bar – goes above and beyond usual pub fare: the fish is home-smoked, the bread home-baked and the pasta homemade. The Lamb also has two private dining rooms and specialises in catering for shooting parties.

TOP TIP... Explore the beautiful village of Hindon and discover the wonders of historical Stonehenge nearby.

Doubles from £89 +44 (0)1747 820573; lambhindon.co.uk

LANGFORD FIVEHEAD LOWER SWELL, SOMERSET

Is this the perfect restaurant with rooms? We think it comes pretty close: the food is divine, the rooms are amazing and, crucially, it feels like a home, albeit a magnificent pre-Tudor manor house of a home, set in seven acres of glorious grounds. Remodelled in Arts and Crafts style, it numbers a Civil War Royalist, a famous harpsichord maker and a film director amongst its previous owners. It is also tucked away in a fascinating, lesser known part of the country: the Somerset Levels. The six bedrooms are gorgeous and impeccably furnished with antiques, with names that recall the colourful history of the house, such as Nathaniel Barnard (with a beautiful ceiling), Jessie de Mowbray and 10 July 1645.

Olly and Rebecca Jackson offer the warmest of welcomes and Olly’s cooking is exceptional: delicate and full of flavour, using homegrown fruits, vegetables and herbs and local produce. In the morning, the secrets of this enigmatic part of the world await discovery.

TOP TIP... Visit Montacute House or Barrington Court, both National Trust properties nearby.

Doubles from £185 +44 (0)1460 282020; langfordfivehead.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 35

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

LITTLE BARWICK HOUSE YEOVIL, SOMERSET

White painted and early Georgian, with a Victorian addition, a huge cedar tree on the lawn and a working farm behind, Little Barwick House is a quiet delight. It’s one of those highly accomplished yet soothing and unpretentious small hotels, where stress levels fall back to zero and tired guests, once installed by the fire, perhaps with a G&T and the prospect of a bottle of Givry to go with dinner, are comforted, mollified and altogether pepped up. Tim Ford’s uncomplicated, highly enjoyable, locally renowned cooking (perhaps saddle of wild roe deer or Cornish red mullet with saffron sauce) is at the heart of the operation, matched by his wife Emma’s superb wine list, helpfully divided by taste. Their enjoyment in what they do, and the ease with which they do it, generates the calm, contented atmosphere. Friendly helpers wear their own clothes, aiding the feeling of being in a private, if beautifully orchestrated, home and the bedrooms are similarly domesticated and tranquil, with deliciously comfortable beds.

TOP TIP... Visit the privately owned Mapperton House (one of the locations used for the 2015 film Far From Madding Crowd).

Doubles from £110 +44 (0)1935 423902; littlebarwick.co.uk

LUCKNAM PARK COLERNE, WILTSHIRE

At the head of a double avenue of 400 lime and beech trees, Lucknam Park is a country-house hotel in a league of its own. It occupies a mellow, 17th-century mansion, with gracious reception rooms and stylish bedrooms, both in the house and former stables. Impeccably run, with attentive yet discreet service, the hotel perfectly combines tradition with modern luxury. You’ll find Hywel Jones’ exceptional Michelin-starred cooking in the formal Park Restaurant and the cool, contemporary Brasserie, with open kitchen.

Then there’s the spa, with sleek indoor/outdoor pool, sauna, salt room and separate Wellbeing House, an oasis of relaxation. And horses: an impressive, superbly run Equestrian Centre caters to all standards. And, finally, there is the innovative Cookery School, where you can learn ‘Michelin-starred cookery at home’ amongst its many courses. With cooking and riding for children too, on-site nannies, adventure playground and go-carting, Lucknam is as good a choice for families as for romantic couples, groups of friends and celebrations.

TOP TIP... Explore the 500 acres of lush Cotswold Parkland on foot or horseback.

Doubles from £344 +44 (0)1225 742777; lucknampark.co.uk 36 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE WEST COUNTRY

MOONFLEET MANOR WEYMOUTH, DORSET

What more idyllic setting for a family break than a hotel intriguingly named Moonfleet Manor?

If it sounds like something out of an adventure novel, it is: steeped in smuggling history, the house formed the backdrop for John Meade Falkner’s swashbuckling novel of the same name.

Built for Maximilian Mohune and overlooking Fleet Lagoon and Chesil Beach (the Mohunes of Fleet became Moonfleet) the big, friendly Georgian house has a spectacular setting, but if the landscape of Chesil Beach, an 18-mile long stretch of pebbles (about 180 billion, they reckon) is spine-tingling, then Moonfleet Manor, with its elegant, beautifully proportioned and welcoming interiors, provides the perfect contrast. With its Ofsted-registered crèche, Verandah indoor play zone, outdoor sandpit and playground, tennis courts, spa treatment rooms and indoor pool, plus fine dining in the Mediterranean-style restaurant overlooking Chesil Beach, and bedrooms that range from grand Georgian to colonial chic and contemporary, Moonfleet is truly a family affair.

TOP TIP... Burn off steam in the enormous indoor play area featuring a climbing wall, slack line, indoor football and trampolines.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1305 786948; moonfleetmanorhotel.co.uk

THE MUSEUM FARNHAM, DORSET

The marvellous chalk plateau of Cranborne Chase is closely associated with General Augustus Pitt-Rivers, the 19th-century archaeologist, who built this delightful, quirky inn to accommodate visitors to his nearby museum. Now the sister to the equally excellent King John Inn (see page 34) in Tollard Royal, it has never been in better order nor served more delicious food. You can choose to eat in the rambling bar area, with cosy corners, or the elegant Shed restaurant, crisply done out in white and green. Game from neighbouring estates is a highlight, poultry is strictly free-range and fish is from the South Coast. The pretty bedrooms are found in both the stables and the inn itself; best is the General’s Bedroom, with plenty of light, a four-poster bed and private balcony to while away the afternoon with some fizz or a cup of tea. The Museum is much loved by locals and has a special atmosphere. Blow away the cobwebs on Win Green and return to the Museum for lunch: you will be content.

TOP TIP... If small batch gins are your thing, you will not be disappointed by the inn’s vast collection.

Doubles from £90 +44 (0)1725 516261; museuminn.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 37

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE PIG – NEAR BATH PENSFORD, SOMERSET

Opened in 2014, this may be just one in the group of five rural-themed PIG hotels (see pages 21, 54, 55 and below) but its advent broke new ground: a proper, grown-up, country-house hotel that has all the attributes (space, proportions, dreamy views), but none of the drawbacks (staid, pretentious, eye-wateringly expensive). It’s fun and glamorous, though it never loses sight of comfort. ‘The PIG on steroids,’ owner Robin Hutson calls it. Though not the price: which is the opposite of pumped up. Once again Judy Hutson created the look: Belgian tiles, quirky wallpaper, velvet curtains, oil paintings, chandeliers, plus a wonderfully louche private dining room, based on the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet: ragamuffins feasting in a castle.

As at all the PIGS, the kitchen garden is central and its abundant array of produce appears in the lovely conservatory. This is also a great venue for one of the PIGS’ fantastic Smoked and Uncut festivals, when you can take a room or glamp in a bell tent if the mood takes you.

TOP TIP... Book yourself in for a bespoke full body massage and facial in one of the hotel’s quirky potting sheds.

Doubles from £155 +44 (0)1761 490490; thepighotel.com

THE PIG – ON THE BEACH STUDLAND, DORSET

With its wacky profusion of turrets, gargoyles, stone casements and overlapping tiles on steep roofs, this enchanting 18th-century house will bring an instant smile to your face and thoughts of Hansel and Gretel. As for the views, you’ll be entranced, especially looking across the sheepflecked fields and the sea to Old Harry Rocks.

Built as a grand summer house, this Studland Bay delight is the litter of PIG hotels’ (see pages 21, 54, 55 and above) much loved seaside branch and it positively brims over with charm: the conservatory restaurant and walled kitchen garden, of course, but also the many original features; the quirkily different bedrooms, including ones fashioned from garden pavilions and, even, a shepherd’s hut; the happening outdoor bar with wood-fired oven; the private dining room in a cute thatched hut, complete with its own ice cream cart; and the beach bags, beach mats, buckets and spades in every room.

A thrilling, wildly popular hotel. For fun in the sun, look no further.

TOP TIP... Enjoy picturesque views of the Jurassic coastline from the lounge while sipping a glass of fizz.

Doubles from £145 +44 (0)1929 450288; thepighotel.com 38 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE WEST COUNTRY

THE PLANTATION CANFORD CLIFFS, DORSET

The Plantation lives up to its name: it’s a stunning pub done out in colonial style, complete with conservatory dining room, potted plants and wrought-iron furniture. Since late 2014, it has been part of the Upham Group, an exciting young pub and brewery company based in the South Downs, which is responsible for its stylish upgrade. Upham is building a portfolio of pubs with personality and charm, which also includes The Winning Post in Winkfield (see page 75) and The Bunk Inn (see page 64).

Much of The Plantation’s appeal comes from its location, within walking distance of the blue flag beaches of Branksome Chine and Sandbanks, and the glorious gardens at Compton Acres.

Back at the pub, there’s an impressive selection of real ales, as well as wines at the bar and top-notch food that, like the pub itself, hints at colonial influences in its ingredients and dishes in ever-changing menus. The beds and funky decoration add a hint of luxury in the large, bright, contemporary rooms.

TOP TIP... It’s all about nature here. Whether it’s a trip to one of the award-winning beaches nearby or the beautiful New Forest.

Doubles from £74 +44 (0)1202 701531; the-plantation.co.uk

RED LION FREEHOUSE EAST CHISENBURY, WILTSHIRE

A quintessential English pub – à la mode.

The Red Lion continues on a roll, having become the Good Food Guide Pub of the Year in 2014, continued to retain its Michelin star and found great success as a mini hotel with the addition of its glamorous bedrooms. And, best of all, it’s run with unpretentious warmth by its committed young owners, Guy and Brittany Manning. Guy is the chef, preparing wonderful dishes, often using produce from the garden – don’t miss local Wiltshire truffles in season. Brittany (American: they met while both working in a New York restaurant) works alongside Guy and is responsible for Troutbeck, the five stunning bedrooms in a converted bungalow along the lane. They sport glamorous furnishings, bespoke beds and Egyptian cotton linens, and each one has its own terrace overlooking the idyllic Wiltshire Avon, where you can fish for trout.

All in all, the Red Lion, thatched, cosy and pretty as a picture, makes an exceptional bolthole in unspoilt countryside.

TOP TIP... Salisbury Plain is on the doorstep – take advantage of its open spaces.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1980 671124; redlionfreehouse.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 39

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THE ROYAL CRESCENT HOTEL & SPA BATH

In the heart of historic Bath, The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa has emerged from a meticulous 2014 restoration as a ‘British icon reborn’.

The 45 luxuriously appointed suites and rooms are among England’s most special places to stay, and John Wood the Younger’s classic Georgian terrace never fails to quicken the heart with its magnificent sweep and giant Ionic columns.

The Walled Garden – the only one in Bath – opened in spring 2016 and provides a unique setting for celebrations. Designed by local architect Nick Shipp, it was crafted by Bath landscape designer Alison Jenkins, who previously worked her green-fingered magic on the hotel’s ‘Taittinger Spa Garden’. Five varieties of afternoon tea are served in The Dower House Restaurant, while in The Montagu Bar & Champagne Lounge, a master mixologist conjures up cocktails with flair. The recently and sympathetically renovated Spa & Bath House is another atmospheric haven. Bath deserves this hotel and this hotel deserves Bath.

TOP TIP... Tucked away on a little street right by Bath Abbey is the delightful Fudge Kitchen.

Doubles from £265 +44 (0)1225 823333; royalcrescent.co.uk

THE TALBOT INN MELLS, SOMERSET

The owners of the excellent Beckford Arms (see page 32), and third partner, Matt Greenlees, scored an immediate hit with their second atmospheric inn, this one in Mells, with its lovely old stone houses. The cobbled courtyard makes a charming entrance, backed by a succession of cosy dining areas – one a Map Room, another with roaring fire, another with a bar – a separate sitting room, fashioned from a 500-year-old barn, and the impressive Coach House Grill Room. Here, at weekends, meat and fish are grilled on a huge open fire and served at long wooden tables. As for the eight bedrooms, they are both stylish and amazing value, with all the luxurious touches you would expect from The Beckford Arms, such as superb beds, rain showers, state-of-the-art televisions and woolly hot water bottles. Explore the village and its exceptional church, full of poignant World War One memorials; enjoy excellent pub grub, from day-boat landed fish and chips to well-aged steaks; and sleep in utter peace. A gem.

TOP TIP... Follow in the footsteps of Jack and Jill in nearby Kilmersdon by climbing the hill from the famous nursery rhyme.

Doubles from £95 +44 (0)1373 812254; talbotinn.com 40 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE WEST COUNTRY

10 CASTLE STREET CRANBORNE, DORSET

Delightful Alex and Gretchen Boon used to own the King John Inn at nearby Tollard Royal.

There they gained a huge following, so much so that they decided to create a private club for their many friends. This is the result, and the good news is that the gorgeous ground floor restaurant, bar, drawing room and outdoor terrace, and the nine gracious bedrooms are open to all, while the first floor is reserved for members, including a growing number of Londoners seeking a cool but homely weekend retreat. Though it sounds humble, 10 Castle Street is in fact a glorious early 18th-century mansion set in stately gardens, whose scale and beauty is a surprise and a thrill. Chef, Simon Trepess, moved with the Boons from the King John and now they rear their own pigs, produce their own vegetables and shoot their own venison. The atmosphere is laid back and fun, a spa is soon to come and 10 Castle Street is destined to become one of our most soughtafter country boltholes.

TOP TIP... Look out for activities like hacks in the nearby woods on horseback or family yoga on the manicured lawns.

Doubles from £195 +44 (0)1725 551133; 10castlestreet.com

VILLA MAGDALA BATH

Like its sister hotel, The Abbey (see page 31), Villa Magdala is a breath of fresh air on the Bath hospitality scene. An impressive Victorian house in a peaceful road, it’s a few minutes’ walk from the centre with its own car park – which is like gold dust in Bath. Owners, Ian and Christa Taylor, have all the right instincts about what makes a successful boutique B&B. The decoration is light, bright, contemporary, occasionally quirky. There’s a predominance of grey and white in the 21 bedrooms, enlivened by touches of colour and each with one wall papered in a jazzy design. Ranging from ‘Good’ to ‘Fabulous’, they are furnished with a happy mix of antique and modern pieces and huge, supremely comfortable Hypnos beds. Featherlight goose down duvets and Egyptian cotton bedlinen are hidden delights. There’s plenty of choice and a complimentary glass of Buck’s Fizz at breakfast, taken in an elegant room under the beady eye of Morris the stag, whose head adorns the wall above a wood-burning stove.

TOP TIP... Take a circular walk around Bath and admire its Iron Age hill fort, 18th-century follies, hidden valleys, woodlands and meadows.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1225 466329; villamagdala.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 41

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Hampshire & the Isle of Wight PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

‘Brown thatch and gardens blooming, with lily and with rose, The Meon running past them, so quiet where it flows.

White fields of oats and barley, and the elderflowers like foam, and the sky all gold with sunset, and the horses going home.’

From Cicely Fox Smith’s Homeward, 1919

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PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Hatchet Pond, New Forest

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BEST SPA

Can’t find me? That’s because I’m hiding in Lime Wood’s (p51) calming, luxurious and sybaritic Herb House Spa. What makes it extra special? Chef Sheila Hulme and her creative and oh-so-goodfor-you dishes in the spa’s Raw & Cured café.

LEFT: Ponies wander freely in the New Forest BELOW: Raw & Cured café

The Whole Hog H

ampshire has it all, not least a coast that’s perfect for yachties, whether the fairweather sort or the hardy type like Ben Ainslie, who lives in Lymington (with a gold letter box outside his house). But it’s not just about its long seaside stretches. With quick access The Needles just to London and two national off the Isle of Wight parks, it makes the perfect place to gulp a few lungfuls of fresh country air before knuckling down to another week’s work. The Hampshire stretch of the South Downs Lymington National Park takes in rolling hills and market towns, while the New Forest is an enchanting place, little changed since the days when it was a royal hunting ground, where pigs, cattle, donkeys and ponies still roam free. It’s liberally scattered, like the rest of the county, with spot-on hotels to stretch out, relax, revive and dine in style.

And the Isle of Wight, with its many gentle charms, is just a short ferry ride away.

QUIRKIEST FACT

BEST GARDEN Not forgetting the kitchen garden at The Pig (p54), check out the prolific patch at the Wellington Arms (p55). ‘Chickens, bees, sheep and pigs at work’ says the sign on the gate.

There’s a kitchen garden, everything is recycled, and even the hens have been rescued.

When Dire Straits’ guitarist John Illsley bought the East End Arms (p48), he got a letter from the regulars: ‘hands off our public bar’. ‘They wouldn’t even let me repair the hole in the ceiling and when we repainted, the walls had to be exactly the same colour as before’.

The Pig

BEST VIEW

TerraVina

From a first floor bedroom at The George (p49) in Yarmouth: a canon on a battlement, the charming pier and the Solent stretching across to the Lymington River, with its needle-like forest of masts bunched in the distance.

BEST CELLAR

Hard to beat the specially constructed wine cellar at TerraVina (p50), as strong on affordability as it is on choice. Hardly surprising: owner Gerard Basset OBE has more oeno-accolades than you’ve had bottles of plonk, including the daddy of them all, World Champion Sommelier.

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

Ponies that potter and heaven for yachties, Hampshire is one of the UK’s most genteel counties

44 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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HAMPSHIRE & THE ISLE OF WIGHT

SETTING STANDARDS Newport, Isle of Wight

Food ambassador for the Isle of Wight, chef Robert Thompson is finally flying solo and has opened his own restaurant in Newport. Using local suppliers whenever possible, his style reflects his love of the island, his training in classical kitchens and the lightness and freshness of modern dining. Top tip, book in for a set lunch – it’s exceptionably good value (currently £17 for two courses) and just as scrumptious. robertthompson.co.uk SIMPLE PLEASURES Steephill Cove, Isle of Wight If the sun is shining, perfection has to be sitting on the deck overlooking the sea at The Boathouse in Steephill Cove, tucking in to a simply prepared crab or lobster, landed that morning in the bay. With only 30 seats, you need to book ahead to avoid disappointment. steephill-cove.co.uk

GIN’S THE THING Laverstoke Bombay Sapphire has converted a historic mill in Laverstoke into a state-of-the-art distillery. A magnificent space renovated by Heatherwick Studio, it is open for tours – self-guided or hosted – gin tasting workshops and gin cocktail shaking masterclasses, where you will learn all about – and create – your own cocktails. distillery.bombaysapphire.com

Local Foodie Forest-floor mushrooms and artisan gin

PICK YOUR OWN Petersfield

With acres of fruit and vegetables, Durleighmarsh Farm Shop, near Petersfield, is both a shop and pick-your-own. The season starts with purple sprouting broccoli in early spring through to brussel sprouts on a stem for Christmas. For those of us too lazy to pick our own, the shop sells ready-picked vegetables. durleighmarshfarmshop.co.uk

AWARD-WINNING AFFAIR, Lymington Elderflower in Lymington, newish kid on the block, is scooping up awards as Hampshire’s best new restaurant. As former head chef at Chewton Glen, Andrew Du Bourg is now fulfilling his dream by running his own place.

Here he cooks ‘quintessentially British food with a French twist’ – roast rabbit with salt-baked celeriac, morels, carrot verjus and grass sauce – anyone? elderflowerrestaurant.co.uk

FANCY A FORAGE? New Forest

Wild Food UK runs foraging courses in the New Forest, teaching you to sniff out ingredients to use at home for free that usually come with a fine-dining price tag. Throughout the year they will help identify shoots, edible plants and flowers and, of course, wild mushrooms. wildfooduk.com

MARKET MATTERS Winchester Held the second and last Sunday of the month, if you’re passing through, stop off at Winchester’s Farmers’ Market in the centre of the city. The largest market in Britain, here you’ll find every local specialty, from great sparkling wines to watercress, breads, cakes, charcuterie, cheeses and just about everything else you can think of. hampshirefarmersmarkets.co.uk

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Fruits of the Forest Angela Hartnett at Lime Wood’s Hartnett Holder & Co likes nothing more than not to cook for herself when home The best meal I’ve ever eaten was in Italy at a family Christmas in 1999, where we feasted on antipasti, two types of pasta, roasted veal and tiramisu.

On my bucket list of places to travel are Cambodia, Vietnam and Peru, just to see the countries and their landscapes, as much as the food, culture and environment.

There is nothing in my fridge except some parmesan, mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, jams, chutneys and the odd bit of salami.

The biggest influence on my career is Gordon Ramsay. He leads the way but I’m now also influenced by peers such as Mitch Tonks, Robin Hutson, Mark Hix, Chris Corbin and Jeremy King.

My favourite thing to cook at home is nothing! I would like someone else to cook.

The ingredients I always have in my kitchen are garlic, parmesan, tinned tomatoes and dried pasta.

My greatest food indulgence is caviar.

My desert island meal would be anolini, roast chicken, cheese and red wine.

My food hero is Marcella Hazan, an Italian cookery writer (whose books were translated into English), who died in 2013.

My favourite restaurants currently in London are St John near Smithfield market, Frenchie in Covent Garden, J Sheekey near Leicester Square and Clove Club in Shoreditch.

My top local ingredient would be the meat that we produce in this country; from beef to lamb, pork to chicken, it’s excellent.

TRUFFLE BAKED BREAM

Season the flesh side of the bream and place them together (skin on the outside). Put three thinly sliced pieces of lemon on top, followed by a stalk of rosemary. Secure by tying the fish up with two to three pieces of string. Set aside.

Heat some oil in your casserole and add the garlic, cook off for a few seconds. Add in the tomato sauce. If you haven’t got any, drain a can of chopped tomatoes and use the strained flesh instead. Cook the tomatoes out for one to two minutes and then add the lobster bisque.

Once the liquid is boiling, whisk in the truffle butter. Bring back to a simmer and remove from heat. Check seasoning and add in any herbs to suit your taste. I would INGREDIENTS recommend a touch of chervil or tarragon as I think the anise flavour works really well. Then SERVES TWO » 2 gilthead bream, filleted add your fish to the pan and remove from the » 100g basic tomato sauce heat. The fish should stand proud of the liquid » 150ml lobster bisque (i.e. not completely submerged). » 25g black truffle butter » 1 handful of dried For the bread crust, combine the flour with porcini mushrooms salt to taste then bring together with water into » 1 clove garlic, minced a smooth, malleable dough. Roll it out and seal » 3 stalks of rosemary » 1 lemon the casserole with the dough, ensuring you » Fresh herbs of have a good amount overlapping around the your choosing sides. Tuck the dough up through the handles FOR THE BREAD CRUST of the casserole to secure it. Remember to » 300g strong white flour make a small hole in the top to allow the steam » Water (have a jug ready to escape. Return to the heat until you can see so that you can add small quantities at a time) a plume of steam coming through the hole in » Salt to taste your dough and transfer to a preheated oven (220˚C) for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, melt a little butter to brush over the bread crust and finely chop the remaining rosemary. After its ten minutes in the oven, brush the casserole generously with melted butter and return to the oven for a further two minutes. Remove once more and sprinkle the crust with sprigs of rosemary and salt. Return to the oven for a final two minutes after which, your dish is ready to present.

46 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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HAMPSHIRE & THE ISLE OF WIGHT

ANCHOR INN

LOWER FROYLE, HAMPSHIRE

As perfect a country pub as you could hope to find, the Anchor Inn combines a tranquil setting on a quiet rural lane, with excellent food, luxurious bedrooms and bags of Great British personality. The interiors contrive to be both quirky and full of character, and the five bedrooms (named after World War One literary figures, such as Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves) are perfect for a countryside retreat. You’ll find shelves of books you want to read and interesting paintings and prints on the walls and Egyptian cotton linens on the big, deeply comfortable beds. As for the food, expect innovative dishes created with the best that nature can offer, sourced from local experts in their fields and cooked with natural flavour in mind. On Sundays, traditional roasts are served in the three dining areas, including the Snug and the Saloon, both with open fires during the winter.

TOP TIP... Bring walking boots and enjoy treks through Hampshire’s fields and forests, or down the old Watercress Stream Railway, stopping off at Jane Austen’s House Museum along the way.

Doubles from £90 +44 (0)1420 23261; anchorinnatlowerfroyle.co.uk

CAREYS MANOR BROCKENHURST

When life’s cares start to pile up, escape to this bolthole in the heart of the New Forest for a weekend of spoiling and relaxation. It occupies a red brick Victorian manor in kempt gardens on the outskirts of Brockenhurst, and is the sister of The Montagu Arms (see page 53). The welcoming reception room has oakpanelled walls and an open fire. The 77 large, comfortable bedrooms combine modern amenities with traditional country-house style, some with four-poster beds and some with their own patio. What really makes the hotel stand out is its award-winning Thai SenSpa, the last word in exotic luxury. Here, you can be pampered with a mind-boggling range of treatments, from a gentle mud wrap to a complete detox. As for food, you are spoiled for choice with Cambium, refined yet relaxing, and celebrating all that is best about New Forest produce; Zen Garden, serving delicious, authentic Thai food; and informal French bar and bistro Le Blaireau.

TOP TIP... Visit Lymington, just ten minutes away, a bustling, colourful town and popular sailing resort.

Doubles from £189 +44 (0)1590 624467; careysmanor.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 47

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

CHEWTON GLEN CHEWTON GLEN, NEW MILTON

One of the country’s finest hotels, Chewton Glen has seamlessly moved with the times since it opened nearly 50 years ago. The eight-bedroom house, where Captain Marryat wrote Children of the New Forest, has gradually expanded to become a 70-room bastion of luxury, with gorgeous bedrooms, lavish spa, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis centre and nine-hole golf course.

With an open format grill menu that ranges from light dishes, oysters and caviar to splendid silver trolleys bearing meats and cheeses, The Dining Room stretches across five glamorous yet informal rooms. In the lovely grounds there is much on offer, from duck herding to Apache buggy riding, making this a true family hotel.

As for the hotel’s extraordinary Treehouse Suites, built on tall stilts, they seem to float above their private, secluded valley, creating a deep sense of peace. After breakfast, delivered through a hatch for maximum privacy, follow the stream through the woods, emerging on beautiful Highcliffe Beach: another unexpected delight.

TOP TIP... Enjoy plenty of water-based activities along the stunning coastline or relax in one of the hotel’s hydrotherapy pools.

Doubles from £325 +44 (0)1425 282212; chewtonglen.com

EAST END ARMS LYMINGTON

Welcome to the New Forest, 145 square miles of ancient heath and woodland, where ponies, donkeys, pigs, cattle and deer still freely roam, and where the East End Arms makes the perfect affordable base. The owner is Dire Straits’ bass guitarist John Illsley. When he bought the pub in the mid-1990s, he received a letter from the regulars: ‘Hands off our public bar’. ‘They wouldn’t even let me repair the hole in the ceiling and when we repainted, it had to be exactly the same colour. Fine by me.’ For a plain room with locals at the bar and real ales, turn right. For serious pub food in an unfussy dining room enlivened by monochrome photographs of musicians and celebrities, turn left. For a comfy night, head upstairs to one of the five divine bedrooms.

You’ll find crisply sheeted, king-size beds, Oka furniture, Nespresso machine, Mulberry fabrics and walls decorated with John’s paintings. Breakfast is spot on.

TOP TIP... Discover the Beaulieu National Motor Museum’s famous collection of over 250 historic cars and bikes or head to the Solent coastline – a three-minute drive away.

Doubles from £110 +44 (0)1590 626223; eastendarms.co.uk 48 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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HAMPSHIRE & THE ISLE OF WIGHT

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL HAMPSHIRE DOGMERSFIELD, HAMPSHIRE

It’s hard to believe you are only an hour from London at the Four Seasons’ only UK country hotel. Set amid 500 acres of luscious green fields, you can watch the hotel’s horses frolicking in paddocks from the gorgeous, coolly sophisticated bedrooms in this 18th-century manor. It’s easy to lose oneself in the grounds, playing croquet, clay-pigeon shooting, fishing or canal boating, while children can be kept busy at the Kids’ Club, or even with an ‘own a pony’ experience.

A large, light-filled spa, offering Sodashi, Natura Bissé and Swiss Perfection therapies, occupies the original stable block, from which a glass-encased 20-metre pool extends. Service is exemplary, and the cuisine is everything you would expect from Four Seasons, whether cocktails in Bar 1086, the formal Seasons Restaurant, or tea in the Library made with honey from their own bees. Sunday lunch is a highlight, an interactive Farmers’ Market feast featuring entirely local produce.

Go on, treat yourself.

TOP TIP... Challenge your head for heights with the Highwire Adventure, an exhilarating rope course and zipwire hidden amid the woodland.

Doubles from £290 +44 (0)1252 853000; fourseasons.com/hampshire

THE GEORGE

YARMOUTH, ISLE OF WIGHT

The location could not be more stunning: on the water’s edge between the castle and the pier in bustling Yarmouth. In the panelled hall hangs a portrait of Admiral Holmes, the island’s governor for whom the house was built in 1670.

Isla’s Restaurant reflects the great reviews that it continues to receive, while The Conservatory is bright and airy with a distinctly Mediterranean feel and opens onto a grassy lawn that runs down to the water, perfect for summer dining. The 17 bedrooms are both stylish and relaxing with crisp white cotton linen, plump pillows and wellequipped bathrooms. Comfortable beds, designer furniture and charming touches – a sailboat, a bowl of shells, a scented candle – make all the difference. Four have been treated to a complete refurbishment and boast large, fabulous new bathrooms. Two have wide iroko wood terraces, from where you can soak up the view: a canon on a battlement, the charming pier (perfect for a stroll after dinner) and The Solent, stretching across to the Lymington River, with its needle-like forest of masts bunched in the distance.

TOP TIP... Travel to the iconic Needles for breathtaking views over the rugged coastline.

Doubles from £195 +44 (0)1983 760331; thegeorgehotel.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 49

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

HILLSIDE

VENTNOR, ISLE OF WIGHT

‘We are wary of accolades,’ says Gert, the Danish owner of Hillside. ‘We prefer to give people happy surprises rather than expectations. We know we are only as good as the last guest who left contented.’ The 12-bedroom, all-white Scandinavian guesthouse – with Danish designer furniture and CoBrA-inspired abstract paintings – includes a restaurant and can accommodate up to 28 guests for breakfast, dinner and a wonderful night’s sleep. Hillside’s kitchen team is proud to offer a daily changing set menu of freshly prepared signature dishes, inspired by home-grown produce from its walled garden together with island specialities. There’s also an open kitchen Bistro in downtown Ventnor. All the bedrooms, including the two apartments, are coolly contemporary, with colourful vintage Welsh wool throws. Hillside’s past – it was the home of the poet John Sterling and visited by Thomas Carlyle, as well as Dickens – is charmingly displayed in photographs and documents on the walls of one of the lounges. A delight.

TOP TIP... Opt for Hillside’s Wellbeing Package – which includes sumptuous suppers and pampering treatments.

Doubles from £156 +44 (0)1983 852271; hillsideventnor.co.uk

HOTEL TERRAVINA WOODLANDS

At the edge of the lovely New Forest, yet conveniently close to Southampton, TerraVina is a stylish boutique hotel in a fine red-brick Victorian building. It has 11 bedrooms, heated outdoor swimming pool and a massive wine cellar. Here, in the neat new brick vaults, the carefully labelled bins are central to the hotel’s raison d’être. It’s all about wine. Brainchild of Gerard Basset OBE (world-class sommelier and co-founder of Hotel du Vin), TerraVina has an outstanding, wide-reaching wine list and regularly hosts wine events. A relaxed, open kitchen produces California-style food that is both delicious and beautifully presented.

From the distinctive staircase to the natural toiletries, Gerard and his wife, Nina, have furnished the interior with products made by local craftspeople. Standards are high throughout, but particularly in the handsome, reasonably priced bedrooms, many of which have walk-in showers, plus separate roll-top baths and secluded patios.

TOP TIP... Don’t miss the chance to see New Forest ponies grazing or pigs munching on acorns during pannage season.

Doubles from £165 +44 (0)2380 293784; hotelterravina.co.uk 50 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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HAMPSHIRE & THE ISLE OF WIGHT

LIME WOOD LYNDHURST

It’s all about attention to detail at this ravishing, deeply luxurious New Forest lair. Oak doors are thick; paint finishes lush; soft floor lights switch on as you walk into the bathroom from your quietly opulent bedroom; stylised sitting rooms melt one into another, pale lemon into lilac, into sage green, each with an open fire.

In the sybaritic Herb House Spa, you can do yoga on the rooftop herb garden, take in the forest views from the massive sauna and eat inspired raw food in the Raw & Cured café.

Lime Wood is also home to Hartnett Holder & Co. In a brilliant partnership with that most grounded of celebrity chefs, Angela Hartnett, and the hotel’s own Luke Holder serve Italianinfluenced forest dishes and sharing plates in gorgeous, warmly coloured, laid-back surroundings, centred on a sparkling circular bar. The glamour is there, but all the stiffness of formal dining has been swept away. It’s how we want to live today, and Lime Wood has captured the mood.

TOP TIP... Check out Hartnett Holder & Co’s cookery school – a seriously fun and informal way of learning to cook delicious food.

Doubles from £330 +44 (0)2380 287177; limewoodhotel.co.uk

THE LITTLE GLOSTER GURNARD, ISLE OF WIGHT

An outstanding restaurant with rooms on a small bay overlooking the Solent, owned and run by islander Ben Cooke and his wife Holly, both passionate about their enterprise. The name harks back to the prestigious, now closed, Gloster Hotel in nearby Cowes, owned by Ben’s British grandfather and Danish grandmother, fondly known to all as Mormor. Ben can be found managing all areas of the restaurant, kitchen and notable wine list. Head chef Jay Santiago, who has been with The Little Gloster since launching, produces excellent, unfussy dishes, in an open kitchen within the simple, glass-encased dining room. Don’t miss the home-cured gravadlax, served with crème fraîche, caviar, sprouted spelt bread and a shot of ice-cold, house-made aquavit. Holly, energetic and warm, is in charge of the many events held in this beautiful spot, as well as the office and bedrooms. There’s more Scandinavian elegance in the three bedrooms.

All rooms – including the stunning Garden Suite with private terrace, huge bathroom and separate sitting room – have wonderful sea views.

TOP TIP... Ask Ben and his team to prepare you an Isle of Wight lobster or crab picnic.

Doubles from £125 +44 (0)1983 298776; thelittlegloster.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 51

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE MANOR AT SWAY SWAY, HAMPSHIRE

Two years ago, young hotelier Tim Holloway and his wife Edlyn decided to swap London for the peace and quiet of the New Forest: with happy results for anyone looking for an affordable yet stylish countryside bolthole.

In the village of Sway, surrounded by open heath and woodland, they found The Manor, built in 1906 for a wealthy businessman and latterly a genteel hotel. With the help of interior designer David Bentheim, they’ve given the solid brick house a stunning makeover, its 15 beautifully coloured bedrooms decorated with Audubon’s Birds of America prints, an open plan restaurant and bar and a sitting room that daringly pairs William Morris fruit wallpaper with lime green furnishings and black and white check carpets to stunning effect. The food, elegant and seasonal, from a constantly changing menu, is excellent, as are the wines.

Best of all, the hotel overlooks five acres of sloping wooded grounds, surveyed from a newly constructed terrace, perfect for outdoor dining.

TOP TIP... Explore the nearby forest and make sure to bring a camera with you to take home memories of the landscape and wildlife.

Doubles from £90 +44 (0)1590 682754; themanoratsway.com

THE MASTER BUILDER’S BUCKLER’S HARD, BEAULIEU

The Master Builder’s house is much more than just a hotel. Thriving and in its prime, this famous, romantically located hostelry fulfills many roles, for both visitors and locals alike. Its rustic bar with open fire is a natural meeting place for yachties, while the airy, pale green restaurant, with views over the Beaulieu River, makes a fine setting for informal dining, and there is a lovely garden, recently re-landscaped and justly popular for summer lunches. This is the perfect estate inn, maintaining a close relationship with Lord Montagu’s Beaulieu, New Forest fiefdom.

And the location is stunning: wake on a sunny morning in one of the charmingly quirky yet luxurious main house bedrooms and watch the river coming to life... it’s hard to think of a more captivating view. No problem, though, if you have a room in the Henry Adams wing: they are newly redecorated and seaside chic. After breakfast, take the riverside walk to charming Beaulieu.

TOP TIP... Perfectly located for Beaulieu attractions and events, ask the hotel about the tickets available at a special rate for guests.

Doubles from £99 +44 (0)1590 616253; themasterbuilders.co.uk 52 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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HAMPSHIRE & THE ISLE OF WIGHT

THE MILL AT GORDLETON LYMINGTON

Set between the charming Georgian sailing town of Lymington and the unspoilt open spaces of the New Forest, this immediately welcoming restaurant with rooms is full of hidden delights. A cosy sitting room with roaring fire, a bar and a spread of open-plan dining areas leads onto enchanting riverside terraces and gardens, so tucked away that a casual passerby would never guess they existed.

The mill, the core of which is 400 years old, sits beside the wide and peaceful Avon water.

Crossed by pretty bridges, the river flows alongside a wisteria-covered dining terrace and through delightful gardens that ramble into the distance. Even more captivating: the gardens are full of unusual, arresting sculptures, many of which are for sale. As for the modern British food, it is all homemade, from bread to ice creams, and very good. The eight bedrooms are as pretty and individual as the location demands. The Mill is now in the capable hands of the Upham Pub Company.

TOP TIP... Visit Buckler’s Hard, an 18th-century shipbuilding village where many vessels were built, including those for Nelson’s navy.

Doubles from £99 +44 (0)1590 682219; themillatgordleton.co.uk

THE MONTAGU ARMS BEAULIEU

With all the attributes of a traditional countryhouse hotel – roaring log fires, oak panelling, handsome gardens and warm, comfortable and very pretty bedrooms – that just happens to be set in the heart of Beaulieu, the New Forest’s picturesque riverside village, The Montagu Arms makes an ideal base for a weekend away. Browse the high street, visit the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu Abbey and the ruins of its Cistercian monastery, and take the riverside walk that starts at The Montagu Arms and leads to Buckler’s Hard.

Back at the hotel, you’ll find a dark oak hall that’s contrasted by a light and stylish, cream-panelled sitting room, leading in turn to a light-filled conservatory and the flower-packed gardens outside. In the smart Terrace restaurant, a treat is in store: the Michelin-starred food – elegant and unusual yet unpretentious – of Matthew Tomkinson.

Put yourselves in the hands of the excellent sommelier for imaginative and delicious wines.

TOP TIP... Visit Beaulieu Palace House, the family home of Lord Montagu, for a fun day out.

Doubles from £219 +44 (0)1590 624467; montaguarmshotel.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 53

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE PEAT SPADE INN LONGSTOCK, NR STOCKBRIDGE

One of the country’s best fishing inns, The Peat Spade is as good for shooting parties as it is for idyllic, bolthole weekend getaways. It’s a favourite meeting place for enjoying good food and impressive gins and ales from Hampshire’s Upham brewery. The spacious dining area is furnished with wooden tables and a pretty assortment of chairs. A recent charming extension, opening on to the garden, with flagstone floor and chandelier, has created yet more space for the much admired food of head chef, Paul Dive. The inn is solid and reassuring, standing in the dreamy valley of the Test with its footbridges and slow-moving chalk streams. It has been welcoming fly fishermen since the 19th century, with ghillies and managers on hand to chat, advise and make arrangements. The eight stylish bedrooms in the main house and the old peat house behind are named after members of a Victorian fraternity of fly fishermen, the Mayfly Mess, a nostalgic photograph of whom hangs in the private dining room.

TOP TIP... Pull on your wellies and walk in the Test Valley or soak up the history of Stockbridge and the nearby cities of Winchester and Salisbury.

Doubles from £84 +44 (0)1264 810612; peatspadeinn.co.uk

THE PIG

BROCKENHURST

Many hotels boast kitchen gardens, but few are as central to the operation as that of THE PIG. Here, it’s an imaginative edible paradise from where the chefs take much of their produce, the rest sourced within 25 miles. From this abundant patch comes the inspiration for THE PIG itself – and, indeed, the four further PIG hotels now in the rustic Home Grown Hotels sty (see pages 21, 38 and opposite) – seductive and shabby chic, with a palette of soft greens and chalky greys, a wonderful Victorian-style conservatory dining room; a glamorous bar; billiard table; and outdoor courtyard with wood oven and stone fireplace. Bedrooms are calm, countrified and deeply comfortable, including two fun family rooms with bunk beds for the children. The handsome Georgian shooting lodge stands in a clearing in the New Forest, with walking, foraging, tennis and spa treatments on offer.

The walled garden leads to a lovely lily pond and a wooden potting shed. Inside? You will be charmed. Oh, and there are pigs too.

TOP TIP... Borrow a pair of Hunter wellies and venture out into the surrounding countryside.

Doubles from £155 +44 (0)1590 622354; thepighotel.com 54 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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HAMPSHIRE & THE ISLE OF WIGHT

THE PIG – IN THE WALL SOUTHAMPTON

If THE PIG (see opposite) is the country mouse, then this is its town mouse cousin, just 20 minutes away in Southampton, charmingly embraced by the city’s defensive walls. It’s gorgeous, affordable and makes a great choice for a hassle-free short break, easily reached by train. Hole up in one of its faultless shabby chic bedrooms (retro radios, telephones and alarm clocks, rain showers and roll-top baths, superb beds, well-stocked fridge ‘larders’, bare floorboards, painted wood ceilings, pretty fabrics). In the morning linger over pastries, cold meats, boil-your-own eggs and the papers in the Edwardian country-style kitchen/ parlour, and later graze from the inviting deli counter (which acts as reception too) for lunch. Perhaps do some damage in the West Quay shopping centre and then, in the evening, jump into the hotel’s Land Rover for a free ride to dinner at THE PIG. Back at The Wall for the night, you’ll be as happy as pigs in – er – farmyard manure.

TOP TIP... Walk along the medieval town walls for views of Southampton’s historic monuments and modern docks.

Doubles from £130 +44 (0)2380 636900; thepighotel.com

THE WELLINGTON ARMS BAUGHURST, HAMPSHIRE

There’s got to be something pretty special about a place that has all the critics raving. Giles Coren ‘would have gladly stayed forever’; it had Matthew Norman ‘cooing with pleasure’; and Diana Henry advises ‘fighting for one of the 12 tables’. ‘The Welly’ is a real foodies’ pub, owned and run with great charm by Simon Page (front of house) and Jason King (award-winning chef).

Set in countryside on the Hampshire/Berkshire border, it has a field where hens, bees, sheep and pigs are kept, and a burgeoning kitchen garden.

The dining room is delightfully informal. Here, Jason uses home-grown ingredients in most of his carefully prepared, country-style dishes. He advocates three simple principals: food must be local, well priced and delicious. There are four bedrooms: the Apartment is a one-bedroom suite upstairs above the pub. Then, tucked away in a converted 17th-century, oak-framed hay store are two striking guest rooms, all exposed brickwork and timber beams, and outside a green oak barn, the Cartshed. Who could ask for more?

TOP TIP... Walk around the Roman walls at Silchester, not forgetting to visit the amphitheatre along the way.

Doubles from £100 +44 (0)1189 820110; thewellingtonarms.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 55

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The Home Counties ‘They may talk of their Margates and Ramsgates, so gay, And such places some folks may delight in; Where in summer each citizen dashes away, As long as they’ve time, and their money to pay, But none can compare to our Brighton!’

From Samuel Beazley’s The Boarding-House: Or, Five Hours At Brighton, 1816

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Murmurations over Brighton Pier, East Sussex by Peter Stevens (Commended, Take a view 2015) peterstevens photography.co.uk

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

QUIRKIEST FACT

Want to stay in the room where Bridget Jones (‘this can’t be just shagging; a mini-break means true love’) and the dastardly Daniel Cleaver conducted their famous staycation? Book the splendid Penn Suite at Stoke Park (p74).

ABOVE: The splendid Surrey Hills RIGHT: Bridget Jones at Stoke Park

Close to Home You don’t have to go far out of London to find nature at its best

« BEST GARDEN

H

The gardens at Gravetye

Contender for the loveliest garden of any hotel in the country: that of Gravetye Manor (p67), first created by gardening pioneer William Robinson at the end of the 19th century, superbly restored by head gardener Tom Coward and his team.

BEST SPOILING TREAT

The Cat Inn is famous for its pies

FAVOURITE DISH

‘I recommend the pie and mash,’ says Andrew Russell at the Cat Inn (p64).

And what a (steak and ale) pie it is.

The fleet of vintage launches supplied by Cliveden House (p65) to waft you down the Thames with a tailor-made boat picnic in a wicker hamper and champagne, of course, on ice.

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK; REX FEATURES

ow crazy that we Londoners are more likely to get on a plane than explore the towns and villages that surround our vast metropolis. Yet some of the country’s finest houses, most glorious landscapes and most attractive towns and villages lie in wait, literally on the doorstep. Fly in a small plane Kent is famous for its oast houses over the counties that count as ‘Home’ – Kent, Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire – and you will see that they are green, rural places of space, beauty and tranquility. Head for the Thames Valley with its picturesque riverside towns and enviable waterfront Windsor Castle houses; racing country in Berkshire as well as Windsor Castle and its magnificent Great Park; the rolling majesty of the South Downs; the orchards and oast houses of Kent; the charming Chilterns with their hanging beechwoods in Buckinghamshire; or the beautiful, peaceful Surrey Hills, just there, on the edge town. There are hotels to suit all tastes and pockets, from Cliveden to The Bunk Inn; and they are blissfully close to home.

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THE HOME COUNTIES

TEATIME, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex Pop in to Ginger & Dobbs in Shoreham in time for tea. A charming grocery store with a tea area, Young British Foodie winner, Lucie Bennett of Fleur de Sel, supplies them with scrumptuous savoury pastries, scones, cakes and tarts. Failing that, get in touch with her directly as she will happily undertake to bake a special wedding or celebration cake. lbfleurdesel.co.uk STAR MAN, Lickfold, West Sussex Young Tom, as he is affectionately known in the trade, was 26 when he won his first Michelin star for Restaurant Story. Now Tom Sellers has opened his first country pub, The Lickfold Inn in West Sussex. Inventive and an impressively good cook, whether you eat in the pub or upstairs in the dining room, you cannot fail to be entertained by the originality of Young Tom’s food. But remember – it’s only open from Wednesday to Sunday. thelickfoldinn.co.uk

CAREFULLY CURATED West Sussex/Kent Every town in England deserves The Hungry Guest. With branches in Petworth and West Malling, it sells a range of carefully chosen produce and ingredients from fresh meat to own-produced frozen meals, cakes, pastries and their own sourdough bread. The climatecontrolled cheese room ensures peak condition and the range proved so popular that they’ve started a cheese box scheme – for delivery anywhere in the UK. thehungryguest.com

Local Foodie Wining and zerowaste dining

ZERO TOLERANCE Brighton

Silo is a restaurant with a mission.

A composter, electrolysed water, recycled seating and plates give plenty of clues that its ambition is to become Britain’s first 100 per cent zero-waste restaurant. Important though this is, chef Douglas McMaster knows it wouldn’t be worth a row of beans if the food wasn’t good... rest assured, it is sensational. silobrighton.com

TOM’S TWIST, Marlow, Buckinghamshire An off-shoot from Tom Kerridge and his team, The Coach in Marlow operates on a firstcome, first-served basis – so if you don’t mind a queue, you should get in. Food is simple but tasty – rotisserie chicken, ham hock terrine – but expect the odd Tom Kerridge twist – venison chilli with red wine, chocolate and toasted rice cream, for example. thecoachmarlow.co.uk

BREAD OF HEAVEN Ockham, East Sussex

Buy bread from the Lighthouse Bakery, which supplies the best restaurants and shops in Kent and the Southeast. And if you long to master the art of craft baking, book in to one of their Saturday courses – great fun and hugely informative. lighthousebakery.co.uk

SPARKLING TIMES Dorking, Surrey English Wine Week takes place every year around the end of May, with plenty of vineyards in the area to visit (see englishwineproducers. co.uk). Denbies, open most of the year near Dorking, positively encourages visitors and lays on tours, tastings and wine-making experiences. It also boasts two restaurants – The Gallery and The Conservatory. denbies.co.uk

2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 59

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Plain and Simple My first experience of good food was going to my gran’s farm; where my sister and I were like a plague of locusts eating up everything from her vegetable garden and drinking down unpasteurised goat’s milk.

The best meal I’ve had recently was at Ynyshir Hall, whose head chef is Gareth Ward. It’s so refreshing to eat food that is completely different – his style is unique.

He doesn’t use stocks or sauces but uses methods that exaggerate flavours, while keeping them balanced.

If I was cooking at home, I’d just put together a plate of salad or vegetables, some fennel, a pepper, watercress, celery, a bit of cheese and a cracker. I love eating food that hasn’t been abused in anyway and it’s much quicker than cooking! I wouldn’t even make a dressing.

I now find myself reflecting on my early years, when we ate fresh, nutrient-rich food. I didn’t have a sweet until I was about 12. My mum cooked everything fresh and we ate what was put in front of us, we had no choice.

Gravetye’s kitchen garden is not like others. It dictates what we cook and, over the summer months, provides up to 85 per cent of the produce we use in the kitchen. We have eight full-time gardeners and some days they might be picking for 15 to 20 hours between them.

My best foodie moment was when I won a Michelin star last year (2015) on 17 September, just two days before I got married.

liquid. When cool enough, remove the meat from the shells and place in the cockle liquor.

Wash the cockles in the liquor, remove and place in a container.

For the foam, pour the cockle liquor through a fine sieve into a saucepan, discarding the last ten per cent of liquid as it may contain grit. Add the milk.

Arrange the turbot on a large greaseproof paper-lined tray and squeeze a little lemon juice and sprinkle some salt over the top. Bake in the oven at 160°C for six minutes, add the cockles to the tray and FILLET OF NEWHAVEN cook in the oven for a further two minutes.

LANDED TURBOT Meanwhile, warm the cockle/ with buckwheat milk liquor and cook the farfalle, cockles, white INGREDIENTS asparagus in a pan of boiling asparagus, gremolata SERVES 4 water for two minutes. Add and sea herbs » 150g buckwheat flour, plus the sea herbs and farfalle For the pasta, knead the flour a little extra for dusting pasta to the asparagus in the and eggs together to form » 2 egg yolks » 1 whole egg boiling water and cook for a dough. Wrap in cling film » Handful parsley leaves a further minute. Carefully and rest in the fridge for an » Zest of half a lemon remove the asparagus, sea hour, then take out, dust with » ½ garlic clove, pulverised » 50ml olive oil herbs and pasta from the a little more flour, roll into » 1kg fresh cleaned cockles water and place on the turbot thin sheets, cut sheets into » 80ml water tray that has finished in the matchbox-size rectangles and » 80ml milk » 4 pieces turbot, filleted oven. Drizzle all the items on pinch in the middle. and skinned, approx. the tray with the gremolata.

For the gremolata, finely 120 to 140g each piece Add the turbot to the centre chop the parsley to glitter» Squeeze of lemon juice » Pinch of salt of warmed white plates and sized pieces, then mix with the » 20 pieces small white assemble the garnish around. lemon zest, garlic and olive oil. or green asparagus, the Blitz the warm cockle liquor For the cockles, cook in a delicate top half only » 1 bunch of sea herbs eg with a hand blender to foam hot, lidded pan with the water samphire and monk’s and spoon the foam over the until the shells have opened. beard, picked and washed dish. Serve immediately.

Drain cockles, saving any

PHOTO: SIMON ELDON

George Blogg, head chef at Gravetye, likes nothing more than a plate of fresh veg for supper

60 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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And So To Bed.indd 1

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

ALBION HOUSE RAMSGATE, KENT

The advent of Albion House is a story of triumph over adversity, and of hope over experience – or rather inexperience. Arguably the most beautiful of all of Ramsgate’s unsurpassed collection of Georgian and Regency buildings, and previously used as town council offices, it was rescued from neglect by Gay and John Haines, who asked their friends Ben and Emma Irvine to create a boutique hotel and restaurant from its shell. None had any experience of hotelkeeping but sheer hard work, determination, good humour and bravery have seen them through and Albion House, which was the subject of an episode of Alex Polizzi’s Hotel Inspector while it was being transformed, is now the stand-out place to stay in this fascinating yet often overlooked town, and a perfect weekend getaway from London. There’s a huge, stylish bar, sophisticated dining room and elegant bedrooms, the best with breathtaking views across the Royal Harbour. A triumph for Ben and Emma and a great new address for us.

TOP TIP... For a relaxing afternoon stroll take Thanet’s coastal path from the Royal Harbour along to the picturesque town of Broadstairs.

Doubles from £145 +44 (0)1843 606630; albionhouseramsgate.co.uk

THE ALEXANDER POPE TWICKENHAM, MIDDLESEX

It’s easy to see why Alexander Pope made a home and – most famously – a garden for himself on the banks of the Thames in 17th-century Twickenham. Though much has changed in the area over the last three centuries (namely its transformation into the home of English rugby), Twickenham has retained its appeal as a popular getaway. Occupying a prime riverside spot and overlooking Radnor Gardens, is the historic pub formerly known as Pope’s Grotto, upgraded into a three-star hotel by Young’s, with 32 modern and homely bedrooms, the best with balconies overlooking the Thames. Renamed as The Alexander Pope, and lovingly refurbished with the building’s history in mind, it’s a warm and friendly place for both a hearty pub meal and peaceful night’s sleep. Wake up refreshed and take in the same splendid views that Pope once looked upon, from one of the balconies or the glass atrium at the front of the pub – a divine sun trap in the summer months. A fitting tribute to the community’s most honoured resident.

TOP TIP... Make the most of the hotel’s riverside location by taking a stroll through the park or a run by the river.

Doubles from £89 +44 (0)20 8892 3050; alexanderpope.co.uk 62 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE HOME COUNTIES

ARTIST RESIDENCE BRIGHTON, EAST SUSSEX

Justin and Charlie (real name Charlotte) Salisbury met as students, and when Justin’s mum – who had bought a run-down Brighton guesthouse – was seriously injured in an accident before she had renovated it, 20-yearold Justin stepped in. Having no idea how to tackle the redecoration, he filled the listed town house with artists and gave them a free hand. The first Artist Residence was born.

With invaluable advice from Channel Five’s Hotel Inspector, Alex Polizzi, and Justin and Charlie’s own dogged commitment, they have turned it into a successful, buzzy hotel and have now opened two more Artist Residences in Penzance (page 14) and Pimlico (page 83). This one has sea views and 23 retro-style bedrooms, from tiny crash pads to a huge suite, with bespoke or vintage furniture, hand-picked artwork, entertaining murals and excellent beds. There’s the sparky Cocktail Shack for drinks, easy-going Set Café for snacks and Set Restaurant for Dan Kenny and Semone Bonner’s stunning seasonal tasting menus.

TOP TIP... Learn how to make your own neon artwork with Andy Doig.

Doubles from £105 +44 (0)1273 324302; artistresidencebrighton/co.uk

BAILIFFSCOURT CLIMPING, WEST SUSSEX

A stroll across private parkland from the secluded Climping beach, Bailiffscourt is an engaging, medieval-style house created in the 1920s by Walter Guinness, later Lord Moyne, and his wife Evelyn. Both the traditional bedrooms, some with four posters, and the series of interconnecting sitting rooms, stuffed with tapestries, oak chests and Knowle sofas, feel charmingly authentic. If you want something more contemporary, however, there are eight bedrooms in separate, architecturally harmonious new buildings.

Nowadays, it boasts a contrastingly airy spa, with indoor and outdoor pools. The hotel’s lawns are dotted with a series of charming houses and cottages, flowers, shrubs and peacocks. Its name, Bailiffscourt, recalls the monk who was sent over by the Abbey of Séez in Normandy to act as bailiff and watch over the 13th-century chapel, which still stands in the grounds today.

TOP TIP... Spend a day exploring the twists and turns of beautiful Arundel with history around every corner, shops, galleries and its very own castle.

Doubles from £249 +44 (0)1903 723511; hshotels.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 63

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE BUNK INN CURRIDGE, BERKSHIRE

Perfectly placed to the hit the hay after a day at the races (Newbury Racecourse is just a few miles distant), The Bunk Inn is a relaxing, cosy hideaway in the picturesque village of Curridge, also easily accessible from the M4, Reading, Swindon and Oxford.

Wherever you’ve come from, you’ll find a cute, exceptionally well-refurbished old inn with nine comfortable and contemporary rooms, excellent food and more than a touch of luxury. The dining room is both intimate and stylish, painted in muted Farrow & Ball colours, with French doors that lead to a sunny garden, where barbecues take place on summer weekends. And while the head chef’s food is impeccable, each plate designed so that flavour, texture and colour are in harmony, you will be just as welcome, and feel just as at home, if you simply prop up the bar with a pint (perhaps from Upham, the brewery belonging to the pub company that owns The Bunk) and a packet of crisps.

TOP TIP... Take a trip to nearby Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed, or visit Newbury Racecourse for a day at the races.

Doubles from £79 +44 (0)1635 200400; thebunkinn.co.uk

THE CAT INN

WEST HOATHLY, WEST SUSSEX

A spell at The Cat will leave you purring with contentment. With its regulars chatting at the bar, its blazing fire in the huge inglenook, its hops, pewter and mix of airy and cosy dining areas, this early 16th-century, timber-framed village inn, with a brick and tile exterior, exudes character and bonhomie, while landlord Andrew Russell, previously general manager at nearby Gravetye Manor, mixes professionalism with his natural flair for people. As for the food, from chef Alex Jacquemin, there’s no trumpeting and no fuss and, as a result, its superb quality comes as all the more of a delightful surprise. ‘I recommend the pie and chips,’ says Andrew. And what a pie. Leave space for a homemade pud too. Upstairs, there are four attractive, luxurious, well-equipped bedrooms, one very large, another with a view of the pretty church. In the morning, after a sophisticated breakfast worthy of Gravetye, follow the path through the churchyard for a spectacular view across the valley.

TOP TIP... Tour the Bluebell Vineyard Estates and sample the award-winning English sparkling wine produced there.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1342 810369; catinn.co.uk 64 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE HOME COUNTIES

CLIVEDEN HOUSE TAPLOW, BERKSHIRE

Nowhere does grand country hotels quite like Britain, and few, if any, can match Cliveden House. Set high above the Thames, in 376 acres of National Trust-owned land, the stately home was built in 1666 for the second Duke of Buckingham, and gracefully remodelled in 1795 by Sir Charles Barry, before becoming home to the Astor family.

Today, Cliveden is under the same ownership as the admirable Chewton Glen (page 48), and a sympathetic programme of restoration and redecoration has left it looking quite fabulous.

First to be unveiled was Spring Cottage, the ultimate hideaway on the banks of the Thames, originally a summerhouse for the Countess of Orkney in 1811. As for the house itself, it has been dedicated to entertaining for 350 years.

No one, from Churchill to Chaplin, could resist an invitation – and nor should you. Its 48 bedrooms range from spectacular suites to deluxe doubles and include four newly refurbished rooms with their own private hot tubs.

TOP TIP... Nancy Astor’s dinner parties were legendary and today dining is just as special.

André Garrett at Cliveden, the restaurant in the restored main house, should not be missed.

Doubles from £445 +44 (0)1628 668561; clivedenhouse.co.uk

CRAB & LOBSTER INN SIDLESHAM, WEST SUSSEX

The location of this delightful hideaway and sibling of Halfway Bridge (see page 67), on the banks of Pagham Harbour nature reserve, is very special. It stands at Sidlesham Quay, an expanse of grass once occupied by a tidal mill, with views across salt marsh and woodland interlaced with watery creeks stretching to the distant sea.

There are four fresh and attractive bedrooms in the renovated old pub, plus the recently refurbished two-bedroom Crab Cottage next door. All have been decorated with stylish simplicity in restful shades and, in the deluxe rooms, there are binoculars for a closer look at that wonderful view. A place for all weathers: it’s almost best when the wind howls and you are tucked up in your cosy eyrie. Downstairs, you’ll find slate floors, cream painted and bare brick walls and an open fire. And dishes that are just right for the location: perhaps local crab and lobster, or a fine mushroom risotto with wild ceps and a bottle of Sancerre – perfect.

TOP TIP... Ask for a picnic, walk around Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve to the unspoiled Church Norton Beach and admire the lovely converted railway carriages there.

Doubles from £165 +44 (0)1243 641233; crab-lobster.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 65

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE DUNDAS ARMS KINTBURY, BERKSHIRE

Open the curtains in one of The Dundas Arms’ River Rooms and you’ll find the morning sun slanting down on your own private terrace bordering the River Kennet. Potter along its banks and you’ll come to the peaceful garden of the handsome Georgian inn, bordered on its far side by the Kennet and Avon Canal, complete with lock and jolly painted barges. You might have cycled there along the towpath from as far away as Bristol or Bath, or arrived by train direct from Paddington, for the station is a minute’s walk away. Whichever way you arrive, you’ll find a revamped village inn humming with life, its quirky original retro bar, covered in shining pennies – all minted in 1967 – acting as the focal point. There are also two comfortable dining rooms, and a riverside garden for meals in summer. Informality meets luxury at the Dundas Arms: a gourmet burger or Berkshire sausages and mash accompanied by a bottle of Mouton Rothschild; a rare collection of Pingus wines from Spain and a well-stocked humidor.

TOP TIP... Transport yourself back to 18thcentury England with a trip on a horse-drawn barge along the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Doubles from £100 +44 (0)1488 658263; dundasarms.co.uk

THE GOODWOOD HOTEL CHICHESTER, WEST SUSSEX

Stay here, and everything that Goodwood has to offer is at your fingertips. Most famous for its Glorious Goodwood and Revival festivals, the hugely impressive sporting estate has many different elements, and guests of The Goodwood Hotel effectively become members of each one of them. Thus, the superb health club and Waterbeach spa is yours; also elegant private members’ club, The Kennels; and the membership-only championship Downs golf course, with its divine retro buggies, complete with ice box for that all-important bottle of champagne. But there’s more: the pay-and-play Park golf course; the woodland Sculpture Park; and Goodwood House itself. Plus, 19 days of racing a year at the prettiest of racecourses, perched on its ridge; the motor racing circuit where you can take a spin; and the historic aerodrome where you can fly a Cessna. And the hotel? Sleek and sophisticated with characterful bedrooms and high standards of cooking in the light and airy restaurant.

TOP TIP... Dining at The Richmond Arms is a must, there’s a genuine link from field to fork, with produce from Goodwood Home Farm.

Doubles from £125 +44 (0)1243 775537; goodwood.com/hotel 66 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE HOME COUNTIES

GRAVETYE MANOR WEST HOATHLY, WEST SUSSEX

One of England’s greatest country-house hotels.

A classic of its kind since 1958, when Peter Herbert took on the Elizabethan manor and its famous William Robinson gardens, Gravetye Manor has never been on better form. ‘Change but no change,’ commented owner Jeremy Hosking, as he completed his multi-million pound renovations. Indeed, today’s furnishings look elegant, fresh and attractive, but the feel remains the same: the unhurried calm; the polite, chatty staff (maids in neat black dresses with white aprons); the profusion of beautiful, naturally arranged flowers; the smell of linseed oil and wood smoke from the great open hearths.

At white clothed tables in the stunning, yet relaxed dining room, George Blogg’s food is an accomplished delight and was recently awarded a Michelin star. Best of all, the gardens have been restored to former glory, with seven full-time gardeners headed by Tom Coward, who came from Great Dixter. They are quite wonderful and lunch on the terrace is an unforgettable treat.

TOP TIP... Take the time to enjoy all 35 acres of the Gravetye gardens, whatever the weather – wellies are available in all sizes if required.

Doubles from £260 +44 (0)1342 810567; gravetyemanor.co.uk

HALFWAY BRIDGE LODSWORTH, WEST SUSSEX

If you love the Crab & Lobster at Sidlesham (and who couldn’t?), then make tracks for its younger sibling. Near Petworth, it stands back from the graceful, swooping A272, the only road we know to have had a book written about it: Ode to a Road. Like the Crab & Lobster (see page 65), the old inn has been immaculately restored by owners Sam and Janet Bakose, with seven exceptional bedrooms, fashioned from a beamed stable block that overlooks a sunny lawn, with woods (watch out for deer) to the rear. The three standard rooms are just as alluring as the more expensive ones, of which No. 5 is particularly lovely, with its part-timber, part-brick back wall. Back at the handsome inn, superior pub grub is served in a choice of intimate nooks that circle the central bar, with exposed brick walls, newly revealed parquet floors, open fires and woodburners.

Put simply, Sam and Janet have what it takes: good taste mixed with warmth, common sense and an assured, professional touch.

TOP TIP... Spend a day at Cowdray Park Polo Club or visit lovely Petworth House and Park – both on the doorstep.

Doubles from £140 +44 (0)1798 861281; halfwaybridge.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 67

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

HAND AND SPEAR WEYBRIDGE, SURREY

A popular pub with locals in the commuter town of Weybridge, but also an elegant escape for guests travelling from further afield, the Hand and Spear is one of those rare treats: a hotel that is both convenient and tucked away.

This old country inn, successfully restored to its original style by Young’s, possesses all the charm, comfort and character you could hope for from such a striking Victorian building.

The spacious pub is divided into various rooms, cosy crannies and cubbyholes, with a luxurious conservatory to best enjoy the kitchen’s exceptional food in. Upstairs, the 12 immaculate bedrooms have bold, botanicalinspired interiors to complement their leafy surroundings, finished with intriguing décor, like cloche domes, apothecary jars and terrariums containing plant-based curiosities.

Each space is individually designed and filled with the usual home comforts, and all contain a sumptuous surprise – a complimentary flagon of port and homemade rocky road, upon arrival. Our kind of welcome.

TOP TIP... Mercedes-Benz World is just a fiveminute walk away – a must visit for car enthusiasts.

Doubles from £119 +44 (0)1932 828063 ; handandspear.co.uk

HARTWELL HOUSE NEAR AYLESBURY, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

One of the great pleasures of hotels is that they are – sometimes – very special buildings to which ordinary mortals would never normally have access. One such shining example is Hartwell House, a Grade I listed stately home that was occupied for five years by the exiled Louis XVIII. Inside, there are beautiful rooms with Rococo ceilings (especially the Georgian morning room, which depicts the four seasons), antique furniture and paintings, and an extraordinary Jacobean staircase, lined by statues of the knights of Europe guarding the way. The King’s wife Marie Joséphine of Savoy had them removed because their candlelit shadows frightened her as she made her way to bed. But worry not, if you think all this grandeur means pomp and ceremony. As with its fellow National Trustowned Historic House Hotels (see Bodysgallen Hall, page 156; Middlethorpe Hall, page 148), the hospitality is natural and easy-going, the bedrooms as comfortable as they are grand and the food as delicious as you would expect. And the hotel’s spa is a classically themed delight.

TOP TIP... Inspect some centuries-old Rothschild family treasures at Waddesdon Manor.

Doubles from £240 +44 (0)1296 747444; hartwell-house.com 68 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE HOME COUNTIES

JEAKE’S HOUSE RYE, EAST SUSSEX

Set on cobbled Mermaid Street in the middle of enchanting Rye, Jeake’s House, built in 1689, is an unexpected treat. Each guest is greeted personally by owners Jenny Hadfield and her partner Richard Martin, and shown to their room (‘no one carries their own bag, it’s the law’) along an amusing warren of steep stairs and corridors. Bedsteads are either mahogany or brass, bedspreads quilted or lace. Downstairs, there’s an honesty bar, while the galleried former chapel makes the grandest of breakfast rooms.

A roaring fire greets guests on cold mornings and one of the close-knit team will serve you a fine breakfast (no dinners) from a menu that includes devilled kidneys, boiled eggs, Marmite soldiers and Rye rarebit. Trot uphill past the famous Mermaid Inn and half-timbered houses, including Lamb House, once the home of both Henry James and EF Benson, to St Mary’s Church and its lookout tower, which you should climb for a marvellous, bracing view.

TOP TIP... Jeake’s House provides the perfect starting point for exploring many National Trust properties including, Great Dixter, Sissinghurst, Bodiam and Bateman’s.

Doubles from £95 +44 (0)1797 222828; jeakeshouse.com

THE LAMB INN WARTLING, EAST SUSSEX

It sounds a bit fictional, the Lamb at Wartling, like something from a TV comedy, which is fitting, since the owner is on telly himself, and full of humour too. On Antiques Road Trip, James Braxton nips round the country in an open-top car, searching for bargains, but this pretty corner of Sussex, overlooking Pevensey Levels, is home. When the village pub came up for sale, he and his wife bought and decorated it beautifully (plenty of antiques), including the five simple, charming and inexpensive bedrooms upstairs. This is run by their sons, Charlie, 25 and Ned, 22. They cheerfully preside over a place full of warmth and atmosphere, with good food courtesy of an equally young kitchen. Charlie’s collection of vinyl records gets aired on a turntable in an alcove; milk churns double for stools along the bar; there are cosy and elegant eating areas, including a courtyard.

A great spot, full of humour.

TOP TIP... Perched on the edge of Pevensey marshes between Herstmonceux Castle and Pevensey Castle, The Lamb Inn makes a great base to explore both the South Coast and the South Downs.

Doubles from £95 +44 (0)1323 832116; lambinnwartling.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 69

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

LINDEN HOUSE STANSTED, ESSEX

Linden House wasn’t designed to be an airport hotel, though its location in Stansted village makes it a handy one. And it’s much more than simply a straightforward, if luxurious, place to stay: with its imaginative new lifestyle boutique – homewares, jewellery, ceramics, accessories, you name it – and café by day/bar by night, it epitomises a ‘true social adventure’ and a great twist on the traditional guesthouse.

The roadside house – gabled and half-timbered outside, an oak-panelled entrance hall inside – has been painstakingly transformed to the highest standards by its young owners. The bedrooms are seriously comfortable, with more than a hint of glamour. All nine have been thoughtfully kitted out with luxurious beds, fine linen and organic toiletries. The whole place is spotless and warm as toast, and now, with deli-style food and homemade sweet treats on offer all day, plus a great selection from the bar and the fabulous boutique, it’s gently humming with life. Highly recommended.

TOP TIP... Look out for social events like the annual beer festival, live music in the bar, wine tasting, pottery and floristry workshops.

Doubles from £114 +44 (0)1279 813003; lindenhousestansted.co.uk

THE MILK HOUSE SISSINGHURST, KENT

A great Kent address. Perfect for visiting Vita Sackville-West’s famous garden at Sissinghurst Castle, it’s a brilliant bolthole for Londoners, with superb food, delicious bedrooms, a lovely terrace and garden with a ‘hopper hut’ inspired bar and wood-fired pizza oven, as well as prices you can afford. The Milk House recalls Sissinghurst’s former name, Milkhouse Street, which changed after a local 19thcentury smuggling gang brought it unwanted notoriety. Owners Sarah and Dane have gone for the dairy angle: paintwork in creamy white and palest mossy green; bedrooms called Dairy, Churn, Byre and Buttery – and Udderly Private. The all-day dining pub looks cool and sophisticated, with a great buzz, and the menu ranges from imaginative dishes to the best of pub grub. Like The Milk House, the staff are young and frisky; Sarah and Dane have created a contented cow and they should be proud of themselves.

TOP TIP... Take a stroll around the surrounding apple orchards and don’t miss the bluebell walk through Sissinghurst’s ancient woodlands in April.

Doubles from £80 +44 (0)1580 720200; themilkhouse.co.uk 70 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE HOME COUNTIES

OCKENDEN MANOR CUCKFIELD, WEST SUSSEX

You get the best of both worlds at Ockenden.

If you prefer reassuring, traditional comfort, look no further than this charming Elizabethan manor. If you want slick, sophisticated modernity, that’s yours too. As well as the elegant drawing room, there’s an oak-panelled bar, the Burrell Room for private dining with its original Tudor ceiling, and an airy restaurant where the Michelin-starred dishes of chef Stephen Crane are served. There are 28 bedrooms, some full of character with original panelling and fourposter beds, others fresh and pretty. And then there’s the spa, utterly modern on the outside, airy and natural inside, with indoor/outdoor pool, hot tub and Jacuzzi, walk-through rain shower, steam room, sauna, gym, relaxation area, sundeck and guest lounge. As for the spa’s six knock-out first-floor bedrooms, they pack a thoroughly modern punch, with shutters in the bathrooms that open on to the bedrooms that in turn open on to a roof garden with marvellous views across West Sussex.

TOP TIP... Walk to the fabulous Bolney Wine Estate to try some of the very finest English sparkling wine.

Doubles from £199 +44 (0)1444 416111; hshotels.co.uk

PARK HOUSE BEPTON, WEST SUSSEX

A hotel for today that was created yesterday.

In the same family for over 60 years, it has all the graciousness, tranquility and atmosphere of a privileged family home, where children and dogs are welcome; one wall plastered with family photographs and celebrated past guests; the clink of china teacups in the garden outside and an honesty bar. There are 12 bedrooms in the main house (plus a further nine in three adjacent cottages) which look down on to a leisurely, almost Edwardian scene: flower-covered pergola, two grass tennis courts, croquet lawn, testing six-hole golf course and emerald putting green, all perfectly maintained. Beyond the lawns are long views onto a lovely wooded section of the South Downs with not another house in sight.

Add a sleek spa with indoor and outdoor pools, and fine food in the elegant dining room, and Park House, perfectly placed for Chichester and the South Downs, is hard to beat.

TOP TIP... Located within view of and only a stone’s throw away from the National Park, don’t forget to pack your walking boots to explore the South Downs Way and stunning views from the top.

Doubles from £108 +44 (0)1730 819020; parkhousehotel.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 71

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE PHEASANT INN SHEFFORD WOODLANDS, BERKSHIRE

Looking for a stylish yet cosy weekend bolthole that’s really easy to reach from town? You’ve got it. Opened this spring by its new owner, charming young Jack Greenall, The Pheasant ticks all the boxes. Though it’s just moments from the M4, the old drovers’ inn stands alone, with uninterrupted views across the Berkshire Downs, and feels properly rural. Inside, thanks to the spot-on taste of Jack and his talented interior designer, Flora Soames, it’s smart and sophisticated yet intimate and warm, in racing green and red (this is racing country and the inn is frequented by trainers and jockeys), with a constant buzz at the bar and plenty of comfy corners for quiet dining.

Upstairs, there are 11 immaculate, luxurious, incredibly good value bedrooms, equipped with lots of thoughtful extras. As for chef Andy Watts’ superior pub grub, it’s spot on too: Scotch eggs like you’ve never tasted before; salt-baked saddle of lamb to share; Dover sole; fabulous puddings.

Marks? 10/10.

TOP TIP... Head straight to Garden Art in Hungerford for delightful garden goodies, then to JAX, a fantastic women’s clothes shop on site, stocking irresistible cashmere, jeans and shirts.

Doubles from £90 +44 (0)1488 648284; thepheasant-inn.co.uk

THE ROYAL OAK EAST LAVANT, WEST SUSSEX

In a charming Sussex village in Goodwood country, this pretty Georgian brick and flint inn provides an enticing and remarkably good value alternative to a fully fledged country-house hotel. It’s more a restaurant with rooms than a pub, and the focus is firmly on food. Dishes from a tempting menu are well executed and full of flavour, and use mainly local ingredients, including fresh fish that is delivered daily from the South Coast.

A list of almost 100 wines from the Old and New Worlds provides ample opportunity for perfect partnerships, and the local champagne cider makes a delicious apéritif before dinner in the romantic, beamed, firelit restaurant.

Accommodation is in five bedrooms and three cottages, most with views over farmland or the downs, and all furnished with care.

They have large comfortable beds, dressed in fine Egyptian cotton, bathrooms with aromatherapy products and a host of extras, from well-stocked fridges to iPod docking, DVD players and complimentary films.

TOP TIP... Book a track day at the Goodwood Motor Circuit – or ask the hotel to do it for you.

Doubles from £135 +44 (0)1243 527434; royaloakeastlavant.co.uk 72 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE HOME COUNTIES

THE ROYAL OAK YATTENDON, BERKSHIRE

You’ll be greeted with a cheery welcome at this superb country pub, slap bang in the charming village of Yattendon. It is all that a great pub should be, from the beamed ceilings and panelled walls to the stocky wooden bar with a selection of proper ales on tap. Beyond the main bar and dining room lies a large sitting room with deep sofas and a huge open fire, plus private dining rooms. In the summer make the most of the sun-trap garden – it’s the sort of place where bottles of rosé disappear mysteriously swiftly. Best to soak it all up with some locally sourced grub. How about game from the Yattendon estate, meat from Vicars Game up the road in Ashampstead and eggs from Beechwood farm – all the sorts of ingredients that don’t need much messing with... perfectly suited to head chef Nick McGregor’s unfussy approach. After a sunshine session, where better to rest your weary head than in one of the ten light and airy bedrooms, where the king-size bed beckons, all dolled up in the finest linens from Josephine Home.

TOP TIP... Make sure you leave enough time to visit the brewery in the village.

Doubles from £95 +44 (0)1635 201325; royaloakyattendon.co.uk

SOPWELL HOUSE ST ALBANS, HERTFORDSHIRE

In 1665, the Duchess of Dudley fled the plague on the site of Sopwell House, just as Anne Boleyn found refuge at the nunnery here before her marriage to Henry VIII a century before. And now you too can find solace in the same stunning Hertfordshire countryside. Just one mile from the M25/M1 junction, you could be prone on a deckchair in the spa garden within an hour of leaving London, dripping head-to-toe in ESPA oil, or tearing through corn-fed chicken in the two AA rosette restaurant. Sopwell House has been in the Bejerano family for 30 years, and is run with suitable warmth and affection. It is bright and contemporary in style, with corridors lined by an eclectic mix of old French fashion magazine covers and animal giclée prints by artist Dan Hillier. There’s a choice of spick and span rooms and suites to suit all budgets but by far the most spoiling are the gated Mews Suites, set apart from the rest of the hotel in a heavenly garden landscaped by RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold award-winner Ann-Marie Powell.

TOP TIP... St Albans’ historic ambience provides a delightful setting in which to explore a wide range of top names and independent shops.

Doubles from £144 +44 (0)1727 864477; sopwellhouse.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 73

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE SPREAD EAGLE MIDHURST, WEST SUSSEX

Dating back to 1430, and once the most celebrated coaching inn of its age, The Spread Eagle elegantly marries history, tradition and character with contemporary spoiling treats. In the fine old-fashioned dining room, earthenware pudding basins dangle from the ceiling, a tangible reminder of the past when they were presented to guests every Christmas. Yet the same inn also sports an on-trend gin bar, with over 50 types of gin, 12 of tonic and garnishes from the garden. And what an unexpected treat to find, in such an old building set in the middle of a historic market town, an impressive spa with indoor pool beneath a contemporary Scandinavian-style roof, as well as a lovely conservatory that runs the length of the building, where you can eat and drink. The recently refurbished bedrooms are luxurious, traditional and charming, with fine bathrooms. In the two best, one has a rare original wig closet, while the other is panelled, with a secret passage. The past and present, united.

TOP TIP... A trip to Blackdown Artisan Spirits to sample award winning Sussex dry gin is a must – the distillery is full of character and charm.

Doubles from £109 +44 (0)1730 816911; hshotels.co.uk

STOKE PARK

STOKE POGES, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

If you don’t know it, privately owned Stoke Park provides one delightful surprise after another.

First of all, it’s an historic house, built in the 1790s

by James Wyatt for soldier, scholar and poet John Penn. Secondly, it’s set in 300 acres, including beautiful water-filled grounds designed by Humphry Repton, featuring a romantic bridge, just 40 minutes from central London. Thirdly, it’s where the famous golf match from Goldfinger and the mini-break in Bridget Jones were filmed.

Fourthly, it’s two hotels, not one: choose from splendid traditional bedrooms in the Mansion or contemporary ones in the newly built Pavilion.

Fifthly, it comes with a championship golf course, amazing tennis facilities (the pre-Wimbledon Boodles Challenge is played here annually) and a quite wonderful spa. And last but not least, the staff are very welcoming and the food excellent.

Stoke Park became Britain’s first country club in 1908; now it is open to all. And the church of Gray’s Elegy fame is just a stroll away.

TOP TIP... Explore the Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens on the hotel’s Heritage Walk and visit the site where the poet Thomas Gray is buried – 2016 marks the 300th anniversary of his birth.

Doubles from £220 +44 (0)1753 717171; stokepark.com 74 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE HOME COUNTIES

THE WATERSIDE INN BRAY, BERKSHIRE

For nearly 45 years, this restaurant with rooms and holder of three Michelin stars for 31 years, owned by the celebrated Roux père et fils and run by Alain Roux, has purred contentedly beside the Thames, with its lovely waterfront terrace and an electric launch at guests’ disposal. The river, wide and placid, with the odd boat skulling by, instantly soothes, and the sense of occasion, as waiters prepare for the evening’s seamlessly orchestrated performance, reminds one of a bygone age. As well as the unashamedly haute yet delicate cuisine, the bedrooms and suites are beautifully kitted out: feminine and elegant, in the French manner, and kept up to the mark by the Waterside’s general manager, Diego Masciaga, with the same dedication he has employed in the restaurant for the past quarter century (‘I don’t live here, but this is my home’). ‘Dedication and consistency,’ Michel Roux has said, ‘are the two qualities that make a great chef and a great restaurant.’ The Waterside Inn is certainly that.

TOP TIP... The Menu Gastronomique is a remarkably good value daily special lunch, with wine by the glass chosen by the sommelier.

Doubles from £245 +44 (0)1628 620691; waterside-inn.co.uk

THE WINNING POST WINKFIELD, BERKSHIRE

From the outside, The Winning Post looks like a modest cottage, but inside it’s surprisingly spacious and immediately welcoming.

Warmed by an open fire and a wood-burning stove, and with exposed brick walls, timber beams and wooden furniture, it has plenty of cosy charm. Like The Plantation (see page 39) and The Bunk Inn (see page 64), it belongs to the Upham Group’s stable of pubs and inns with character and first-rate service.

The Winning Post is in prime polo and horse-racing country (hence its eye-catching collection of racing photographs) and has swiftly become a favourite watering hole for people from these worlds. Chief among its attractions is the excellent food, courtesy of head chef Dave Thomas, who focuses on honest flavours and clean presentation in his distinctive seasonal British dishes. Once you have dined, with ten bedrooms in a modern annex and an excellent breakfast to wake up to, there’s no reason not to stay the night.

TOP TIP... A stay at The Winning Post can only bring you luck at nearby Ascot or Royal Windsor Racecourses.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1344 882242; winningpostwinkfield.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 75

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A Veil for the Shard, London by Julie Hutson (Commended, Take a view 2015)

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London ‘And every day there passes by my side, Up to its western reach, the London tide – The spring tides of the term. My front looks down On all the pride and business of the town; My other fair and more majestic face For ever gazes on itself below, In the best mirror that the world can show.’

From Abraham Cowley’s On the Queen’s repairing Somerset House, 1668

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BEST VALUE

Imagine a charming, stylish hotel in Belgravia, a shopping bag’s swing from Elizabeth Street and Sloane Square, that won’t break the bank.

Impossible? Try the Lime Tree (p92), right next to the Ebury Wine Bar. They’re specially kind to single travellers too.

LEFT: A bird’s eye of London BELOW: Good value at the Lime Tree

Welcome to the world’s greatest city

M

aybe you live in the capital and just want a change and a rest.

Or perhaps you are a country dweller and crave a dose of its buzz, shopping, thrilling culture and equally thrilling worldclass restaurants. Whichever, London’s hotels make brilliant – and sometimes surprisingly The wedding of William and Kate affordable – boltholes. There Messing about on the Serpentine can be few more cosmopolitan cities on earth and massive building and infrastructure projects are transforming the skyline. It’s surfing a wave right now, in part thanks to spectacular events such as the Royal Wedding, Diamond Jubilee and 2012 Olympics. But though the city is alive as never before, there is a wealth of quiet corners, open spaces and village-like districts in which to take a breath and recharge.

Potter in a pedalo on the Serpentine; wander round the Chelsea Physic Garden; discover the charming sophistication of Marylebone and so much more.

In fact, there is almost no part of London that hasn’t picked itself up, dusted itself down and shown Chelsea Physic Garden its best face to the world. It rocks.

The Bingham

QUIRKIEST FACT

In 1899, two lady poets lived in what is now The Bingham (p85), whose garden leads to the Thames. ‘I have rubbed myself against nature’s great, warm hand,’ wrote Katherine Harris Bradley, after a bout of gardening, ‘in a spirit of pagan delight’. Crikey.

BEST SURPRISE

If you know the Sloane Club, that comforting bastion of all that is British, frequented by bishops, colonels and perfectly coiffed country ladies in town for a spot of shopping at Peter Jones, you will be amazed by its serviced Apartments

by Sloane Club (p97).

Slick, snazzy and vibrantly coloured, they’re more like Apartments by Beverly Hills.

We love them.

ABOVE & BELOW: Apartments

by Sloane Club Art tours with Brown’s Hotel

BEST ACTIVITY

Brown’s (p86) Saturday Mayfair Art Tour.

Once a month, a well-known art dealer guides you around four nearby galleries, with lunch at Hix Mayfair, £60 per person.

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK; REX FEATURES

London Calling

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LONDON

VEG IS KING, N1

Contrary to popular belief, Grain Store in King’s Cross, is not a vegetarian restaurant, it is just that vegetables are the star of the show. Expect innovative flavours, lingering textures and tones. Don’t miss out on the equally imaginative, veggie-based cocktails.

Once you’ve eaten, make sure you wander around the estate. It’s an amazing regeneration project with great public spaces. grainstore.com

PHOTOS: ADDIE CHINN; AMY MURRELL; PRUDENCE CUMING ASSOCIATES © DAMIEN HIRST AND SCIENCE

LILY VANILLI, E2 Anyone with a sweet tooth should drop by Lily Vanilli’s bakery after scouring the flower market on Columbia Road. Her wildly creative assortment of cakes and patisserie are seasonal and change weekly. Must-trys are the blood orange, black sesame and almond friands or apple tarts painstakingly shaped into realistic roses that wouldn’t look out of place in the famous flower market. lilyvanilli. com

Local Foodie Geeky coffee and serious steak

PILL POPPER, SE11

Pharmacy 2 combines Damien Hirst’s two great loves – art and food. Perched above his impressive new gallery space near Vauxhall, the new incarnation is bold, exuberant and brightly coloured, Mark Hix is food supremo and runs a weekly changing menu of classics peppered with more unusual ingredients. pharmacyrestaurant.com

PITT FALL, EC2 Good news, if you had been avoiding Soho’s original Pitt Cue (now closed) as you couldn’t stand queuing, you can now book in to its new Bishopsgate premises with its open kitchen, vast custom-made wood-burning grill – imported from Michigan, apparently, at a cost of $89,000 – and microbrewery. Expect big flavours, this is superb, gutsy food. pittcue.co.uk

BLACK COFFEE, W1 Most Londoners have a favourite coffee spot.

Soho’s Bar Termini rates very highly, particularly for its bianco, an espresso with foamed milk.

Open all day through to late at night, it doubles as a cocktail bar serving some of the best negronis in town. bar-termini.com

HEAD TO THE HOTPOT, W1

New to London is Shuang Shuang on Shaftesbury Avenue, a Chinese hotpot restaurant. What sets it apart is the sushi-style conveyor belt with colour-coded bowls of ingredients to drop into your bowl of simmering stock, from chicken, pork and fish balls to veg, noodles and fresh chillies or pastes of varying strengths. shuangshuang.co.uk

TEA WITH SHAKESPEARE, SE1 To mark the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death, Shakespeare’s Globe has conjured up A Midsummer Night’s Dream themed tea. Treats include mulberry scones – Pyramus and Thisbe met under a mulberry tree – and lemon chicken sandwiches with pea flower – the very flower Oberon used for his potions. swanlondon.co.uk

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Just Desserts My first experience of good food was eating a picnic at Chester Zoo when I was three years old, I am always reminded of it when I taste egg mayonnaise.

The food at The Goring is known for being traditional British, so we try to interpret that in a way that is familiar yet light and interesting.

The best meal I’ve ever eaten was at a small restaurant that specialises in fish called SaQuaNa in the picturesque port of Honfleur, Normandy. I was with my wife and children and we made a special trip just to visit that restaurant.

The meal was exceptional.

In my fridge at home you’ll find Comté cheese, smoked mackerel, asparagus, buttermilk, kale and pineapple.

I started my career when a friend and I were working as part-time cooks in a pub.

The owner sold us a dream about sending us to London to learn how to carve ice sculptures, it never happened – it turned out he was a raging alcoholic.

Today I’m cooking a new dish of spring vegetables, smoked goat’s curd and a light pea and chervil cream. It’s a dish that makes best use of all of the finest produce that is just coming in to season.

The most essential piece of kit is our Thermomix blender. It’s pretty much in use from 8am until closure at 11pm. It has

a thermostat that enables you to effectively cook with it and it’s great for making our ice cream bases, hollandaise or things like vegetable purées.

The ingredient I always have is apple vinegar. Ours is very dry in the same way as a rice wine vinegar, but with a lot more character. It’s amazing for finishing sauces or dressings.

My desert island meal would be French onion soup, roast turbot with hollandaise sauce and passion fruit soufflé.

WILD STRAWBERRY AND CORNISH CLOTTED CREAM TARTLET

To make the pastry, mix the flours and salt together. Cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs, one at a time, then slowly add the flour. Do not over mix and allow to rest for one hour.

Roll out the pastry to 2mm thick. Line a tart ring with the pastry, leave it to rest in the fridge overnight.

Mix the strawberry marinade ingredients together and leave at room temperature for one hour. Blind bake the INGREDIENTS pastry for 15 minutes at 180˚C until the pastry SERVES FOUR FOR THE SWEET PASTRY: is golden. » 660g plain white flour Meanwhile make » 50g cornflour the clotted cream » 300g caster sugar » 400g butter filling. First, scrape the » 4g salt seeds from the vanilla » 2 medium eggs pod, then mix all the FOR THE CLOTTED CREAM FILLING: ingredients together. » 100g Cornish clotted Whisk until firm. cream To assemble, pipe » 1 vanilla pod » 80g icing sugar the clotted cream into FOR THE MARINATED the base of the tartlet, WILD STRAWBERRIES: then fill with the » 200g wild strawberries » 50g sugar strawberries and a » 1 sprig of mint little of the marinating » 1 lemons zest juice. Finish with vanilla » Vanilla pod, scraped ice cream.

PHOTO: SIMON ELDON

The Goring’s Shay Cooper would choose a passion fruit soufflé for his desert island dish

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE ALMA

WANDSWORTH, SW18

Named after the Crimean Battle of Alma, this Victorian pub is a classic of its kind; its confident size, shiny green tiles and domed roof are an expression of the London pub boom of the 19th century. After World War II it stagnated – until its owners, Young’s, reinvented it in the 1980s. Four pokey public rooms became one, with a circular bar; a lovely plasterwork frieze was uncovered and the mahogany staircase renovated. Today it flourishes as a pub, a restaurant and a place to stay: in an adjoining building are 23 spacious bedrooms.

Their design combines good looks with good sense, so for a fraction of the price of a central London hotel, you get everything you need: stylish armchair; spacious desk with chrome lamps; excellent lighting; sockets in the right places; radio with universal phone charger and iPod dock; wallowy bath; monsoon shower.

And you can get a pint, minutes from leaving your room. Plus, an excellent breakfast, too.

TOP TIP... Take the RB6 boat ride from Wandsworth Pier to Blackfriars Pier for a less than conventional, scenic trip into central London.

Doubles from £109 +44 (0)20 8870 2537; almawandsworth.com

THE ARCH LONDON MARBLE ARCH, W1

Occupying eight neighbouring townhouses north of Marble Arch, The Arch lies close to that excellent shopping and dining thoroughfare, Marylebone High Street.

But, if it’s central and urban, it’s certainly not predictable, better described as one of the new breed of townhouse hotels rather than that 1990s phenomenon, the boutique hotel. It’s luxurious all right, but it’s not grand.

Public spaces are art-filled, smart and glossy, but intimate too. The 82 striking bedrooms have been superbly executed and, for their quality and location, they offer excellent value for money. The heart of the place, and its cleverest feature, is the subtly curtained cocktail lounge that flows into a zinc-topped bar area and on into the Hunter 486 (that’s the 1950s dialing code for Marylebone, in case you were wondering), with open-to-view kitchen and wood-fired oven. You could almost be in New York. Dine or breakfast anywhere in these three areas and enjoy the ambience – buzzy but relaxed.

TOP TIP... Enjoy a walk in Hyde Park, take in a West End show or hit the high streets.

Doubles from £318 +44 (0)20 7724 4700; thearchlondon.com 82 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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LONDON

ARTIST RESIDENCE PIMLICO, SW1

The third hotel in the hands of dynamic duo Justin and Charlie (Charlotte) Salisbury, opened after their Artist Residences in Brighton (see page 63) and Penzance (page 14) used to be a down-at-heel local boozer. Together, with enthusiasm, hard work and artistic flair, they’ve transformed it into a charming, affordable London hotel with bags of character. On three elegant, well-proportioned floors, it has eight comfortably rustic bedrooms and two fabulous suites, all imaginatively decorated and furnished with wonderfully quirky, cleverly sourced finds.

There’s also a welcoming, laid-back sitting room, a glamorous cocktail bar tucked away in the basement and, taking centre stage on the ground floor, the Cambridge Street Kitchen. A welcoming social space by day serving brunch, cold-pressed juices and All Press coffee, it transforms into a modern restaurant at night. A separate entrance for hotel guests means there’s no awkward check in at the bar. A former pub is now a proper, much appreciated, if diminutive, hotel.

TOP TIP... Try a Lake Macarthur cocktail in the Clarendon Cocktail Cellar with a bowl of baconinfused popcorn.

Doubles from £230 +44 (0)20 7931 8946; artistresidencelondon.co.uk

BATTY LANGLEY’S SPITALFIELDS, E1

Walk through the double doors into this charming hotel, packed with character and Georgian detail, and you might be entering another era. In lively, gentrified Spitalfields, Batty Langley’s lives up to its unusual name.

Inspired by an 18th-century architect and landscape gardener, who wrote guides to help his clients plan their houses and gardens with taste, it’s in the same ownership as the equally captivating Hazlitt’s (see page 90). The inviting, panelled interior, with its open fires, countless books, mellow antiques and fine paintings, feels more like a private house than a hotel. Your most difficult choice will probably be which of the three softly lit, warmly decorated sitting rooms to occupy. Cocooning their inhabitants with comfort and calm, the 29 bedrooms and suites are furnished with antique carved beds or four posters, heavy silk curtains or wooden shutters and bathrooms with restored period fittings (including the occasional throne loo).

Nods to the 21st century, such as flat-screens and mini-bars, are there, but discreetly hidden.

TOP TIP... Walk two doors down to Dennis Severs’ House, a truly fascinating attraction.

Doubles from £320 +44 (0)20 7377 4390; battylangleys.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 83

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE BEAUMONT MAYFAIR, W1

It was always going to be great. The first hotel from restaurant supremos Corbin & King (that’s Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, founders of The Wolseley and many of London’s most fashionable restaurants) is a glossy, stylish hit. What’s more, its advent has put North Mayfair firmly on the map; and, courtesy of Antony Gormley’s ‘inhabitable sculpture’ ROOM, rising three stories on the south wing, it has given London both a magnificent public artwork and an extraordinary one-bedroom suite inside it. The Beaumont harks back to the pre-war elegance of Mayfair hotels. It’s classy (chequerboard lobby floor, early 20th-century paintings, gleaming antiques) yet also intimate and welcoming, and the muralled Colony Grill Room at its heart is Corbin & King at their best, this time serving American classics – shrimp cocktail, meatloaf, knickerbocker glory – in animated, stylish surroundings. The 73 rooms and suites are decorated in Art Deco style: handsome, sensible and supremely comfortable, with bathrooms in marble and chrome that are spot on.

TOP TIP... Visit the many small and large art galleries dotted around the streets of Mayfair.

Doubles from £395 +44 (0)20 7499 1001; thebeaumont.com

THE BERKELEY KNIGHTSBRIDGE, SW1

One of London’s stand-out, five-star hotels, The Berkeley has an excellent Knightsbridge address and is all the rage with A-listers. Together with Claridge’s and The Connaught (see page 87), it’s part of the Maybourne Hotel Group, and is both welcoming and luxurious. It started life in the 1700s as a Piccadilly coffee house, became a hotel in 1897 and moved to its present location in 1972. The interior is all understated elegance: from the enveloping rooms and suites, with bathrooms of the finest Italian marble, to thefamous Blue Bar and a brand new Richard Rogers-designed façade, allowing guests to make quite the entrance. A mouthwatering breakfast is served in easy-going Koffmann’s and, for lunch and dinner, the menu celebrates south-western French food. Nor should you miss Marcus Wareing’s modern European cooking in the chic, two Michelin-starred Marcus. There’s even an exquisite colonnaded rooftop pool and a Ferrari Atelier, where clients can commission the tailor-made car of their dreams.

TOP TIP... Enjoy Prêt-à-Portea, The Berkeley’s famous fashionista afternoon tea inspired by the season’s trends.

Doubles from £480 +44 (0)20 7235 6000; the-berkeley.co.uk 84 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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LONDON

THE BINGHAM RICHMOND, TW10

This glamorous, intimate riverside hotel began life as two Georgian townhouses, later joined together by Lady Anne Bingham, a forebear of Lord Lucan. By 1899, two poets, Katherine Harris Bradley and Edith Emma Cooper, were writing there under the nom de plume of Michael Field here. ‘I have rubbed myself against nature’s great, warm hand,’ wrote Katherine, after a bout of gardening ‘in a spirit of pagan delight’. Crikey. Today’s owner, Samantha Trinder, ably assisted by General Manager Erick Kervaon, has created a very special place in which to stay and dine. Slick and contemporary, the hotel has the friendliest staff, a fun cocktail bar and a rather beautiful restaurant, where the three AA rosette food excels. But it’s the Bingham’s setting in lovely Richmond that adds the extra magic here, and the view, the river right there at the end of the hotel’s expansive terrace and pretty walled garden, with the towpath and the water, rowing boats and pleasure craft beyond. And London on the doorstep.

TOP TIP... Head to bhuti for holistic pampering, an eco wellbeing escape up the road, offering everything from yoga to organic facials.

Doubles from £165 +44 (0)20 8940 0902; thebingham.co.uk

THE BLOOMSBURY BLOOMSBURY, WC1

A cherished member of The Doyle Collection, an exclusive Irish hotel group, which also includes The Kensington (see page 90) and The Marylebone (page 93), as well as its two Irish hotels, The Westbury (page 185) and The River Lee (page 185), The Bloomsbury is a sympathetic conversion of a Grade II-listed building in the same street as the British Museum. It was originally designed in the 1930s in neo-Georgian style by that most English of architects, Sir Edwin Lutyens. His signature is in the impressive stone entrance, striking double-height lobby and wonderfully quirky ironwork. There’s a sense of calm here, and an understated elegance. You feel shielded against the outside bustle, particularly in the refined bedrooms, decorated from a smart, mainly neutral palette, with headboards and fabric motifs that recall Lutyens. And then there’s The Dalloway Terrace, an enchanting, vinestrewn outdoor diner in a part of town where it is notoriously difficult to find open spaces. The wonderful wood-panelled Bloomsbury Club Bar is a must for a pre- or post-prandial drink.

TOP TIP... Peruse the local antiquarian book shops and galleries in London’s literary heartland.

Doubles from £261 +44 (0)20 7347 1000; doylecollection.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 85

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BROWN’S HOTEL MAYFAIR, W1

A five-star hotel with history and gravitas, but none of the pomp or flashiness of some of its rivals, Brown’s was founded in 1837 by Lord Byron’s butler. In 2005, Olga Polizzi revamped the interior for her brother, Rocco Forte, lifting its Victorian looks with an injection of contemporary sophistication. Nowhere is the fusion of styles more evident than in the award-winning English Tea Room, where original wood panelling sits easily with modern art. Queen Victoria herself was an early fan of afternoon tea at Brown’s. Mark Hix’s menu for the celebrated restaurant, Hix Mayfair, focuses on big British flavours, deftly handled.

The restaurant, lounge and hip Donovan Bar effectively form one large, contemporary art-filled space, devoted to eating, drinking and entertaining. Bedrooms and suites display Olga Polizzi’s style and panache, not least the fabulous new Kipling Suite, named after Rudyard Kipling, who stayed at Brown’s and penned The Jungle Book here. Downstairs, there’s a spoiling subterranean spa.

TOP TIP... Head to The Spa to try one of the relaxing Rocco Forte rituals using Forte Organics.

Doubles from £460 +44 (0)20 7493 6020; rocofortehotels.com

THE CAPITAL KNIGHTSBRIDGE, SW3

A compact Knightsbridge hotel with all the sumptuousness and service of a rare five-star, but much more intimate and personal. Within high-heeled range of Harrods, The Capital is a real family affair, owned by David Levin and run by his daughter Kate. From the moment you encounter the delightful concierge team, headed by the renowned Clive Smith (aka Superman), you know you’re staying somewhere special, where every element of the hotel is finetuned, beautifully presented and perfect. In the dining room, Michelin-starred Outlaw’s at The Capital, Nathan Outlaw and head chef Tom Brown create an ever-changing menu of dishes using the best of British seafood sourced from trusted fishermen around the Cornish coast, while one of London’s great barmen, Cesar da Silva, presides over the intimate, elegant Capital Bar. Roomy and cosseting, the 49 bedrooms are decorated in classic, elegant style and have superlative beds and marble bathrooms. If you prefer your luxury English and understated, then The Capital is for you.

TOP TIP... Partake in a unique whisky and cheese pairing class with head bartender, Cesar.

Doubles from £300 +44 (0)20 7591 1200; capitalhotel.co.uk 86 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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LONDON

CLARIDGE’S MAYFAIR, W1

Do you love giving special gifts to special people? Then pop Claridge’s in a presentation box, tie it with a red ribbon and give it, for a night or maybe two, to someone you love.

Claridge’s has always had a cachet. But while it used to be the staid and stately base for visiting royalty, today it is, as part of the Maybourne Group (see The Berkeley, page 84, and The Connaught, below), a spirited mix of glittering and gracious, hip and dignified, underpinned by superb service.

It’s the details that count: pushing through the revolving door, past photographers waiting for a celebrity guest, into the glacial, marble-floored Front Hall; the wrought-iron lift complete with attendant and comfy seat; the Art Deco bathrooms; the 1930s jewel box of a bar, the Fumoir, not to mention Simon Rogan’s fabulous, arboreal Fera restaurant – and so much more. If ever there was a hotel that felt like a present, it is this, today at the pinnacle in its 200-year history.

TOP TIP... Check out artist in residence David Downton’s portraits of the hotel’s distinguished guests in the Fera bar.

Doubles from £540 +44 (0)20 7629 8860; claridges.co.uk

THE CONNAUGHT MAYFAIR, W1

How we love The Connaught. It has always been a special, very British place and, today, as part, of the exemplary Maybourne Group (see Claridge's, above, and The Berkeley, page 84) it’s both a home from home and a glamorous destination, with superbly orchestrated service. The magnificent mahogany staircase compels guests not to take the lift, while treats don’t come much better than being served a ceremonial martini (aromatic flavourings, quietly stirred, never shaken) in the seductive, buzzing Connaught Bar. For years, the hotel’s splendidly stuffy Grill was presided over by master of classic French cuisine, Michel Bourdin, but since 2008, it has been home to two Michelin-starred Hélène Darroze, whose ravishing dishes are perfectly complemented

by India Mahdavi’s sophisticated, colourful surroundings. There are many pleasures: taking breakfast while overlooking Tadao Ando’s specially commissioned water feature in Carlos Place; Tom Stuart-Smith’s hidden Moon Garden; the John Lobb shoeshine chair; the peerless rooms and suites. A great hotel in its prime.

TOP TIP... Fox & Squirrel offers behind-the-scenes access to historical Mayfair landmarks.

Doubles from £540 +44 (0)20 7499 7070; the-connaught.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 87

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DORSET SQUARE HOTEL MARYLEBONE, NW1

The first of the sexy yet welcoming city hotels in the Firmdale group, owned and run by multitalented husband-and-wife team Tim and Kit Kemp, opened in 1985. Like their Knightsbridge Hotel (see page 91) and Number Sixteen (page 93), it’s a beautiful London townhouse, this one Georgian, with some gentle decorative reminders that it occupies the site of Thomas Lord’s first cricket ground. There are bats arranged like works of art, tiny cricket balls as wardrobe doorhandles, photographs and cartoons of famous cricketers and other memorabilia, all incorporated into Kit’s new sophisticated interiors. Her style is witty, contemporary and bold, combining strong colours and contrasting fabrics, enhanced by exciting modern art. There’s an elegant, light-filled drawing room with an honesty bar, and 38 seductive bedrooms, many overlooking the Square garden, to which guests have access. Painted green to echo the garden, The Potting Shed restaurant serves exceptional modern British food, with a clever lighting installation by Martha Freud as a backdrop.

TOP TIP... Find a shady spot in Dorset Square and tuck into a picnic lunch prepared by the hotel.

Doubles from £246 +44 (0)20 7723 7874; firmdalehotels.com

FLEMINGS MAYFAIR MAYFAIR, W1

What a gorgeous jewel box of a Mayfair address. Privately owned for the last 40 years by the Anglo-Indian Gulhati family and now in the excellent care of experienced General Manager Henrik Muehle, the hotel has been given a fabulous new look, including a sleek and intimate drawing room, with beautiful handpainted wallpaper depicting scenes of India, cosy bar, velvet banquettes and stellar afternoon teas. As for the well-priced bedrooms, they are serene, alluring, mildly Art Deco. You feel like a traveller from a more graceful age in them.

Touches like the sleek silver fiddleback sycamore furnishings, reading lights embedded in the headboards and lavish honesty gin bars in the suites all add unexpected dashes of luxury. On the walls are photographs of actors and fashion icons, all recently taken in the hotel by Dr Andy Gotts. And talking of celebs, Shaun Rankin is soon to take over the restaurant. What do guests want today? They want glamour mixed with intimacy and informality: you’ll find that here.

TOP TIP... Ask the concierge to arrange a chartered boat down the Thames, complete with a champagne afternoon tea.

Doubles from £245 +44 (0)20 7499 0000; flemings-mayfair.co.uk 88 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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LONDON

THE GORING BELGRAVIA, SW1

Opened in 1910, and still in the same family, The Goring is gloriously British. But although it is a grand and dignified institution, it never takes itself too seriously, possessing what so many smart hotels lack: a sense of humour.

Where else does Noël Coward sing Mad Dogs and Englishmen while your call is being connected?

Who else has an ‘Ooh!’ light setting in each bedroom? And now, as well as great comfort, it has undeniable wow-factor glamour, thanks to a top-to-toe redecoration that has been triumphantly completed with the addition of the wonderful, hand-painted wallpaper that now graces the Front Hall. The Bar, redolent of colonial grandeur, is a hub, where afternoon tea is London’s best, while in the scintillating Linleydesigned dining room, head chef Shay Cooper’s modern British cuisine causes many a lip to smack. As for the 69 bedrooms, they encapsulate the quintessentially English feel. And then there’s The Goring’s secret glory: its huge private garden, complete with croquet lawn.

TOP TIP... Buckingham Palace is a great bastion of ceremonial history, but a visit to The Royal Mews and The Queen’s Gallery is equally fascinating.

Doubles from £435 +44 (0)20 7396 9000; thegoring.com

THE GRAZING GOAT MARYLEBONE, W1

The name of this stylish gastropub and hotel comes from the fact that it occupies land once used to graze Lady Portman’s goats. Tucked away in Marylebone’s upmarket Portman Village, it’s also handy for the shops of Oxford Street and the leafy spread of Hyde Park.

There’s a rustic chic look to the interior. The lantern-lit downstairs bar is all pale oak and the look carries on into the first-floor dining room, with more oak panelling and light oak tables, plus an open fire. Both rooms serve seasonal British food: tasty grills and rotisseries, classic and modern dishes, all far superior to standard gastro fare. Spread across the top three floors are eight large bedrooms, simply but captivatingly decorated in subtle shades and furnished in contemporary country style. Enjoy a rainforest shower and a huge sleigh bed made up with crisp cotton sheets. The Grazing Goat belongs to Cubitt House, the excellent collection of public houses and hotels that owns The Orange in Pimlico (see page 94).

TOP TIP... Take a relaxing stroll around the Serpentine – a stone’s throw away – followed by a boat ride on the lake.

Doubles from £210 +44 (0)20 7724 7243; thegrazinggoat.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 89

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HAZLITT’S SOHO, W1

Hazlitt’s is the real deal: as genuine, amusing and revealing a hotel as you could hope for, especially in seething Soho. It’s named after the great radical essayist and master of English prose, William Hazlitt. He died in poverty in 1830 at No. 6 Frith Street, one of three adjoining town houses that the owners, experts on the Georgian era, fashioned into Hazlitt’s in 1986. A fourth building behind has been converted to create a sitting room with an honesty bar and an additional eight bedrooms, reached by a lift. As befits an establishment with such literary connections, the hotel is popular with authors, who leave signed copies of their works when they depart. The sloping, creaking floorboards have been retained and the rooms, decorated with antiques, busts and prints, are all individually furnished, with freestanding bathtubs and Victorian fittings in the bathrooms. Like the rooms in its distinctive sister, Batty Langley’s (see page 83), they are delightfully different from other London hotels.

TOP TIP... Take some time to browse the selection of books donated by visiting authors such as Bill Bryson, JK Rowling, Ted Hughes among others.

Doubles from £288 +44 (0)20 7434 1771; hazlittshotel.com

THE KENSINGTON SOUTH KENSINGTON, SW7

What an exciting new address, and in an attractive, centrally located part of London that has never been noted for its hotels; not spothitting ones like this, at any rate. The Doyles are Irish hoteliers, headed by three sisters who own The Marylebone (see page 93), The Bloomsbury (page 85), The River Lee (page 185) and The Westbury (page 185). One sister, Chairman Bernie Gallagher, has overseen the interior design of The Kensington and her personal charm and attractiveness is reflected in her creation. The result is comfortable, liveable, sophisticated, but never try-hard, with a series of rooms, including a French salon, elegant drawing room hung with fine 20th-century Irish art and glamorous bar, that are stylish but undemanding, putting the guest first. You can eat and drink wherever you like, including in the homely Town House restaurant in front of an open fire. There are 150 beautifully decorated bedrooms and, if you want to explore the area, the hotel has branded Pashley bikes with baskets for a picnic lunch or tea – another great touch.

TOP TIP... Take advantage of the nearby green spaces of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.

Doubles from £240 +44 (0)20 7589 6300; doylecollection.com 90 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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LONDON

KNIGHTSBRIDGE HOTEL KNIGHTSBRIDGE, SW3

Tim and Kit Kemp, owners of Firmdale Hotels, have the knack of creating places to stay that not only look fabulous but are easy-going and smoothly run. Knightsbridge Hotel is no exception. An imposing house in a quiet culde-sac, a Jimmy Choo step from Beauchamp Place and Harrods, makes the ideal home for it.

As with its London Townhouse siblings, Dorset Square (see page 88) and Number Sixteen (page 93), Kit has designed the interior with panache, using vivid colour, specially designed fabrics, original British art and statement furniture.

There are two public rooms downstairs, the drawing room and library, both with a working fireplace. Here, a fireside tea is a winter treat.

Upstairs, there are 44 bedrooms and suites, all fresh and as lovely to look at as to sleep in, with thoughtful little extras such as iPod docking stations. If it’s a special occasion, dig deep and book the stunning, open-plan Knightsbridge Suite, with its triptych of floor-length windows.

No restaurant, but there is 24-hour room service.

TOP TIP... Take afternoon tea in the beautiful drawing room or library, which also offers a prince and princess version for the little ones.

Doubles from £282 +44 (0)20 7584 6300; firmdalehotels.com

THE LEVIN

KNIGHTSBRIDGE, SW3

Here’s a well-kept secret, one that combines the luxury of a top hotel with the intimacy of a guesthouse. Ladies, solo or otherwise, love it.

Why wouldn’t they when it’s a designer bag’s swing from Harrods and Harvey Nichols? The Levin is the baby sister of The Capital, almost next door (see page 86). If The Capital is small, The Levin is tiny: 12 bedrooms arranged around a staircase that spirals through five floors, with a dramatic, shimmering installation, mimicking a chandelier, that cascades down the stairwell.

The lobby has beautiful duck-egg blue walls, with a feel of the 1930s, and the minute lift is a nostalgic throwback. The bedrooms are the sort you may never want to leave: suave, with particularly good lighting, a selection of interesting paperbacks and – best of all – the champagne bar, with all the ingredients, including recipes, for the perfect champagne cocktail. Tucked away in the basement is The Metro, the hotel’s elegant little bistro/wine bar.

TOP TIP... Wander among the awe-inspiring Cast Courts at the nearby V&A Museum. The 24-metre-high galleries house Michelangelo’s David and that infamous fig leaf.

Doubles from £295 +44 (0)20 7591 1200; thelevinhotel.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 91

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LIME TREE HOTEL BELGRAVIA, SW1

It’s rare to find an affordable hotel in central London; even rarer in smart Belgravia. But the Lime Tree is just that, and what’s more, it has the air of a place in the country, with painted furniture and information and breakfast menus chalked jauntily on blackboards. Matt and Charlotte Goodsall took over the guesthouse from Charlotte’s parents and, after extensive renovation and redecoration, have created a delightful bolthole, with the added bonus of a garden, complete with lawn and potting shed. There are 25 simple, stylish and homely bedrooms, with pretty fabrics and personal touches. One has a small terrace and garden access; another has ‘bookshelves’ wallpaper across one wall that hides the door to the bathroom. Staff are notably friendly and helpful, and single travellers are particularly well looked after. There’s a cosy sitting room, awash with the latest glossy magazines, and breakfast is served at your table in a room full of chatter that feels like home.

TOP TIP... Browse the colourful local boutiques on Elizabeth Street and then indulge in a slap-up lunch at the lovely Thomas Cubitt gastropub.

Doubles from £175 +44 (0)20 7730 8191; limetreehotel.co.uk

THE LONDON EDITION FITZROVIA, W1

As a brand, EDITION is an unlikely collaboration: it combines Marriott Hotels’ experience and global reach with celebrity hotelier Ian Schrager’s ‘lifestyle’ approach...

Schrager goes global; Marriott gets street cred: win, win. The building, formerly the Berners Hotel, dates back to the mid-19th century. Two huge rooms dominate the ground floor: the restaurant and the lobby. Schrager is noted for his hotel lobbies; part social, part business, part fun, and here the various elements combine superbly well, though it’s the fabulous original stucco ceiling that first draws the eye. As for the all-day restaurant, Berners Tavern, operated by the estimable Jason Atherton, it’s an instantly compelling space. With another glorious ceiling, walls plastered with a curated collection of giltframed artworks and huge brass chandeliers, it feels harmonious, warm, opulent and fashionable.

Bedrooms are sleek but – with wood panelling and faux fur throws on the beds – cosy too.

TOP TIP... The galleries of Eastcastle Street and Fitzrovia are a must see for any modern art enthusiast – be sure to visit Getty Images, Alison Jacques and Libby Sellers.

Doubles from £315 +44 (0)20 7908 7900; editionhotels.com/london 92 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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LONDON

THE MARYLEBONE MARYLEBONE

Which born and bred Londoners could ever have dreamed that Marylebone, once dull, dusty and overlooked, could have become such a chic and lively quarter of the city, full of quirky and stylish shops, restaurants and cafés. And now this cosmopolitan community has The Marylebone, a great place for breakfast, lunch or dinner in its sassy 108 Brasserie or simply a drink with friends at the bar. Sister to The Bloomsbury (see page 85) and The Kensington (page 90) in London, as well as The River Lee (page 185) and The Westbury (page 185) in Ireland, the Marylebone is a prime example of a successful new wave of hotel, where it’s fun not just to sleep in one of the calm and contemporary bedrooms, but to while away time in the smart and snappily decorated reception rooms, where a changing display of contemporary art graces the walls. Add the gym, indoor pool and spa, and you have it all. Stay in the penthouse Marylebone Suite with its outdoor fireplace on the terrace and captivating views, and you may refuse to leave.

TOP TIP... Go on a shopping spree in Marylebone village – the neighbourhood is peppered with an abundance of high fashion boutiques.

Doubles from £264 +44 (0)20 7486 6600; doylecollection.com

NUMBER SIXTEEN SOUTH KENSINGTON, SW7

Part of a mid-Victorian, white stucco terrace, Number Sixteen is one of Firmdale’s collection of London Townhouse Hotels, together with Dorset Square (page 88) and Knightsbridge Hotel (page 91). Inside, it is imaginatively decorated

by Kit Kemp in her inimitable contemporary, eclectic style, full of bold colours, joyful collisions of patterns and hand-picked artworks. The ground-floor rooms are flooded with light from floor-to-ceiling windows, and include two gorgeous drawing rooms, a well-stocked library with that trademark of Firmdale Hotels, an honesty bar, and an orangery, leading to a private, leafy garden. On warm days, this is the spot for relaxing in the sun, drinking, eating or meeting friends. It only has 41 rooms, but all the facilities you’d expect from a larger luxury hotel are in place – 24-hour room service, valet, concierge and spoiling in-room Soholistic body and beauty treatments. It’s also a stylish place to eat: breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea are all served in the orangery or the garden in summer.

TOP TIP... Make time to enjoy the hotel’s orangery and beautiful, tree-filled garden, which features handpicked works of art.

Doubles from £282 +44 (0)20 7589 5232; firmdalehotels.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 93

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THE ORANGE PIMLICO, SW1

A one-time Pimlico local, reinvented as a buzzing gastropub and hotel with top-notch food and four appealing rooms. In a handsome, white stucco building on the doorstep of Chelsea, The Orange is part of Cubitt House, which includes The Grazing Goat in Marylebone (see page 89). Inside, you’ll find wooden floors, country furniture, shabby-chic décor and an open fire. Dining is on the ground and first floors, where the modern European menu is market driven. Try the sharing Sunday roast or one of the famous thin-crust pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven, prepared with care and full of flavour. The sunny bedrooms (two standard, two superior) are on the second floor. Best is ‘Pimlico’, charming in a cosy-country way, with original floorboards, lofty beamed ceiling and sash windows dressed in sage linen. All rooms have luxurious king-size beds, air conditioning and bedside radios. The beautifully presented breakfast, including homemade muesli, is just as delicious as dinner.

TOP TIP... A short walk away is Britain’s second oldest botanical garden, the Chelsea Physic Garden, established in 1673.

Doubles from £205 +44 (0)20 7881 9844; theorange.co.uk

THE ORANGE TREE RICHMOND, TW9

There has been an inn on this site since 1780, but the present building, a Young’s pub, is Victorian and highly distinctive with its terracotta brick and white stripes. It’s a local favourite and a contemporary version of the classic public house. The traditional wooden bar is there, but the ground floor has been opened up and there are clusters of tables with comfy chairs and a counter with stools.

The vibe is friendly and inclusive, and there’s a wide choice of craft beers. The food ranges from bubble and squeak with poached freerange egg to exceedingly well-executed pub classics, and you can eat in the pub (including a private alcove, Twickers), in the gardenthemed restaurant, Fentons, or outside. The pub is known for being rugby mad, with shuttle buses to Twickenham and special menus on match days, two drop-down screens and various televisions, so you won’t miss the action wherever you sit. Upstairs, the 13 bedrooms are a delight – fresh, new and full of character.

TOP TIP... Head down to the river and take a lovely boat ride before or after a leisurely stroll through Richmond’s stunning lanes.

Doubles from £119 +44 (0)20 8940 0944; orangetreerichmond.co.uk 94 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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LONDON

THE PORTOBELLO HOTEL NOTTING HILL, W11

In room 16, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp filled the Victorian bath with champagne; Alice Cooper kept his snakes in it; and Tim Burton flooded the room by leaping from the bed into the bath and back again. The Stones, U2, Tina Turner and many other starry names, from music, fashion and show business, also stayed at The Portobello in its heyday. Now, more than 40 years after it first opened, it has been given a new lease of life by Peter and Jessica Frankopan of A Curious Group of Hotels, which includes Cowley Manor (see page 107), L’Hôtel in Paris and Canal House in Amsterdam. Today’s look encapsulates the hotel’s bohemian spirit and that famous bed and bath are still there, amongst many other items from the hotel’s decadent past. Rooms, however, have been brought forward and the decoration judiciously updated using bold colours. Even the minute attic rooms have been cleverly enlarged. At The Portobello today, past and present mix happily together.

TOP TIP... Book the Culturally Curious package with a private two-hour walking tour of past and present-day Notting Hill.

Doubles from £195 +44 (0)20 7727 2777; portobellohotel.com

ROSEWOOD LONDON HOLBORN, WC1

The former Belle Époque headquarters of Pearl Assurance is now part of the ultra-luxury group, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, and one of the capital’s most desirable destination hotels. The stunning building retains its original carriageway entrance, leading to an inner courtyard enclosed by magnificent stone façades. Highlight of the interior is the Grand Pavonazzo marble staircase, which soars to a dizzying 166-foot high cupola.

Other features include rare marble pillars and panels, and Cuban mahogany fittings. Two designers are responsible for the hotel’s fabulous look. Tony Chi created the splendid Rose Bronze Gallery entrance, the jewel box Mirror Room restaurant (a divine setting for executive chef Amandine Chaignot’s fresh and imaginative menu) and 262 glamorous rooms and 44 suites.

Martin Brudnizki designed Holborn Dining Room, a bustling British brasserie, and the wildly popular Scarfes Bar, its walls decorated with Gerald Scarfe’s collection of paintings. Every suite comes with a dedicated butler, and service throughout is as faultless as you’d expect.

TOP TIP... Venture out to The Terrace for unique food and drink offerings in a lush garden setting.

Doubles from £380 +44 (0)20 7781 8888; rosewoodhotels.com/london 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 95

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THE SAVOY BLOOMSBURY, WC1

Its Art Deco front facing The Strand, its Edwardian back to the river, the iconic Savoy was Britain’s first luxury hotel. It was built in the 1880s by Richard D’Oyly Carte, who produced Gilbert and Sullivan operas at his Savoy Theatre next door. Now a Fairmont-managed hotel, it underwent a multi-million pound renovation between 2007 and 2010, which not only restored its former glory but brought it bang up to date.

The 268 gorgeous rooms and suites – some Edwardian, others Art Deco in style – hit all the right notes; the most romantic have views of the Thames. Its restaurants have always been integral to The Savoy and there has never been more choice than there is today, from the relaxed Kaspar’s Seafood Bar and Grill to Gordon Ramsay’s splendid Savoy Grill. Tea is served in the Thames Foyer, and cocktails in the legendary, louche American Bar or the glossy, black and gold Beaufort Bar. A hotel for the 21st century and still the byword for luxury.

TOP TIP... Head over to Covent Garden, just steps away from The Savoy for some of London’s finest shopping, theatre and dining, or explore Somerset House for a spot of culture.

Doubles from £450 +44 (0)20 7836 4343; fairmont.com/savoy-london

THE SLOANE CLUB CHELSEA, SW1

A London home from home for legions of wellheeled country folk, the adorable Sloane Club is as cosmopolitan as cucumber sandwiches and as hip as tea on the vicarage lawn, but also as calm, elegant, well run and reassuringly welcoming as you could wish to find. A private members’ club, it’s open for overnight stays in its comfortable, well-appointed bedrooms, plus spoiling treatments, including Bioeffect facials, in The Sloane Club Spa. Downstairs, you’ll find inviting sitting rooms and a splendid restaurant, a combination of clubby and contemporary that sparkles under its glass roof. Tuck in to the best of British food with your fellow diners: politicians, squires from the shires, perhaps a covey of vicars and boho daughters dining with their dads. In the morning, enjoy a generous breakfast in the pretty garden room and inspect the dozens of affectionate caricatures of toffs at rest and at play – with their dogs and guns, their G&Ts, their gardeners and their village fetes.

You are one of them now.

TOP TIP... The concierge has a bursting little black book – ask for anything, from last-minute Wimbledon tickets to front row seats at the 02.

Doubles from £143 +44 (0)20 7730 9131; sloaneclub.co.uk 96 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE APARTMENTS BY THE SLOANE CLUB CHELSEA, SW1

If you know and love the reassuringly traditional Sloane Club (see opposite), then you will be amazed by its apartments. In a nearby late 19thcentury red brick and stucco building, a mix of studios, one- and two-bed apartments, 18 in all, have been created for both long and short stays. Expecting something nice and sensible?

Even the most stiffly coiffed Sloane Club lady would find her hair standing on end at the shebang that Rosemary Earl, in-house interior designer, and EG Newell Interiors, based in San Francisco, concocted: modern Art Deco with four different colour schemes of red, blue, aqua and taupe. With state-of-the-art streamlined, fully equipped Poggenpohl kitchens, Smart TVs and hotel services (porter, concierge, room service, housekeeping), these apartments are for city slickers. Apartments by Sloane Club? More like Apartments by Beverley Hills. They are different and snazzy and will make you feel glam, for sure.

TOP TIP... The King’s Road is just moments away. Grab your neighbourhood directory, with exclusive discounts to over 100 stores, and get shopping.

Doubles from £220 +44 (0)20 7730 9131; clubapartments.co.uk

THE STAFFORD ST JAMES’S, SW1

Tucked away in the heart of St James’s, The Stafford has history, hidden delights and bags of personality, not least thanks to Master Sommelier Gino Nardella, head barman Ben Provost and head concierge Frank Laino – all characters, all long serving. Its rambling, beautifully presented wine cellars are 380 years old and contain 8,000 bottles of the finest wines, plus memorabilia from their days as wartime bomb shelter. It also has its own secret mews that leads directly off St James’s, and makes a wonderful place for summertime meals and drinks on the cobbles. Here are gorgeous Mews Suites and quintessentially English bedrooms fashioned from the old stables, with further rooms in the main house.

And it has the adorable American Bar. Encrusted with mementoes, from baseball caps to burgees, donated by guests, it was a favourite of US servicemen during the war and remains a bastion of the Manhattan, the Sidecar and the Martini.

And then there’s the tale of wartime heroine Nancy Wake... stay, and all will be revealed.

TOP TIP... Visit Spencer House in St James’s Place on a Sunday. It is London’s finest surviving 18th-century aristocratic palace.

Doubles from £355 +44 (0)20 7493 0111; thestaffordlondon.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 97

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE WINDMILL CLAPHAM, SW4

In a handsome Victorian building on the edge of Clapham Common, The Windmill is one of a clutch of pubs with rooms belonging to Young’s. It has a friendly, homely air and candid, personal service. Young’s has a reputation for paying great attention to the accommodation in its pubs and The Windmill is no exception, with 42 superbly designed and equipped bedrooms. These have painted panelling on the walls, purpose-made furniture and thoughtful details, from digital radios and books to Nespresso machines and luxurious Hypnos beds. Their very reasonable prices are a welcome bonus. Mismatched furniture, leather sofas, open fires and vintage objects, including a birdcage and typewriter, lend the spacious downstairs bar and dining room a relaxed, casual feel. The food here ranges from traditional pub favourites, such as fish and chips, to sizzling prime beef steaks hot off the grill. In summer, there’s an outside burger shack and kitchen, with plenty of space to sit.

TOP TIP... Visit the Clapham Picture House, an independent arthouse cinema showing great classic and cult films.

Doubles from £129 +44 (0)20 8673 4578; windmillclapham.co.uk

THE ZETTER HOTEL CLERKENWELL, EC1

It’s hard to think of a part of London that has changed more than formerly sober Clerkenwell, now home to the world of design and media, plus lively shops, nightclubs and eateries. It was in 2004 that Mark Sainsbury and Michael Benyan converted the old Zetter Football Pools building into this affordable 59-bedroom hotel and helped kickstart the area’s new lease of life.

It immediately hit the spot and today feels as fresh and vibrant as when it first opened, with young, friendly staff (admirably knowledgeable about the area), a strong sustainability policy and a chilled vibe. Bedrooms are funky, with some retro touches; best are the wonderful deluxe rooms on the building’s corners and sensational rooftop studios with wide terraces and bird’s eye views. As for the food (and drink: the hotel has its own well water), the sumptuous yet relaxed Atrium and Club Zetter Wine Room and Kitchen will answer all your needs, be it a hearty breakfast, coffee, brunch, cocktails, the Zetter cheeseburger or more.

TOP TIP... Ask for the little black book of wine at Club Zetter – special bottles bought by The Zetter’s wine fanatic owner, sold at great prices.

Doubles from £246 +44 (0)20 7324 4567; thezetter.com 98 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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LONDON

THE ZETTER TOWNHOUSE CLERKENWELL, EC1

This handsome Georgian building stands across the square from its contemporary sibling, The Zetter (see opposite). It makes a startling contrast, for owners Mark Sainsbury and Michael Benyan deliberately concocted it to look ‘like The Zetter, two hundred years ago’. Top designer Russell Sage has rewarded his clients with not just an essentially English interior that’s absorbing, amusing and detailrich, but a story to go with it. Hence, you’ll find the ‘portrait’ of a feisty looking Georgian era lady whom the team has named Wilhelmina.

It’s a pastiche, of course, but easy to imagine that she is the well-travelled, slightly eccentric owner of the house, especially in the hotel’s enveloping, award-winning cocktail lounge, filled with curiosities, including a stuffed kangaroo. Sit here in front of the fire, sip one of Tony Conigliaro’s delicious concoctions and indulge in celebrated chef Bruno Loubet’s small plates and supper bowls. As for the 13 bedrooms, they are fun, eclectic and brilliantly coloured, with superb attention to detail.

TOP TIP... Book a private cocktail masterclass during your stay and learn from the best.

Doubles from £282 +44 (0)20 7324 4567; thezettertownhouse.com

THE ZETTER TOWNHOUSE MARYLEBONE MARYLEBONE, W1

Pepper London with Zetters, we say. First came The Zetter Hotel (see opposite) and the Zetter Townhouse (above), both in Clerkenwell. Now Marylebone too has been given the Zetter treatment and Wicked Uncle Seymour has opened the doors of his Georgian home, just a stroll away from Hyde Park. Wicked Uncle Seymour? Owners Mark Sainsbury and Michael Benyan love giving back stories to their flamboyant, elegant townhouses and while eccentric Aunt Wilhelmina presides in Clerkenwell, notorious Uncle Seymour is, in spirit at least, your host here. Dark, sumptuous and decadent, his Parlour makes a suitably seductive setting for one of Tony Conigliaro’s bespoke cocktails. The designer is once again Russell Sage, inspired by the eclectic collections of the Sir John Soane Museum, his 24 bedrooms are lavish, quirky and luxurious. It’s fulsome, affordable and makes you smile, and Uncle Seymour’s rakish portrait reminds you not to be good.

TOP TIP... Lear’s Loft is the room to flaunt your inner exhibitionist as the private roof terrace offers al fresco bathing.

Doubles from £282 +44 (0)20 7324 4577; thezettertownhouse.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 99

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The Cotswolds ‘The road stretches far in front of me, lined by Cotswold stone walls and old oak trees.

Light flickering through branches like peppered stars reflecting slowly across the bonnet of my car.

I see a pigeon flying alongside trying to keep pace, and feel the early morning sun kiss my face.

What better way to make you smile, than driving through the Cotswolds mile after mile?’

From JJ Evendon’s Cotswolds, 2015

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Morning Woodlands, Oxfordshire by Ceri Jones (Commended, Take a view 2015) 500px.com/cerijones

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BEST NEW ADDRESS

The Painswick (p110) started life as a grand and beautiful 18th-century village house, which it still is. More recently, it became the very odd Cotswold88 hotel, but now it has reopened as a fabulous restaurant with rooms that hits the spot – stylish, relaxing, great food – with assured ease.

ABOVE: Quintessential Cotswolds BELOW: The inviting sitting room at The Painswick

Green and Pleasant Land O

h, how we love to flock west of a weekend, not only for picture-postcard English countryside and divine mellow stone villages, but also for smart shopping at places like Daylesford and Burford Garden Centre, as well as art galleries, antique shops and posh pubs aplenty. Yes, the Cotswolds are stylish, their roads liberally scattered with 4x4s and the pub regulars more likely to be twirling martinis than downing pints of bitter. And yes, you are entirely likely to spot Cameron and Kate Moss Clarkson, Brooks, Moss et al propping up the bar. But if the Cotswolds were all chic and no sheep, the region simply wouldn’t have the allure that it does. Enjoy the manicured affluence, but dig hardly at all and you will uncover a land rooted in farming and rich in tradition. The sheep-shaped past is evident in the fine churches and manor houses built by wealthy wool merchants and, today, farming still underpins the economy of the area, which covers 800 square miles across six counties. The walking is terrific, the views heavenly.

Combine them with cultured towns such as Cheltenham and Cirencester, and you have an unbeatable short break.

It will be rural and it will be chic.

QUIRKIEST FACT »

The Five Alls (p108) sure is a strange name for a pub, but when you know what it means, you’ll be enchanted. It refers to five human callings: the king, who rules all; the bishop, who prays for all; the lawyer, who pleads for all; the soldier, who fights for all; and the labourer, who works for all.

The dining room at The Five Alls

The Howard Arms

BEST LOCATION

Devilled kidneys at The Wheatsheaf

FAVOURITE DISH

The perfectly seasoned devilled kidneys for breakfast at the lovely The Wheatsheaf Inn in Northleach (p113). Once you’ve tried them, you’re hooked. They’re on the menu at sister hotel No 131 (p109) in Cheltenham too.

Midway between Chipping Camden and Stratfordupon-Avon, The Howard Arms (p108) stands in the charming village of Ilmington, Warwickshire.

It’s as pretty as anywhere in the Cotswolds, but away from region’s well-trodden heartland.

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK; REX FEATURES

The Cotswolds’ rolling hills and postcard-perfect villages have us in their thrall

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THE COTSWOLDS

THE DAYLESFORD EFFECT Kingham

Urban branches may have sprung up but Daylesford’s organic farm shop HQ in rural Gloucestershire remains the place to go. As well as a great selection of organic food and a café complete with wood-fired oven for thin crusted pizzas, natural clothing, skincare and home fragrances by Bamford are sure to tempt.

If you’ve got the time, book into the cookery school to brush up your skills or relax in the spa – it’s a rural shopping paradise. daylesford.com CELEB SPOT Barnsley If you want to catch sight of an A-lister, hang out at The Village Pub in Barnsley. While glancing about, enjoy the local beer and tuck into their traditional with a contemporary touch pub food – cider braised pork belly served with apple, black pudding, crackling and mustard mash is an all-time favourite. Vegetables come from the Barnsley kitchen garden up the road. thevillagepub.co.uk

A FISHY TALE Northleach Coln Valley Smokery’s Scottish salmon is traditionally smoked in brick kilns for a lush texture and a gentle flavour. You should also try their range of gravadlax cured with unusual flavours such as pesto, beetroot, lemon and pepper and, even, Pimms. colnvalley. co.uk

Local Foodie First-class flour and eating dirty

DIRTY FOOD Cirencester

Eat Wild – can you resist?

Run by the talented Thompson brothers, this is ‘dirty food’ done well and with a gamey twist.

Think wild venison burger in a Hobbs House brioche bun, popcorn pheasant or buttermilk fried partridge. eat-wild.co.uk

BUTT OUT South Cerney The Butts farm shop sells really good meat and poultry from pure bred, traditional and rare breeds. As well as the traditional cuts on sale, you can stock up on half a butchered lamb for the freezer – if you know what you’re doing – or try their hand-raised pork pies and pasties. Kids may want to visit the adjoining farm to pet a rabbit or play with the piglets. buttsfarmrarebreeds.co.uk

THE PRADA OF FLOUR Tetbury

Bakers – whether artisanal or home-based – know that for the best of all breads you should use flour from Shipton Mill. Stone-milled for a coarser texture and a distinctive creamy colour, it has been described by one aficionado as the ‘Prada of all flours’.

From organic Irish soda coarse brown bread flour to Italian ciabatta, they have all the flour options covered. shipton-mill.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 103

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

Cotswold Comfort Sebastian Snow at The Five Alls favours big flavours My earliest food memory is of summers in Umbria, with my grandparents. They lived in a converted monastery near Todi and I remember spending hours and hours in their huge kitchen – the coolest place to be during those hot summers – making gnocchi on vast marble slabs. Italian food has been a huge influence ever since.

The best meal I’ve ever eaten was at Lake Annecy on the way home from a student trip. The rest of the group went off to get drunk, while I went off in search of a restaurant and found heaven on a plate – a saddle of sweet, melting lamb, flavoured with mountain herbs and stuffed with kidneys. The sad thing is that I don’t remember the name of the restaurant and although I’ve been back, I’ve never been able to find it again.

The biggest influence on my cooking has been Antony Worrall Thompson – as a chef, he has the touch of an angel, and a spontaneous way of using ingredients.

From him, I learnt not to mess around with them too much – let them do the talking.

It was under his guidance that I changed the way I look at food.

My style of cooking is much the same as it was 20 years ago – although the odd pan-Asian spice creeps in nowadays.

Its essence is flavour and letting the ingredients shine through. What’s

WARM SALAD OF ASPARAGUS, SAMPHIRE, CRAB, AVOCADO, CHERRY TOMATOES AND BABY SPINACH

interesting is seeing dishes come into fashion, go out, come back in again... a perpetual cycle. At the moment my menu is big on cassoulets and pot-au-feu – real comfort food.

My top ingredient is saffron – it embellishes with its colour, aroma and flavour. I use Persian as it’s meant to be the best, and buy best grade loose strands. I then soak it in a liquid – usually olive oil – to maximise the yield and end up with flavoured oil and softened strands for cooking.

My weapon of choice is a Thermomix – I’ve only just bought one and it does almost everything. I’m rather old school and not usually big on gadgets – so you won’t find any water baths here.

Trim off the woody ends of the asparagus spears and cook in boiling water for three to five minutes until tender. Refresh the spears in iced water, drain and cut diagonally into long INGREDIENTS pieces.

Just before MAKES FOUR » 1 bunch asparagus assembling » 200g samphire the salad, » 150g handpicked blanch the white crab meat » 1 avocado samphire » 1 small punnet of in boiling cherry tomatoes water for one » 1 bag baby spinach » 1 lemon minute, drain, » 1 espresso cup and put into good olive oil a mixing bowl with the asparagus, cut cherry tomatoes, slivers of avocado, crab meat and baby spinach leaves. Add enough olive oil to dress, before grating and squeezing the lemon into the bowl. Give it a quick toss and divide between four plates. Note that the salad should not need any salt as samphire is already quite salty.

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BARNSLEY HOUSE

NR CIRENCESTER, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

If you dream of somewhere not too large, but not too small, somewhere effortlessly chic yet close to nature; if you fancy a hotel with a discreet spa, an intimate cinema and a famous garden, then look no further than this gorgeous Cotswold retreat. The handsome 17th-century manor house, surrounded by the richly complex yet natural garden created by renowned horticulturalist Rosemary Verey, has never looked more stunning since it became sister hotel to the admirable Calcot in 2009 (see below). No two bedrooms are the same, but all are cool and comfortable, blending classy furniture and state-of-the-art facilities (such as home cinema surround sound and plasma screens in the bathrooms) that blend with traditional elements like beams, stone fireplaces and wooden floors. As for the lovely Potager Restaurant, elegant, fresh and unfussy food is served in a white and cucumber green, cleverly mirrored room that leads to the prettiest of hotel terraces, overlooking that entrancing garden.

TOP TIP... Pop across the road and make the hotel’s sister, The Village Pub, your local during your stay.

Doubles from £199 +44 (0)1285 740000; barnsleyhouse.com

CALCOT

NR TETBURY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Calcot suits many events – honeymoons, family gatherings, celebrations, spa breaks, country weekends – with equal success. With its roots going back to the 14th century and Cistercian times, the present stone manor became a hotel in 1984. Since then, the surrounding farm buildings have been revived and brought into appropriate play over the years: Calcot is brilliant at moving with the times. Today, it has 35 guest rooms, refreshed and reinvigorated, a gorgeous spa, The Barn for private events, an Ofstedregistered crèche and two restaurants. Rooms in the manor house are designed with couples in mind, while family rooms and suites are housed in converted cottages and barns; deluxe suites come with their own private garden. As well as the the open fire cooking of the Gumstool Inn, the hotel’s principal restaurant, The Conservatory, cuts a scintillating dash for more of an occasion. The sweeping, open-plan space is a buzzing, easy-going, all-day arena, with a diverse menu to match.

TOP TIP... Take advantage of Calcot’s pastureland – circle it on a family bike ride, stroll in romantic coupledom or tackle the outdoor trim trail.

Doubles from £199 +44 (0)1666 890391; calcot.co 106 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE COTSWOLDS

COWLEY MANOR

CHELTENHAM, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

From the outside, it’s a stunning but traditional Italianate manor house in classical lake and cascade-filled grounds; inside, it’s a flawlessly hip hotel, with 21st-century good looks. And although the style is cool, the welcome is warm from the ever helpful staff. After checking into your state-of-the-art room – these come in five categories with plenty for families – you can while away time playing pool in the padded leather Billiards Room, drinking in the funky bar or relaxing on the elegant stone terrace, a suntrap with fabulous views. If you’re inclined to go walking, there are wellies by the front door and, for retail therapy, there’s the Hambledon.

Although the restaurant, Malt, is a magnificent panelled room, the atmosphere is relaxed and the menus (including one for children) concentrate on honest, seasonal British food.

Star of the show, however, is the modernist spa, C-Side, and its two pools. Contemporary bliss-out and stone grandeur, seamlessly blended. What’s more, after closing for a refresh over last winter, it has never looked better.

TOP TIP... Grab a pair of wellies to discover the chain of lower lakes that are deep in the grounds.

Doubles from £195 +44 (0)1242 870900; cowleymanor.com

ELLENBOROUGH PARK CHELTENHAM, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

An outstanding address on the outskirts of Cheltenham, Ellenborough Park is a sumptuous Cotswold stone manor, immaculately restored with no expense spared. Part of the house is new; part dates back to 1500, bristling with turrets and towers. In the 1830s, it was home to the Earl of Ellenborough, who became Governor-General of India. The feel of the Great Hall and the Minstrels’ Gallery recalls the exoticism of India and the then scandalous behaviour of Ellenborough’s beautiful ex-wife Jane Digby, who fetched up in a Bedouin tent.

The designer responsible for reinventing the interior is the masterly Nina Campbell, whose 61 classically English bedrooms are furnished with antiques and heavenly Hypnos beds. With a clutch of awards to his name, executive chef David Kelman skilfully champions Cotswold fare in his menus for The Brasserie and the upmarket Beaufort Dining Room. There’s also an outdoor pool, a gorgeous, intimate spa and a private path leading to Cheltenham Racecourse. During meetings, where better to stay?

TOP TIP... Discover a host of treasures dating back to ancient Rome at Sudeley Castle and Gardens.

Doubles from £199 +44 (0)1242 807720; ellenboroughpark.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 107

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE FIVE ALLS FILKINS, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

With nine attractive, luxurious and kindly priced bedrooms, The Five Alls stands in the charming Cotswold village of Filkins. Behind a diminutive exterior, the pub reveals impressive proportions: a large bar area, two dining rooms and an instantly appealing Alpine-style sitting area in front of a blazing log fire. Constantly buzzing with life, it’s fun, characterful and chilled, all at the same time, and you are as likely to find local resident Kate Moss tucking into Sebastian Snow’s excellent part-comforting, part-refined cooking (tuna sashimi, belly pork, baked Alaska) and equally impressive wine list, as you are a party of adults and kids. And the pub’s 19th-century name? It refers to five human callings, each characterised by an ‘all’: the king, who rules all; the bishop, who prays for all; the lawyer, who pleads for all; the soldier, who fights for all; and the labourer, who works for all. All in all, a very fine place to stay.

TOP TIP... Visit Cotswold Woollen Weavers.

Housed in a converted barn, this picturesque little workshop makes traditional woollen blankets, throws and country tweed clothing on its ancient looms.

Doubles from £115 +44 (0)1367 860875; thefiveallsfilkins.co.uk

THE HOWARD ARMS ILMINGTON, WARWICKSHIRE

On Ilmington’s picturesque village green, here’s an address that’s as useful for taking in a Shakespeare play at Stratford-upon-Avon as it is for visiting the Cotswolds. In the 1950s, The Howard Arms was a famous gastronomic destination; today the food, from head chef Gareth Rufus, is again exactly what one wants in a 300-year-old stone-built inn, with pretty arched windows and a fire burning in the hearth. Expect confidently cooked – mainly English – classics from a seasonal menu, celebrating the best of local suppliers, and a bar menu with old and new favourites. The place, recently beautifully refurbished under ambitious ownership, retains its easy-going charm, yet service is professional.

There are three rooms upstairs and five in the garden wing, each with luxurious beds, duck down duvets and iPod docks, all charmingly and imaginatively decorated. In the morning follow the Apple Walk, devised by the pupils of Ilmington Primary School and inspired by St Mary’s church’s Apple Map, which shows the many orchards that Ilmington had back in 1922.

TOP TIP... Visit Kiftsgate or Hidcote Gardens and bask in natural Cotswold beauty at its best.

Doubles from £95 +44 (0)1608 682226; howardarms.com 108 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE COTSWOLDS

NO. 38 THE PARK

CHELTENHAM, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

As well as The Wheatsheaf in Northleach (see page 113), the brilliant Lucky Onion hotel and pub collection possesses not one but two fabulous addresses (see No. 131 below) in elegant Cheltenham, a town that was once so staid but today is vibrant. And what an address this is.

Tucked into a discreetly genteel and leafy part of town, this fine Georgian house has been converted into a 13-room B&B (dine at No. 131).

Here, everything is sexy and textured, from overstuffed, velvet-padded headboards and mohair throws to over-sized lamps and vast log baskets.

Bathrooms are heaven with underfloor heating, freestanding zinc baths and some boast double showers. The attention to detail is outstanding and the turn-down the best ever; a hot water bottle is tucked under your duvet and a mini flask of milk is left with chocolate dipping sticks.

Breakfast in the contemporary light-filled dining room is equally original: devilled kidneys or smashed avocado, bulgur wheat and poached egg. Berocca tablets even sit in a jar on the buffet for an instant hangover cure.

TOP TIP... Hire all 15 bedrooms and enjoy the townhouse like it’s your own with private chefs.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1242 822929; no38thepark.com

NO. 131

CHELTENHAM, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

The hip place to stay in Cheltenham, No. 131 is a restaurant with rooms that opened in 2013 in a white-stucco Georgian villa. It was rescued from dereliction by husband and wife duo, Sam and Georgie Pearman, dedicated, talented hoteliers who also own the Wheatsheaf at Northleach (see page 113) and No. 38 The Park, also in Cheltenham (see above). The Pearmans refurbished No. 131 with flair, paying particular attention to detail but never forgetting its 18thcentury heritage. The elegance of the upstairs restaurant is complemented by the relaxed buzz of the downstairs restaurant and bar, Crazy Eights. Food is seasonal and mainly organic, from a menu that focuses on prime cuts, cooked in a wood-fired Josper oven, and fresh seafood.

The bedrooms, in three different categories, are luxurious cocoons with Hypnos beds, glorious Egyptian cotton linen, original British paintings, reconditioned antique radiators and, in some, Rogeat Lyon baths. Nothing has been overlooked – not even hot water bottles.

TOP TIP... Stay in the loop and join The Lucky Onion Club to hear about fantastic events coming up throughout the year at No. 131.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1242 822939; no131.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 109

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE PAINSWICK

PAINSWICK, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

A glorious combination of eclecticism, heavenly food and creature comforts, all set in one of the Cotswolds’ prettiest towns. Until recently it was the overwrought Cotswold 88 hotel, but having been acquired by The Calcot Collection it’s been transformed into a relaxingly chic haven with ace cuisine and fabulous views over the Slad valley.

The new owners are masters at the art of creating laid-back luxury, having developed Calcot (see page 106), Barnsley House (page 106) and the Lord Crewe Arms (page 147). They’ve worked their magic on this 18th-century mansion, conjuring an arty, subtly funky feel in the sitting rooms and furnishing the 16 bedrooms in soothing tones and characteristic attention to detail. The Painswick is billed as a restaurant with rooms, a justified fanfare for chef Michael Bedford, previously at The Trouble House in Tetbury and The Chef’s Table. His menus are brilliantly inventive and wonderfully seasonal.

Breakfast in the sunny restaurant is a delight too; don’t miss the zinging apple and ginger tonic.

TOP TIP... Those walking The Cotswold Way should energise or reward themselves with afternoon tea at this midway point.

Doubles from £119 +44 (0)1452 813688; thepainswick.co.uk

THE PLOUGH AT KELMSCOTT KELMSCOTT, LECHLADE

If anyone knows how to make a hitherto run-down country pub fresh, fun and relevant today, it’s Sebastian and Lana Snow.

They’ve got that magic touch and just as at their other Cotswolds pub, The Five Alls (see page 108), they have given the picturepretty Plough Inn a pitch-perfect new look.

The bar and restaurant spread across the ground floor: stylish yet homely, with cosy corners and original features such as flagstone floors, old beams and roaring fires. Upstairs, there are eight bedrooms, decorated in soft colours, with king size beds and excellent, attractive bathrooms with powerful showers and Ren products. Sebastian’s food is always a joy and here he is aided by head chef Matt Read, who worked with Sebastian at his former London restaurant, Snows on the Green.

Expect the best modern British comfort food, with a locally sourced, daily changing menu.

TOP TIP... Fans of William Morris (who isn’t?) should make a beeline to his former home; Kelmscott Manor is a two-minute walk from The Plough.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1367 253543; theploughinnkelmscott.com 110 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE COTSWOLDS

THORNBURY CASTLE THORNBURY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Thornbury Castle is the real deal: so real that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn stayed here and Princess Mary, later Queen Mary I, lived here.

Even its founder met a typically Tudor end: executed on trumped-up charges of treason, having been betrayed, like his father before him, by people close to him. ‘Both felled by our servants, by those men we loved the most,’ as his character in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII cries out before the chop. There followed centuries as a picturesque ruin before the Howard family transformed it in Victorian times into a splendid private residence. All the panelling and decorative features you find inside either date from this time, or are hand-crafted modern reproductions, including much of the furniture. It has a magnificent Tudor walled garden, fine dining, in-room spa treatments and even its own vineyard. But best of all, it’s an authentic magnificent, thundering castle.

TOP TIP... Dine by candlelight beneath the stalwart walls of the Tudor castle in the 16th-century dungeon, surrounded by an award-winning wine collection.

Doubles from £195 +44 (0)1454 281182; thornburycastle.co.uk

THYME

SOUTHROP MANOR ESTATE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Paradise in glorious Cotswold countryside, Thyme offers luxurious, flexible accomodation in a collection of fine stone buildings. It’s classy, understated and far more than just a hotel. Food is its raison d’être, with first-class chefs, a highly regarded cookery school and most produce is sourced directly from its own kitchen farm and gardens. Breakfast is in the stunning Tithe Barn: lunch and dinner in The Swan, Thyme’s charming village pub, while The Baa is equally fun and stylish for coffee, lunch, tea or botanical cocktails.

Guests can book to stay in a bedroom or cottage suite. Enjoy drinks on the terrace, boules in the walled garden and games by a log fire. The rooms are decorated with great attention to detail and furnished with every conceivable comfort. For more independence and your own living space, go for one of the two cottages. If you are bringing young children and dogs with you, Old Walls welcomes both.

TOP TIP... Alongside classes at its cookery school, Thyme offers sustainable, seasonal forages and newly launched early bird walks with in-house ethnobotanist, Claudio Bincoletto.

Doubles from £260 +44 (0)1367 850174; thyme.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 111

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE TROUT AT TADPOLE BRIDGE BUCKLAND MARSH, OXFORDSHIRE

What a delightful spot. It’s here that the infant Thames is at its most peaceful, slipping past miles of understated countryside, rich in wildlife. Downstream from Tadpole Bridge are the wildflower meadows and wading birds of the Chimney Nature Reserve; across the fields is Bampton, one of the prettiest villages in the county. Kelmscott Manor lies farther along the river, while Blenheim Palace and Cotswold Water Park are within easy reach.

It’s hard to think of a better base for a weekend away. Many customers arrive by boat: The Trout’s spacious garden runs down to the water, where there are moorings for patrons. The neat, old brick inn has all the hallmarks of a carefully modernised pub with rooms, one that adds up to an appealing, unpretentious, family-friendly whole. Winning ingredients include lovely bedrooms that make you stop in surprise; a clutch of faithful regulars propping up the bar; hearty classics on the dinner menu in an elegant room; and cheerful local staff.

TOP TIP... Ramble the Thames walk and dine al fresco from the outdoor barbecue and smoker.

Doubles from £130 +44 (0)1367 870382; troutinn.co.uk

WHATLEY MANOR HOTEL & SPA MALMESBURY, WILTSHIRE

This beautiful Cotswold country manor hotel, set in 12 acres of English gardens, makes a popular choice for Londoners who crave a sybaritic weekend away. Three miles from the quaint market town of Malmesbury, Whatley Manor offers 23 individually designed rooms. Unwind in the Aquarias Spa, where features include an indoor/outdoor hydrotherapy pool, a series of heated relaxation experiences and spoiling La Prairie and ‘beyond organic’ ila spa treatments. Relax in the 26 garden areas or watch a film in the 40-seat cinema. Tranquillity is never far away. There’s a refreshing lack of pomp in The Dining Room, where Martin Burge’s innovative seasonal cuisine has attracted two Michelin stars for an impressive eight consecutive years. Choose dishes from across three inspired seven-course tasting menus – Signature, Seasonal and Vegetarian. Or opt for Le Mazot, the casual brasserie that evokes the relaxed ease of a Swiss chalet and serves seasonal dishes, as well as steaks cooked by you on a hot stone at your table.

TOP TIP... Visit Tetbury, a local town with royal connections and heaps of country style.

Doubles from £325 +44 (0)1666 822888; whatleymanor.com 112 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE COTSWOLDS

THE WHEATSHEAF NORTHLEACH, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

This stylishly decorated former coaching inn serves as a genuine hub for the local community around handsome Northleach.

It combines an informal, warmly welcoming atmosphere, courtesy of its young owners Sam and Georgie Pearman, with the attributes of a fully-fledged hotel, including glamorous private dining room, relaxing sitting room and charmingly rustic treatment room. Locals crowd into the Game Bar for coffees, drinks and light meals, or dine under the beady eyes of the doughty Wills tobacco family, whose early 20th-century portraits, bought at auction, decorate one wall of the attractive dining room, gleaming with polished wood. The 14 bedrooms are imaginatively decorated and beautifully equipped, including luxurious Hypnos beds and Egyptian cotton linens. As for chef Ethan Rodgers’ cooking, it doesn’t miss a beat; required eating are his devilled kidneys at breakfast: will you ever taste better?

TOP TIP... Book in for a full body massage in the 100 Acres treatment room, located in the garden.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1451 860244; cotswoldwheatsheaf.com

THE WILD RABBIT KINGHAM, OXFORDSHIRE

Heralded by two endearing floppy-eared topiary bunnies flanking the entrance, The Wild Rabbit is both a Cotswold hotspot and a haven of eco-elegance. Just a few fields away from sister enterprise Daylesford, the organic farm shop, café, deli and wellness retreat of Carole Bamford, it draws well-heeled locals and weekenders in equal measure to meet, eat, party, chill and – if they want – bed down for the night in great comfort. The moment you step inside, the mellow space invites instant relaxation, with a long bar, open fires, comfy sofas and armchairs. The restaurant – think boho-chic farmhouse kitchen – lies behind, with its pewter-hung dresser, long wooden tables adorned with prodigious hedgerow arrangements and busy chefs in view. Tim Allen, previously at Launceston Place, is now the culinary mastermind and his food takes diners on a gourmet taste adventure. This Wild Rabbit is sophisticated convivial and informal and the 12 bedrooms, symphonies in designer cream and taupe, are luxurious sanctums of rustic-chic.

TOP TIP... Visit The Bamford Haybarn for specialist treatments as well as yoga and pilates classes with resident experts.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1608 658389; thewildrabbit.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 113

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Mid Country ‘I’m pretty tired of being stuck in between you two in this family affair/The south, youngest child, got all the attention/Looking down on us like we’re not above you geographically/The north, eldest child, had it the worst and don’t we all know it/Midlands middle child, stuck between the squabbling/South of York doesn’t mean I’m southern, north of Potters Bar doesn’t mean I am northern/I’ve got the NEC, Bullring, National Space Centre and Jewellery Quarter in my belly.

I’m the Midlands, I’m at the heart of this country.’

From Toby Campion’s From the Midlands, 2014

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Alight, Broadway Tower, Worcestershire by Jeremy Barrett (Commended, Take a view 2015) vuzephotography.co.uk

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BEST SURPRISE

In what other of Britain’s luxury country-house hotels would you find the depth and continuity of service at wondrous Hambleton Hall (p121)? The head chef, sommelier, restaurant director and general manager have notched up 80 years of service at the hotel between them.

ABOVE: Chatsworth House BELOW: Bird’s eye view of Hambleton Hall

Middling, but not Average T

here’s the north of England and there’s the south of England, and the battling pair are often pitted against one another, each convinced of their superiority. And then there’s the bit in between, the Midlands, which can all too easily be ignored. But do so at your peril. Between Oxford in the south and Sheffield in Lincoln Cathedral the north, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire in the east and the Welsh borders in the west, England’s Mid Country takes in Shakespeare’s birthplace, the Industrial Revolution, the beautiful Belvoir Valley, Rutland Water, mysterious fenland and miles of empty rolling hills. Fail to explore and you’ll miss Lincoln and Chester cathedrals, Georgian Stamford, Chatsworth House, the Malvern Hills, the Wye Valley and so very Stratford, Shakepeare’s birthplace much more.

QUIRKIEST FACT »

At Hart’s Hotel (p122) in Nottingham, the cool and contemporary restaurant used to be rather different: it was the A&E department of the city’s former hospital. A different, and very agreeable form of resuscitation, in the shape of Dan Burridge’s modern English dishes and an excellent wine list, takes place there now.

Fort Henry at Exton Park

BEST ACTIVITY

Take one of Barnsdale Lodge’s (p120) bikes and cycle into Exton Park, where a hidden gem awaits. On a lake filled with waterlillies and host to many swans, Fort Henry, a magical, mock-Gothic fishing folly built in 1788 for Henry, Earl of Gainsborough, is a truly romantic – and little visited – site.

The restaurant at Hart’s Hotel was formerly an A&E department

FAVOURITE DISH

Fish and chips and mushy peas in front of the fire in the charming bar of the The Peacock at Rowsley (p123), sets you up nicely for a visit to Haddon Hall, ‘the most perfect house to survive the Middle Ages’ and home of the hotel’s owner, Lord Edward Manners.

Haddon Hall PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

Ignore the Midlands at your peril

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MID COUNTRY

CHINA TEA, BARLASTON, Stoke-on-Trent

You could spend a whole day at The World of Wedgwood in Barlaston. There’s the museum that houses the Wedgwood Collection, selfguided and guided factory tours to watch the craftsmen at work and you can even throw your own pot. Tea in the Wedgwood Tea Room is a must with finger sandwiches, scones, cake and a choice of over 50 of Wedgwood’s finest teas, all served on the finest Wedgwood china of course. worldofwedgwood.com CHEESE CRAFT Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire Famous for hand-raised pork pies, as you might expect, Melton Mowbray is home to the British Pie Awards (check britishpieawards.co.uk for this year’s dates). But it also boasts The Artisan Cheese Fair held, appropriately, in the cattle market where you can admire, sample and buy a whole range of British cheeses made by our top specialty cheesemakers. artisancheesefair.co.uk

ALL ABOUT PLUMS Pershore, Worcestershire The Pershore Plum Festival takes place right in the middle of Pershore on 29 August, bank holiday Monday. Possibly Britain’s only dedicated plum festival, there’s Plum Alley with a plum pound store and local plum growers on hand to give plum advice, a plum bazaar with lots of stalls selling all different varieties of plums and plum-related products and a food village in Abbey Park nearby. pershoreplumfestival.org.uk

Local Foodie Plums aplenty and fine bone china

BEST BRUNCH Sherwood, Notts

The Kiosk in Sherwood is the place for great breakfasts, brunches or lunches with the occasional open evenings thrown in. Housed in a converted shipping container and run by foodie fanatic Beth Marriott Howell, almost everything is cooked from scratch every day and as locally sourced as possible. kiosksherwood.co.uk

PHOTOS: MARTIN PARR; URSULA KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY

MAGICAL MUFFINS With five branches in Market Harborough, Oakham, Stamford, Exton and West Bridgford, Hambleton Bakery’s bread never fails to deliver the alluring flavour of proper bread as made with unadulterated organic flour, salt and water in the slow, traditional processes. A particular favourite is their light and airy English muffins – perfect lightly toasted with scrambled eggs or eggs Benedict. hambletonbakery.co.uk

GIN GALORE Nanpantan, Leicestershire

With craft-made gins launching all over the country, there’s a gin revival going on and here is your chance to blend your own.

Book into 45 Gin School, home to Burleighs London Dry Gin, and first off there is a tour of the distillery; next you will learn how to distill it yourself, choose and blend the botanicals to give it the right balance for you and finally how to bottle it. 45ginschool.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 117

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Hall of Fame

EEL AND POTATO SALAD

Hambleton Hall’s Aaron Patterson could not live without his Thermomix My earliest memory is mother’s rice

pudding. It was creamy, packed with vanilla and had a proper crust. She would cook it on Sundays, it was heaven.

I’ve been influenced by lots of people along the way. My parents both worked in the industry, so first off was my dad. He made Marco Pierre White look like a pussycat, so by the time I was a teenager and had helped out in his kitchen, I was fully seasoned and toughened up. I was inspired by Nick Gill of Hambleton Hall but I learnt discipline from Clive Fretwell when he ran the kitchens at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons and I was a mere sous chef.

My style of cooking changed when I turned 40, I had a complete turnaround. If before it was complicated – and, dare I say, a bit fussy, with too much going on and too many bits and pieces – I’ve now simplified it. I set out to really focus on the main ingredient and deliver far greater clarity of flavour and a clearer message. It’s sharper cooking.

Two great food experiences I enjoyed when I was changing my style and was ‘forced’ to eat out a lot were at The Ledbury, where I ate a superb lobster tail simply sliced with shiitake mushrooms, and The Connaught, where Hélène Darroze served up a clafoutis of white Alba truffles. Both offered an unforgettable intensity of flavours.

For my desert island dish I’d choose something simple, so it would have to be a slow-cooked shoulder of lamb studded with garlic and rosemary, placed on a bed of thinly sliced potatoes – no more that half an inch thick – and cooked all day in a slow oven. I’d add sliced vegetables a couple of hours before serving, when it is meltingly soft, tender and with bags of flavour.

My weapon of choice is a Thermomix – it does everything, even grate cheese.

Remove eel fillets and debone, save the carcass. Boil 200ml water and add butter, salt, then the lemon juice. Portion (around 50g) and lightly poach eel fillets in this emulsion, which should be retained for the vegetables.

Wash, trim and blanch the baby leeks.

Serve coated in the emulsion. Season.

Slice the pink firs lengthways, 2cm thick, boil till soft with thyme, mint and salt. Cool down and shape INGREDIENTS with a small cutter. Reheat in the emulsion and season.

SERVES 2 FOR THE DISH Sweat the shallots, potato, » 1 eel, around 800g leeks, mushrooms, bacon, » 4 baby leeks thyme and garlic. Add the » 2 pink fir potatoes » Small jar caviar white wine, cream and chicken stock, reduce by a third. Add FOR THE EMULSION » 200ml water eel bones and reduce until the » 250g butter sauce just coats the back of a » Salt spoon. Blend with watercress » Juice from half a lemon (save a few leaves to serve), pass FOR THE SAUCE through a fine sieve and season » 10 button mushrooms » 3 shallots to taste with lemon juice, salt » Sprig thyme and pepper. Whisk the egg » 2 garlic cloves yolks and water over a bain » 2 slices chopped smoked bacon marie till foamy, spoon into » 1 potato the sauce at the last second. » ½ big leek Place three of the small » 200g baby watercress » 500ml chicken stock potato pieces on the plate and » 500ml double cream top with eel portions, topped » 500ml white wine with baby leeks and caviar. » 2 egg yolks » 150ml water Spoon the sauce around the plate, garnish with watercress.

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BARNSDALE LODGE OAKHAM, RUTLAND

On the north shore of Rutland Water, Barnsdale Lodge makes an exceptional base for exploring the area, whether by foot, boat or bike. Formerly a farmhouse, it stands on the Exton Park estate of the Earls of Gainsborough, and was converted by Thomas Noel in 1989. Today it’s run with impressive commitment by Managing Director Ed Burrows and General Manager Paul Freeman and, for the quality of the rooms, food, and location, represents excellent value for money.

The 45 bedrooms are individually furnished with views of the countryside or on to the pretty courtyard garden that lends the hotel both charm and a sense of spaciousness.

The ground floor is engaging, warm and welcoming, with a long, cosy flagstone hallway with original cast iron stove; picture-filled, warm red sitting room; conservatory dining room; new relaxing garden room, perfect for a coffee or pre-dinner drink, and another dining room that has a clubby feel fit for the hotel’s aristocratic owner.

TOP TIP... Get pampered at Glow, the hotel’s very own hair salon.

Doubles from £100 +44 (0)1572 724678; barnsdalelodge.co.uk

THE CAVENDISH HOTEL BASLOW, DERBYSHIRE

For a warm Derbyshire welcome, gracious bedrooms and an exceptional setting, this 250-year-old coaching inn, overlooking the Chatsworth Estate, surely ticks all the boxes.

Stroll across fields dotted with Limousin cows, then through stately parkland, and you are soon at the great house, resplendent after its recent restoration with gleaming scrubbed sandstone, gilded windows and carvings. The Duke of Devonshire owns the Cavendish Hotel, which is run by Peak Hotel Management, maintaining quirky personal touches: marmalade to take home; walls crammed with over 300 oil paintings, watercolours and prints, and a divinely glamorous chef’s table amidst the bustle of the kitchen. In the elegant dining room, head chef Alan Hill’s admirably fresh and simple cooking mixes classic French cuisine with a modern English twist – don’t miss his Dorset crab mayonnaise served with chicory or his mum’s recipe for lemon tart. One thing is for certain: once ensconced in this fine building, in a most beautiful setting, you won’t want to leave.

TOP TIP... Walk across parkland to Chatsworth, home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

Doubles from £205 +44 (0)1246 582311; cavendish-hotel.net 120 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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MID COUNTRY

HAMBLETON HALL OAKHAM, RUTLAND

Of all the luxury British country-house hotels that have opened their doors in the last halfcentury, just one, Hambleton Hall, has remained impervious to fortune and is as fresh, magical and enveloping as the day its owners, Tim and Stefa Hart, first welcomed guests over 35 years ago. Contented but never complacent, it offers no more than sophisticated yet deeply comfortable classic English interiors, the brilliant locally sourced cooking of Michelin-starred chef Aaron Patterson, and a joyous wine list curated by revered sommelier Dominique Baduel. There’s a swimming pool, tennis court, fine kitchen garden and views across Hambleton’s southfacing terrace and formal gardens that catch the breath. The house surveys Rutland Water, perfect for boating and fishing, watching wildlife and walking or cycling around its perimeter.

After an afternoon in the fresh air, Hambleton’s many aficionados return to their haven, a healing sanctuary away from the stresses of life.

For absolute peace, take the wonderful croquet pavilion 40 metres from the house.

TOP TIP... Walk or cycle round the Hambleton peninsula to catch a glimpse of the ospreys.

Doubles from £270 +44 (0)1572 756991; hambletonhall.com

HAMPTON MANOR

HAMPTON-IN-ARDEN, WEST MIDLANDS

Give yourselves a treat and spend a night or two at this brilliant new address. Family-owned and run by a creative, hard-working team behind them, Hampton Manor is refreshingly full of life and imagination. In the vein of The Pig hotels, James and Fjona Hill have created a place that’s laid back, fun and full of stylish, thoughtful touches, including spoiling bedrooms. There’s a spacious and serene parlour where you can indulge in a memorable afternoon tea or sip an inventive cocktail, while Peel’s restaurant is set in a gem of a panelled dining room, decorated with beautiful handpainted Fromental wallpaper, with food to match. Staff are dressed casually in chinos and tweed waistcoats… indeed it’s the little touches that count: those uniforms; firepits on the terrace at night; a Lalani Tea bar in the Parlour; handsome waiters who are funny too; spirited room information; spa treatments. All in all, Hampton Manor is the business.

TOP TIP... The couple have handcrafted a field guide so you can explore like a local.

Seek out the 800 year old church and the lakeside walks.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1675 446080; hamptonmanor.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 121

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HART’S

NOTTINGHAM

It was in 1997 that Tim and Stefa Hart, owners of the sublime Hambleton Hall (see page 121), transformed the old A&E department of Nottingham’s former Victorian hospital into Hart’s Restaurant, a light and airy space serving superb modern British dishes. Refurbished

by Stefa last August, it is now resplendent in burnt orange and cobalt blue, with a cosy bar area. Next to the restaurant is Hart’s hotel, purpose-built in 2003, with striking lines, curved buttresses, a dashing yet welcoming lobby and softly furnished, light-filled residents’ bar.

Bedrooms are faultlessly equipped, with high ceilings and plenty of natural light. Eight have private terraces, and all but eight inward-facing rooms present an unexpected surprise and a great bonus: a far-flung view across the city to the countryside beyond. In the foreground: the remarkable Park residential estate, begun by the Duke of Newcastle in the 1820s and well preserved today. In the distance: the cooling towers of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station – like a giant crouching on the horizon.

TOP TIP... Visit Nottingham Contemporary, one of Britain’s largest centres for contemporary art.

Doubles from £134 +44 (0)115 988 1900; hartsnottingham.co.uk

LANGAR HALL

NOTTINGHAM, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

Langar Hall is Imogen Skirving. Gradually, over the past 26 years, she has transformed her home (a stuccoed, apricot-washed Georgian house, which has been in the family since 1860) into an instantly likeable hotel that mixes character with style (English, with a strong dash of India, with which she has close ties) to perfection. Imogen has a kind word for everyone, her key staff echo her warmth and children are welcome. The 13 bedrooms are all adorable, while the heart of the hotel is the restaurant with its reputation for unpretentious, good food (classic English with a twist). Langar Hall stands in the Vale of Belvoir, next to the village church, surrounded by a mature garden and overlooking medieval carp ponds. ‘When people ask me about having strangers in my house,’ says Imogen, ‘I simply say that I love it.’ When she took over, her aim was to allow this magical place to survive into the 21st century. In doing so, she has created something that is now almost unique.

TOP TIP... Visit Belvoir Castle, just a short drive away. Don’t miss the art collection, which features Gainsboroughs and Reynolds.

Doubles from £110 +44 (0)1949 860559; langarhall.com 122 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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MID COUNTRY

THE PEACOCK AT ROWSLEY ROWSLEY, DERBYSHIRE

With charmingly eclectic decoration, The Peacock is a hybrid: part fishing inn (on the River Wye); part serious hotel (well-trained staff); part hip hangout (it has sheltered Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson). Once the dower house for Haddon Hall it was built in 1652 and has been a hotel since 1820. Today, it combines modern luxuries with a sense of the family history of its owner, Lord Edward Manners, including delightful sketches of the great and the good of the day by Lord Edward’s great grandmother. Put the hotel into context by visiting captivating Haddon Hall (guests receive half-price entry) and then return to the Peacock, whose bedrooms are delightful and the food outstanding. Chef Dan Smith’s creative and beautifully presented dishes are served both in the handsome restaurant and the more intimate Wye Room, with simpler dishes in the atmospheric traditional bar. The hotel’s aim is to make everyone feel at home, and it does.

TOP TIP... Book on a Friday or Saturday to indulge in the tasting menu – eight seasonal courses paired with excellent wines.

Doubles from £190 +44 (0)1629 733518; thepeacockatrowsley.com

THE WILLIAM CECIL STAMFORD, LINCOLNSHIRE

A happy accident of geography, geology and politics has allowed Stamford to remain the ‘finest stone town in England’ since its rise to prominence, thanks to the wool trade, centuries ago. At the meeting point of four counties, it remains a little-known delight, with notable sights including the oldest assembly rooms in the provinces and charming Browne’s Hospital almshouses.

An hour’s walk takes you to Burghley House, and it is the magnificent Burghley Estate to which The William Cecil belongs. Now, as befits a Hillbrooke Hotel – which excels in quirky, affordable luxury (see The Master Builder’s, page 52) – The William Cecil sports 27 Classic, Chic and Luxury bedrooms, richly decorated and oozing comfort and imaginative style. Downstairs, a relaxed bar and restaurant is the setting for simple, tasty, seasonal food. Friendliness is at the heart of The William Cecil – which could also be said of Stamford itself.

TOP TIP... The hotel is perfectly located to visit Rutland Water, one of the largest artificial lakes in Europe, set in 4,200 acres of rural countryside.

Doubles from £99 +44 (0)1780 750070; thewilliamcecil.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 123

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East Anglia ‘The river flows on surges over and under me, marsh lover, mud flipper down amongst the groundlings, moorhens, blue-lights, sweet-shallow-mornings.’

From Julia Webb’s Yare Song, 2001

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View of the River Thurne at Sunset, Norfolk by Bill Allsopp (Commended, Take a view 2015) billallsopp.co.uk

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BEST LOCATION

One of the most romantic settings in the country belongs to Cley Windmill (p130), which looks out across the marshes for miles around. Climb to the lookout at the top for a bird’s eye view.

ABOVE: Holkham Beach BELOW: Cley Windmill

Eastern Appeal East Anglia is renowned for its big skies and broad beaches, but just don’t expect mountains

QUIRKIEST FACT »

Congham Hall’s gorgeous garden

Congham Hall’s (p130) renowned Herb Garden includes over 400 varieties, including rare medicinal plants, such as goat’s rue, once used to treat the plague.

Take to the Broads

« BEST ACTIVITY

Be sure to take the Norfolk Mead’s (p132) luxurious launch, tied up on the backwater at the end of the garden, for a day out on the Broads.

BEST SURPRISE »

The Pier at Harwich (p133) – located opposite the original Ha’penny Pier, from where the packets used to leave for the Continent in Victorian times – has had a brilliant makeover... it’s cool, breezy and seaside fresh, and so is the fish that it serves.

The Pier at Harwich

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

W

hether you think of the Newmarket races, Colman’s English mustard, epic skies, uninhabited beaches that stretch for miles, those pretty Lavenham high street pink Suffolk houses, evocative churches or the gentle Norfolk Broads, you’re bound to have a firmly held preconception about East Anglia. However, England’s eastern hip is rich and diverse.

Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex pack a mighty weekend punch. You might head for the marvellous beaches Snape Maltings fringing the curved coastline of Norfolk and Suffolk, where the bird-watching is as much of a draw as boating, crabbing and building sandcastles. Or to the wetlands of the Broads, once so popular for cheap holidays on bobbing cruisers, now a far calmer and evocative landscape filled with wild flowers and charming backwaters. Across East Anglia, there are stately homes, ruined castles, medieval churches and half-timbered wool towns; there’s music at Snape Maltings and in Aldeburgh, the setting for Benjamin Britten’s masterpiece, Peter Grimes, which also hosts a superb annual literary festival. In Southwold, you’ll find an arty crowd of actors and writers and good shopping too, as well as in other lively Georgian towns such as Holt and Burham Market.

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EAST ANGLIA

SUPPER CLUB Cley Next The Sea, Norfolk

Old Town Hall House, opposite the Cley Smokehouse famous for its smoked fish and Cromer crab (cleysmokehouse.com), is a B&B with a difference. Run by James and Jennie Walker, James has ‘cheffed’ for the best – London’s The Ritz and Paris’ Lucas Carton to name but two. On Friday nights only, he runs a supper club. As spaces are highly sought after, booking is essential for the no-choice, fivecourse dinner with seasonal produce cooked with a French twist. oldtownhallhouse.com PUB BROTHERS, Chelmsford, Essex

BIG BUTTER, Bungay, Suffolk Now that butter has been given the all clear and is back on our eating agendas, let’s give a big welcome to Bungay Raw Butter. Rich, creamy and waist-expandingly good, it is made by Fen Farm Dairy in Bungay. Using the full fat cream from their French breed of cows, they ‘ripen’ it by using a lactic culture (for the uninitiated, this means butter in the French style of ripened cream) before it is churned and then patted with traditional butter pats. fenfarmdairy.co.uk

Local Foodie

The Galvin Brothers, chef-restaurateurs Chris and Jeff, always get it spot on. If you’ve eaten at London’s Bistrot de Luxe and La Chapelle or The Pompadour in Edinburgh, you’ll know what we mean. Imagine the anticipation when they announced they are launching into pubs and have bought The Green Man in Chelmsford.

Re-opening this summer, we can’t wait to go. galvinrestaurants.com

Native saffron and the freshest of fish

« BEAN TO BAR Orford, Suffolk

Although it only opened a few years ago, Pump Street Bakery seems very settled in the quiet town of Orford, as if it has been there for decades. As well as first-rate hand crafted bread, they make bean to bar chocolate.

When passing, pop in for a sumptuous mug of hot chocolate made with their very own bars. pumpstreetbakery.com

PHOTOS: © NORFOLK SAFFRON

FANTASTIC MR FISH Cromer, Norfolk No 1 Cromer is exactly what you might hope for from a fish and chip shop. Perched on the cliff in Cromer and overlooking the North Sea, downstairs is for quick-serve takeaway or eat-in, while upstairs is certainly posher and with a fuller but still fishy menu. Wherever you eat, the quality is undeniable – crisp light batter with everything cooked to order – no wonder it is doing a roaring trade. no1cromer.com

« MINE’S A PINT Cambridge

Taking its inspiration from the beer houses of the 1830s, The Pint Shop in the centre of Cambridge has a surprisingly sparse, almost ’40s utilitarian look. Open all day, it serves beer, wine, over 20 different gins and unashamedly gutsy, boy food.

It’s a good place to linger, munching on deep fried back ribs or beer brined chicken and chips. pintshop.co.uk

SACRED SAFFRON, Norfolk The Romans introduced saffron to the East of England – with Saffron Walden as its trading post. Locals are thrilled that Norfolk Saffron has reintroduced it to the area.

The quantities grown may be small but the quality and flavour are indisputable. norfolksaffron.co.uk

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

Buck Up Stuart Tattersall at the Gunton Arms is lucky to have venison on tap My earliest food memory is eating fish and chips sitting on the harbour wall in Whitby with my mum, dad and brother John.

I must have been about six or seven at the time and I can still smell the harbour mixed with the freshly fried fish.

My style of cooking is British country cooking. Having made the transfer from London to the depths of Norfolk, my style has changed. I’ve joined the school of seasonal food and adopted a field to fork approach. It’s a privilege just watching the cycle of the seasons outside.

Simon Hopkinson is my food hero. He is an honest cook with integrity. His depth of knowledge and his ability to strip away the mystique that so often surrounds food is exemplary. He’s what I think of as a no-nonsense cook and the master of marrying ingredients.

My favourite piece of kit is the open fire over which so much of our food is prepared. It’s a primeval way of cooking – inspired incidentally by Robert et Louise in Paris, but here we can use wood from the estate. The fire adds a smoky dimension and heats up the steel plates (on which we actually cook) to a really high temperature. Chuck on a piece of beef and the intense heat caramelises the marbled fat to give it a unique, nutty flavour.

The Basque country is on my bucket list of places to eat. It’s the home of open fire cooking, so I could watch and learn from the professionals. Otherwise it has to be The French Laundry in Napa Valley. Thomas Keller has a reputation for his skill and ability when it comes to flavour.

My top ingredient is venison. After all we are in the middle of a deer park – so I couldn’t say anything else. There’s a choice of the smaller fallow deer with its more refined flavour or the larger red deer that delivers a better yield. We take the whole carcass and utilise it all, from sausages and our sausage rolls in the bar to steaks, stews and fillets – the whole lot!

INGREDIENTS SERVES FOUR » 300–350g brown crab meat » 150–200g white crab meat » Salt and freshly ground white pepper » 2-3 tbsp good quality mayonnaise » Generous selection of wild herbs and choice lettuce leaves » Butter for spreading » 1 lemon, quartered

CROMER CRAB AND WILD HERB SALAD

Break up the brown crab meat in a bowl using a fork, season with salt and pepper and mix in mayonnaise to taste (a dash of tabasco gives it a boost if required). Smear a good amount of the brown crab mixture in the middle of the plate. Sprinkle flakes of white crab meat and the washed leaves and herbs casually on top of the crab.

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Each sculptural life-size tree, made using over 3,000 energy efficient and environmentally friendly LED lights, will instantly create a magical atmosphere, inside and out.

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

CLEY WINDMILL CLEY NEXT THE SEA, NORFOLK

Cley Windmill is one of the most memorable and enchanting places to stay in Britain. In the late afternoon, when the wind whips across from the sea, there are few greater pleasures than stowing away hats, coats and binoculars (this is bird-watching country) and coming home to this beautifully restored old windmill, complete with sails. Echoes of children’s adventure stories crowd in as you climb higher and higher in the mill, finally mounting the ladder to the lookout room. Downstairs, there’s a beamed, lived-in circular sitting room with blazing fire, antiques and comfortable sofas; and a cosy dining room, part of the original 1713 warehouse. Candlelit dinners are just right: convivial affairs with proper country cooking. There are three circular bedrooms in the tower itself, their bathrooms ingeniously fitted into challenging nooks and crannies, and six rooms in other parts of the building. All are charming and full of character with views over the waving reed beds to the sea.

TOP TIP... Ascend to the very top of the tower for breathtaking views over the salt marshes to Blakeney Point and the sea.

Doubles from £159 +44 (0)1263 740209; cleywindmill.co.uk

CONGHAM HALL KING’S LYNN, NORFOLK

Set in 30 acres of gardens and woodland, this calm, handsome Georgian house has a special feature: its acclaimed herb gardens, containing almost 400 varieties, plus orchards and kitchen garden. Current owner Nicholas Dickinson has swept away the previously dated furnishings and a lovely stone floor now graces the elegant hall with grey-green walls, antique furniture, sofas in front of the fire and vases of flowers from the garden.

To either side is a drawing room and library, and there’s also a slick bar. The airy dining room works both for formal gatherings and relaxed, informal meals. The smart, comfortable bedrooms are divided between those in the house (the smallest top floor rooms are charming) and those in the garden wing, next to the pampering Secret Garden Spa. The house rooms are undergoing refurbishment in line with the cool, classic style of the public rooms and eight lovely, luxurious examples have recently been unveiled.

What else? Why not treat yourself to a private falconry experience, including afternoon tea.

TOP TIP... Situated on the edge of the Sandringham Estate, it would be rude not to pop by the Queen’s beloved Norfolk residence.

Doubles from £135 +44 (0)1485 600250; conghamhallhotel.co.uk 130 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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EAST ANGLIA

THE GREAT HOUSE LAVENHAM, SUFFOLK

Standing in the Market Place of Lavenham, one of England’s finest medieval villages, with a striking perpendicular ‘Wool Church’ and a high street of irresistible antique shops and galleries, the 14th- and 15th-century Great House was modernised in the 18th century and, today, the exterior appears more Georgian than Tudor. In the 1930s the poet Stephen Spender lived here and, in 1985, Régis and Martine Crépy turned it into a boutique restaurant with rooms. The predominantly French food draws diners from far and wide and won this year’s AA Inspectors’ Choice Gold Award amongst other accolades. The restaurant is also the only one in Suffolk to boast three AA Rosettes. In the five stylish, light bedrooms you’ll find large beds – including one majestic Jacobean four-poster – and plenty of luxurious extras and period charm. There’s even part of a 14th-century chimney in one room. Back downstairs, French windows open on to a delightful stone-paved courtyard for summer drinks, lunch or dinner.

TOP TIP... Discover Lavenham’s listed buildings – the village has no less than 340.

Doubles from £160 +44 (0)1787 247431; greathouse.co.uk

THE GUNTON ARMS THORPE MARKET, NORFOLK

Art dealer Ivor Braka’s recreation of a particularly delightful 19th-century coaching inn, with the huge help of interior designer Robert Kime, has been wowing guests ever since it opened in 2011. ‘In the words of Dolly Parton,’ Ivor says ruefully, ‘it took a lot of money to look this cheap.’ The look is helped by the quirkiness of the gabled flint building itself, which sits inside vast, deerfilled Gunton Park. Chef Stuart Tattersall presides over delicious, imaginative dishes, including grills on an open fire, and guests tuck in at sharing tables. There’s a divine residents’ sitting room decorated with paintings by seriously famous artists, courtesy of Ivor. Indeed, the whole place is filled with edgy, sexy art: Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, you name it. As for the bedrooms, they are enchanting. If you stay in Ellis, look twice at the old prints to the left of the dressing table, but not if you objected to Tracey Emin’s naughty plates above the bar.

TOP TIP... Discover Norfolk’s sandy beaches on a coastal walk, or make a day trip to one of the two National Trust halls nearby.

Doubles from £130 +44 (0)1263 832010; theguntonarms.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 131

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

MAISON TALBOOTH DEDHAM, ESSEX

Overlooking Dedham Vale, in magnificent Constable country, this handsome Victorian house has a sophisticated interior. Its 12 luxurious bedrooms act as the accommodation arm of the nearby restaurant Le Talbooth. Both are owned by the Milsom family, who have run the restaurant since 1952 and whose portfolio of stylish, expertly managed hotels and restaurants includes The Pier at Harwich (see opposite).

There’s a lightly applied poetry theme to the smartly decorated bedrooms, each bearing a poet’s name and stocked with his works. There’s also a breakfast room, heated pool, day spa and a house-party atmosphere. Maison Talbooth, with its courteous, personal service, particularly suits groups of friends, perhaps gathered for a celebration at Le Talbooth. A courtesy car is on hand to whisk guests to and from the restaurant, a half-timbered, cleverly extended building with a film-set location on the River Stour. Hotel and restaurant make a winning combination.

TOP TIP... Explore the Stour Valley by bicycle or canoe – both are available for hire at the hotel – and don’t miss a visit to Castle House in Dedham, the home of artist Sir Alfred Munnings.

Doubles from £225 +44 (0)1206 322367; milsomhotels.com/maisontalbooth

THE NORFOLK MEAD COLTISHALL, NORFOLK

Three cheers for this sophisticated yet gentle new address, brilliantly placed for exploring the delights of both the Norfolk Broads and Norwich. With a lovely walled garden, perfect for summer dining, and a wildflower meadow (mead) that borders a pretty tributary of the River Bure, this fine Georgian house is a real haven. And it comes with its own boat for exploring the Broads: book the self-drive launch, for up to six people, for a half or full day, with a picnic from the hotel; add a tailor-made massage or a facial in the hotel’s new treatment rooms and you have the ingredients for a perfect spoiling, yet affordable, break. Husband and wife Anna Duttson and James Holliday are responsible for the new look Norfolk Mead, refurbished to create 15 contemporary and luxurious rooms and suites. And Anna’s background at the helm of a successful catering company, which numbered the McLaren racing team amongst its clients, means that the food is as refined as the rest.

TOP TIP... Norwich provides one of the best medieval sightseeing experiences in Europe, from the beautiful Pulls Ferry on the riverside to the Norman castle perched on the hilltop.

Doubles from £135 +44 (0)1603 737531; norfolkmead.co.uk 132 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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EAST ANGLIA

THE PIER HARWICH, ESSEX

Designed to resemble a Venetian palazzo, the striking The Pier hotel was built in 1864 to accommodate passengers departing from Harwich for the continent. The diminutive Ha’penny Pier, so called for its admittance charge, is still charmingly intact opposite. Recent major refurbishment has resulted in a new light and airy interior in this historic building, with a bar and relaxed restaurant across its first floor and five sought-after tables on the balcony. The views are mesmerising and the setting perfect for champagne, oysters, local lobster and the freshest Dover sole. Check-in is on the ground floor; bags are promptly taken to your room, either upstairs or in a building next door. All are breezy, attractive and very good value, and from six of them you can soak up the view: the Orwell and Stour estuaries snaking into the distance, the pier at your feet and boats beetling about on the water. Owned for over 30 years by the Milsom family (see Maison Talbooth, opposite), The Pier is run by a close-knit team.

TOP TIP... Watch the world (and boats) go by on the balcony and catch one of Harwich’s famous sunsets along the river Stour in the summer.

Doubles from £130 +44 (0)1255 241212; milsomhotels.com/thepier

THE WHITE HORSE BRANCASTER STAITHE, NORFOLK

A mysterious grey-blue sea; a vast, flat sky; a jigsaw of muddy tidal creeks and saltmarsh dotted with little boats; Scolt Head Island in the middle distance. The view from The White Horse is elating, and the inn itself is the perfect match for its coastal setting, with an informal conservatory dining room and deck terrace beyond. Sit here and gaze at the view, eating buttery local samphire or asparagus in your fingers, as well as Cromer crab, lobster, oysters or whatever happens to be fresh that day.

Indeed, if the tide and season is right, you’ll be able to see the local fishermen bringing home their catch, or Cyril and Ben, the local ‘mussel men’, cleaning and netting their molluscs, grown and harvested at the bottom of the garden and delivered to the kitchen door.

The 15 Nantucket-style bedrooms are divided between those in the main house and those in the flint-fronted annexe that snakes towards the water, with a ‘living’ roof, thick in summer with sedum, thrift and wild herbs.

TOP TIP... Visit Holkham Hall and Estate – a magnificent Palladian mansion with marble entrance hall, set in acres of parkland.

Doubles from £110 +44 (0)1485 210262; whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 133

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The North ‘I wander’d lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.’

From William Wordsworth’s Daffodils, 1804

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Old Man in the Trees Kelly Hall Tarn, Cumbria, by Chris Shepherd (Highly commended, Take a view 2015) shepherdpics.com

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BEST GARDEN

The edible garden that’s being created at fabulous new Forest Side (p143) is quite something; with orchards, hedgerows, exotic plants, greenhouses and polytunnels galore, its makes other hotel kitchen gardens look puny by comparison and foragingmad head chef Kevin Tickle won’t often have to stray beyond the gate for many of his inspiring ingredients.

ABOVE: Sunrise over Skiddaw RIGHT: Forest Side

Northern Lights Head up the M1 for the warmest of welcomes

BEST SURPRISE

T

View of York Minster

Lord Crewe Arms

QUIRKIEST FACT

Look up the massive chimney at the Lord Crewe Arms (p147) and you’ll see the nook where Tom Forster, noted for his role in the Jacobite uprising, hid from the enemy, for rather an uncomfortably long time, poor chap.

Know another hotel that doubles as a wine shop? Check in at heavenly The Inn at Whitewell (p146) and choose a bottle or two from the imaginative, independent selection.

You’ll find a great array of cookbooks too, not to mention the inn’s marvellous marmalade.

FAVOURITE DISH

The double baked cheese soufflé that veteran chef Colin Akrigg made famous at Sharrow Bay has just migrated along the shores of Ullswater to Howtown Hotel (p146), where he now heads the kitchens.

Double Howtown Hotel hurrah.

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

he terrain of the North is as varied as its accents. There are soaring panoramas in the Lakes, pastoral scenes in the Dales, pretty cobbled streets in York and Durham, great houses everywhere and striking skylines in Newcastle and Liverpool – not to mention miles of rugged coastline.

And just as wonderful as the scenery is the sophisticated shopping in towns and cities like Leeds and Harrogate and smart villages such as Helmsley in the Yorkshire Dales. They lack for nothing in finesse but boy, do they have twice the heart and twice the humour of their counterparts down south. So, for everything that the South can offer, plus the warmest of welcomes and the most genuine of smiles, head along the M1 all the way up country. No dallying on the way: you’ll soon be hitting epic landscapes that leave the South looking just a little bit faux and a little bit twee. Or let the train take the strain: did you know that you can be in York in under two hours? So if you still don’t know your parmo from your pease pudding, jump aboard, quick sharp.

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THE NORTH

DIARY DATE Langho, Lancashire

Make a note to book in for Obsession 2017.

Held every January at Northcote near Langho, when chef-patron Nigel Haworth hosts top chefs from around the world to cook for one night only in his kitchen.

Food lovers come in their droves, spaces sell like hot cakes – so book early to avoid disappointment. northcote.com HIGH PRAISE, Ambleside, Cumbria

TIDE YOU OVER, Newcastle Remember Kenny Atkinson and his bold and imaginative contributions (think Craster fish pie and some…) on the BBC’s Great British Menu? If so, you will certainly want to book into his new restaurant, House of Tides, down on Newcastle’s quayside, converted from a 16th-century town house. Describing his style of food as ‘balanced between comfort and ambition, in both flavours and choice of ingredients’, it delivers a great experience. houseoftides.co.uk

Local Foodie

The peons of praise that reverberate from the Lake Road Kitchen must make it worth the detour. Restaurant reviewer par excellence Marina O’Loughlin gave it a 10/10 for food, praising the bread as ‘perfect’, Scottish red deer with leeks vinaigrette as ‘gamey meat, smoky, acerbic vegetable, the sexy reek of fungus’, and the dessert as ‘a sliver of sea buckthorn tart, fragrant curd and fragile, just-bitter buckwheat crust with Italian meringue and a slick of the berries’ virtually unsweetened purée, an electrifying, pleasurable slap in the chops’. lakeroadkitchen.co.uk

Sumptuous street food and tooth-sticking toffee

« STREET FOOD SHOPPING, Leeds

With a constantly revolving choice of street food carts, visit Leeds shopping centre, Trinity Leeds.

Currently cooking up a storm are Eat like a Greek with souvlaki and toasted halloumi wraps, Meet Frank and his handmade, gluten-free, all natural hotdogs or a bakery-ambulance from Cake Doctor, selling vegan and glutenfree cakes. trinityleeds.com

THE REAL SAUSAGE DEAL, Waberthwaite, Cumbria When in Cumbria, you have to try a ‘proper’ Cumberland sausage.

Made with a very high content of pork, chopped not minced – for a chunky texture – seasoned with black and/or white pepper, traditionally they are very long, around 21 inches, and sold rolled in a flat circular coil. RB Woodall of Waberthwaite still makes them in just the same way as they have for decades. rbwoodall.com

« TIMELESS TOFFEE Penrith, Cumbria

Famous – and available – throughout the country for its buttery toffees and melting fudge but, if you are in Penrith, it is still worth popping into The Toffee Shop. It hasn’t changed over the years and they still hand-make everything on the premises. thetoffeeshop.co.uk

ON THE EDGE, Merseyside Customers travel for miles just to stock up on meat from Edge & Son, The Real Meat People. With a shop in the Wirral and a branch at Delifonseca’s dockside food hall in Liverpool, they place great emphasis on animal welfare, rare breeds and provenance. edgebutchers. co.uk

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

INGREDIENTS

Northern Star Nigel Haworth of Northcote is proud of his regional roots My earliest food memory is of making fishcakes with my mum. I was quite old, about nine, and it was all about mincing the fish, mashing the potatoes, adding the parsley – she never chopped it and it was almost whole sprigs of proper English curly parsley – and then flouring your hands and bringing together the mixture into patties.

She wasn’t a great one for seasoning – so all she would add was salt.

My style of cooking is Modern British food that is heavily influenced by the seasons and the ‘terroir’ – what we grow and what the land yields. I come from Accrington, so have ended up not that far away, and I’m proud of my regional roots.

My local foodie hero is Peter Ascroft, our cauliflower grower. He’s the fourth generation and grows them on the black moss of Tarleton.

The rich peaty deposits give them a smoky onion flavour and he will pick them when young, for tender baby vegetables.

The biggest influence on my cooking has been John Wolstenholme who owned Northcote when I first came to work here. He always said, ‘Keep it simple. Cook simple,’ and he always stressed the importance of natural regional flavours – potted shrimps from Morecambe Bay, local lamb, sweetbreads and kidneys – and he made me aware of the importance of cooking with local produce.

The best meal I’ve ever eaten was at Jamin,

Joël Robuchon’s restaurant in Paris, sadly now no longer. I can remember every mouthful, from the foie gras with morel junket to the red mullet with saffron and, of course, those infamous mashed potatoes that were so extreme – sheer emulsification with butter and easy enough to do, provided you have the right floury potatoes. They were heavenly and I had two extra helpings.

My weapon of choice is a microplane as it saves me having to chop garlic. You grate away until you realise that your fingers are in danger and then just chuck the tail end of the clove into the stockpot.

SERVES FOUR » 440g shoulder, neck and shin of Lonk lamb, cut into 3cm pieces (equal quanities) » 1 rack of under shoulder chops, trimmed and chimed cut into four neck chops » 1 boneless best end of lamb » 600g tarleton onions, thinly sliced » 500g medium maris piper potatoes, peeled » 10g plain flour » 40g salted butter, melted » 2½ tsp fine sea salt » White pepper » 25g golden sugar » 10g melted butter (for brushing the top of the hot pot)

LANCASHIRE HOTPOT

Season the lamb and the lamb chops with salt, sugar and a good pinch of pepper, dust with flour, put the lamb into the base of the hotpot dish and place the four chops evenly around the the dish.

Sweat off the onions in 15g of butter with half a teaspoon of salt for two to three minutes. Spread the onions evenly on top of the lamb in the hotpot dish.

Put the four neck chops evenly around the hotpot dish, pushing them firmly into the onions (make sure the clean bones are sticking prominently out of the hotpot dish).

Slice the potatoes vertically, 2mm thick. Place in a medium-size bowl, add the remaining 25g melted butter, season with one teaspoon of salt and a pinch of white pepper, and mix well. Place the stainless steel cutter in the centre of the hot pot dish on top of the onions (this is to leave a space to put the roasted loin of lamb, when ready to serve).

Put the sliced potatoes evenly on top of the onions, reserving the best-shaped potatoes for the final layer.

Place the hotpot in a pre-heated convection oven for 2½ hours at 140˚C. Seal the loin of lamb until golden in colour. Then roast the loin for eight to ten minutes until pink. Remove the loin and allow it to rest for five minutes on a cooling rack.

Brush the golden potatoes with a small amount of melted butter. Remove the stainless steel cutter, and carve the lamb loin and place it in the centre of the hotpot. Serve with pickled red cabbage, organic tangled carrots and leeks.

138 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

ASKHAM HALL ASKHAM, CUMBRIA

If you lean toward staying in homes rather than hotels, if you warm to quirky, laid back and unfussy, then head for Askham Hall. It stands in a lesser known, yet no less magnificent, corner of the Lake District, between Ullswater and the Eden Valley.

The mighty yet approachable manor house, Grade I listed, was the family home of Charlie Lowther and his parents, the Earl, who died in 2006, and Countess of Lonsdale. Having made a success of the George and Dragon at nearby Clifton (see page 143), Charlie devoted himself to giving Askham Hall a new lease of life. Its romantic gardens are open to the public, plus a rustic, atmospheric Kitchen Garden Café and a barn and newly converted medieval hall for parties. Its 15 individual bedrooms are best described as country house style, without rules, and there’s a pool and small spa. And, in the pretty, airy, bistro-style restaurant, chef Richard Swale’s cooking is little short of marvellous.

TOP TIP... Visit Stuart Broadhurst Ceramics and Gallery in Askham village, which has a studio, shop and also offers pottery courses.

Doubles from £125 +44 (0)1931 712350; askhamhall.co.uk

AUGILL CASTLE KIRKBY STEPHEN, CUMBRIA

Quirky and delightful, Augill Castle is a Victorian gentleman’s folly in the magnificent Eden Valley. It has the trappings of a neoGothic castle – tower, turrets, castellations and mullions – but in miniature. The castle’s wonderfully warm owners, Simon and Wendy Bennett, rescued it from dereliction and have lovingly created an award-winning and very special place to stay. It retains the relaxed atmosphere of a family home amid its vast rooms, with large fireplaces and antique furniture. There are 15 charmingly eclectic bedrooms, with four-poster baths as well as beds, turrets for wardrobes and splendid views. You’d be hard pushed to find a familyfriendlier castle, with a treehouse, playground, 12-seat cinema and children’s cookery school.

It’s also a splendid place for a wedding. You can have the castle to yourself and there’s no formula: every guest is as unique as the place itself. Simon gives an honest behind-the-scenes glimpse of his and Wendy’s life at Augill in his books, Undressed for Dinner and Stop for Breakfast.

TOP TIP... Explore Britain’s top two national parks, The Yorkshire Dales and Lake District.

Doubles from £160 +44 (0)1768 341937; stayinacastle.com 140 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE NORTH

THE BAR CONVENT YORK

Hotel locations are wonderfully varied; you can find them in stately homes, prisons, windmills and castles. And, in York, you can find a hotel in England’s oldest living convent. Dating from 1686, it is still home to its apostolic members of the Congregation of Jesus, an Ignatian order founded in 1609 by an extraordinary woman called Mary Ward at the height of Catholic suppression postgunpowder plot. As you might expect, it makes a tranquil and affordable place to stay, and you can even sleep in one of two attractive rooms designed by Olga Polizzi (see Hotel Endsleigh and Hotel Tresanton, both page 18), who is a supporter of the sisters and their work. A recent refurbishment has ensured simple but spotless and well-equipped bedrooms. There’s an all-day café, an oasis of a garden, the Baroque chapel to visit and a superb exhibition on the history of the convent and the story of its remarkable founder. Uplifting.

TOP TIP... York is best seen from atop its famous city walls, accessible just across the road from the convent. Get up early and enjoy unbeatable views.

Doubles from £84 +44 (0)1904 464902; bar-convent.org.uk

BROCCO ON THE PARK SHEFFIELD

Appearances can be deceiving, but once you get inside this restaurant with eight rooms beside leafy Endcliffe Park and close to Sheffield’s upmarket Nether Edge district, Brocco on the Park is a shining example of how imaginative yet practical design can lift a place far above the rut.

Its owner and creator, Tiina Carr, is half Finnish and the hotel – once the Peace Guest House where Picasso is believed to have stayed on his trip to the Peace Congress in 1950 – is now a perfect marriage of pared-down Scandi chic and British comfort. Tiina’s theme, executed with the lightest of touches, is birds (think Picasso and his dove); her mantra is ‘sleep well, eat well, live well’ and in her pretty, carefully-crafted interiors that is just what you do. The ground floor, with honesty bar for hotel guests, is given over to a stylish indoor/ outdoor ‘neighbourhood kitchen’ for relaxed allday dining (‘seasonal, a little bit Scandinavian and unmistakably Sheffield’) with plenty of choices – there’s even a vegetarian afternoon tea menu.

TOP TIP... The Sheffield Botanical Gardens has the finest surviving bear pit in the UK. Originally constructed in 1836, the pit now houses a splendid bear sculpture.

Doubles from £85 +44 (0)11426 61233; brocco.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 141

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THE COACH HOUSE AT MIDDLETON LODGE RICHMOND, NORTH YORKSHIRE

As soon as it opened a couple of years ago, this perfectly proportioned Georgian country retreat became just about the coolest place to stay in Yorkshire. The Coach House at Middleton Lodge was restored and launched by its enterprising owner, James Allison, with its relaxed yet stylish interiors by his architect partner Rebecca. The result is a characterful, buzzy boutique hotel with nine sexy, sophisticated bedrooms, cocktail bar – complete with a top flight team of mixologists – cool sounds and a laid back, brick-walled, unfussy yet comfortable restaurant. There are the soothing Ren and Voya facials and massages in The Treatment Rooms, the perfect hideaway spot. The vast original walled garden is being restored and redesigned by Tom Stuart-Smith and there are further Georgian outbuildings just asking to be made into more spaces for the guests to eat, sleep and play in. Think of Middleton Lodge as a sleeping beauty, which James and Rebecca are conjuring back to life.

TOP TIP... Book a seat at The Georgian Theatre Royal, with a programme that’s filled with music, dance, drama, comedy and much more.

Doubles from £155 +44 (0)1325 377977; middletonlodge.co.uk

EASBY HALL

RICHMOND, NORTH YORKSHIRE

In the hamlet of Easby, a one-mile walk along the River Swale from Richmond, John and Karen Clarke have turned their classic Georgian country house into a charming, friendly B&B. Although the architecture is grand, the flowerfilled interior is homely, and you couldn’t ask for a warmer welcome. The magnificent drawing room seems to cry out for a party: it has an open fire, grand piano, good antiques and paintings, roomy sofas and large windows to take advantage of the sensational view of the romantic ruins of Easby Abbey. The snuggest place to sit is beside the fire in the stone-walled garden hut, and in summer the glorious and profuse walled garden is perfect for afternoon tea. Choose between three luxurious, madly romantic bedrooms, each with stunning fabrics, an excellent bed, open fire or log burner and champagne fridge. There’s also a two-bedroom self-contained cottage. At breakfast, soft fruit, compotes and jams all come from Easby’s organic garden and newly laid eggs from their hens.

TOP TIP... Tour the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, beginning with Swaledale, only five minutes from Easby Hall.

Doubles from £180 +44 (0)1748 826066; easbyhall.com 142 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE NORTH

FOREST SIDE GRASMERE, CUMBRIA

A thrilling new Cumbrian address. As with its sibling, Hipping Hall (see page 145), its owner, Andrew Wildsmith, has ensured not just a haven of luxury but a memorable gastronomic experience in this handsome Victorian mansion that surveys the landmark rock formation, the Lion and the Lamb. It’s had a great deal of both money and, crucially, attention to detail lavished on it, from herbal infusions for your bath to the amazing new gardens – perfumed, ornamental and edible – that have been created around the hotel with the talented chef and his passion for foraging in mind. Kevin Tickle’s dishes, brimming with ingredients such as scurvy grass, curds and whey, pickled allium flowers and birch sap, are clean, modern and precise, served on beautiful, rough-hewn local pottery.

They taste earthy, yet are wonderfully light, and the impressive cellar of organic and biodynamic wines make a fitting accompaniment. Cumbria should be leaping for joy at the arrival of Forest Side, and so should you.

TOP TIP... Journey off the beaten track to Easedale, taking in the tumbling waterfall of Sour Milk Gill en route to this most tranquil of tarns.

Doubles from £299 +44 (0)15394 35250; theforestside.com

GEORGE AND DRAGON CLIFTON, CUMBRIA

Close to the Eden Valley and part of the huge Lowther estate, the George and Dragon has been imaginatively revamped by Charles Lowther and his family, who also own Askham Hall (see page 140). The ground floor is a triumph of conviviality and authenticity.

The wood-topped bar, wood-burning stoves, banquette seats strewn with kelim-covered cushions and the sightline that allows you to see all the way through to the slate-floored, duck-egg blue panelled restaurant, create a delightful place in which to while away time.

As for the food, almost all the produce comes from the Lowther estate, and it’s just the sort of tasty, unfussy, locally sourced cooking one craves in the countryside. Talking of which, anyone staying in one of the inn’s 11 comfortable bedrooms should take advantage of its impressive sporting ties. As well as fishing on the idyllic River Eden or the Lowther, there’s stalking, led by the estate’s splendid, kilted head keeper, Gregor Cattenach.

TOP TIP... Cycle around the Lakes and Dales Loop, a 190-mile circuit of the most scenic landscapes in Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales.

Doubles from £95 +44 (0)1768 865381; georgeanddragonclifton.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 143

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GILPIN HOTEL WINDERMERE, CUMBRIA

Family-run and fabulous. In 1987, John and Christine Cunliffe bought John’s grandmother’s former home and created a five-bedroom hotel.

In 2001, their son Barney and his wife Zoe joined them. Nowadays, the 1901 house, seamlessly expanded by their other architect son, Ben, has 14 bedrooms, six wildly popular hot tub Garden Suites, and five luxurious new Spa Lodges (each with huge beds, gorgeous bathrooms, treatment area, steam room, rainmaker shower, stone bath, outdoor sauna and hot tub). It’s both warm and welcoming, but also very glamorous, with a sense of a journey as guests wander through.

Retaining its historic, Arts and Crafts influenced charm, it sparkles with glossy, modern interior design. Whether you choose to eat in the original Dining Room, the Garden Room or the Conservatory, you will dine very well: the imaginative British modern cuisine is a delight.

And then there are the luxurious bedrooms and the 22 acres of gardens and woodland in which to wander. And, for something different, there’s the Lake House (see below).

TOP TIP... Book the Spa Lodge Experience and enjoy in-room treatments and spa hampers.

Doubles from £335 +44 (0)15394 88818; thegilpin.co.uk

GILPIN LAKE HOUSE WINDERMERE, CUMBRIA

In 2010, the owners of Gilpin Hotel (see above) opened Gilpin Lake House, transforming Knipe Tarn, their private fishing lodge, set on its own tree-fringed lake, into a stunning retreat. You dine at Gilpin Hotel, sleep and breakfast at Lake House. It has been superbly done, and includes an elegant, bookish drawing room, open-plan kitchen and conservatory, and six unimpeachable bedrooms. There are flowers everywhere, beautifully arranged. A homely utility roomcum-office has stairs to The Jetty spa: a light-filled indoor pool, sauna and a terrace by the tarn with hot tub, deck chairs and private corners. And there’s a superbly sited treatment room, set high in the tree canopy with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the water. Guests can stroll up to Cat Crag, but many simply stay put – they’ve even been seen rowing on the lake in their dressing gowns.

Some guests choose to have drinks at the Lake House before dinner, luxuriating in the tranquillity of the place.

TOP TIP... Take over the whole house for private parties and breathtaking weddings.

Doubles from £495 +44 (0)15394 88818; thegilpin.co.uk 144 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE NORTH

THE GRANGE HOTEL YORK

A hotel that strikes all the right chords, The Grange has its own distinctive personality inside and out. The late Georgian, grade II listed property, built for a well-to-do clergyman, stands within a 15-minute saunter of almost all the main sights. There’s a racing theme to the decoration (horse racing in York dates back to Roman times), with paintings on loan from York racecourse. And now The Grange has embarked on the next stage of its 25-year life, with the recent advent of another five luxurious bedrooms, two lifts and underfloor heating in the premier ground floor rooms. The brick-vaulted Ivy Brasserie has also been extended and transformed, with a menu worthy of two AA Rosettes. As for the bedrooms, each different, they have tasteful, traditional decoration and a host of luxuries, from top-quality Hypnos beds to White Company toiletries in the excellent bathrooms.

Looking for romance? Book a room with a four-poster bed or the suite with an open fire.

TOP TIP... Explore the vast spaces of the largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe, York Minster, just five minutes’ stroll away.

Doubles from £110 +44 (0)1904 644744; grangehotel.co.uk

HIPPING HALL

COWAN BRIDGE, KIRKBY LONSDALE, CUMBRIA

At Hipping, even the simple things are done well: the welcome is warm, the rooms are comfortable and the food is outstanding. The restaurant occupies a 15th-century Great Hall, an elegantly converted blacksmith’s workshop, with an open fire in the hearth, logs piled high, and a congenial atmosphere. The man behind the stove is a prodigiously talented 26-yearold Lancastrian, Oli Martin, whose passion is to produce dishes with strong rustic flavours and finesse. He says, ‘I want people to sit down and be blown away by the food on their plate but still be able to identify what the individual components are’. Wine is taken equally seriously.

You might come to Hipping for the food, but the bedrooms won’t disappoint. Those in the main house, a pretty 17th-century, stone-faced gentleman’s residence, are all white, from walls to bed linen. The rest, in an adjoining building, are more masculine in style. Owner Andrew Wildsmith and his dedicated young team are bursting with enthusiasm and it shows.

TOP TIP... Take a walk on the wild side and follow the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail – there are many tumbling cascades to discover along the way.

Doubles from £189 +44 (0)1524 271187; hippinghall.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 145

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HOWTOWN HOTEL ULLSWATER, CUMBRIA

Howtown is set back from the shores of Ullswater and set back in time. Jacqui Baldry has run it with her son, David, for more than half a century. Jacqui has never had a computer; when you telephone for a room, you are asked to confirm in writing; she then acknowledges by hand. It may be old-fashioned, but there’s nothing hair shirt about this truly special hotel (open March to October). Warmly lit, red-carpeted corridors, lined by watercolours and prints, lead to the 12 bedrooms, fresh, spacious and neat as a pin, with wonderful views. No new-fangled toiletries (bring your own shampoo) but a bar of good old Imperial Leather soap, plentiful hot water for the bath and large towels. At 7pm, a gong sounds for dinner in the duck-egg blue dining room, gleaming with silver cutlery.

At 8am: tea and biscuits are brought to your room. Sounds regimented? Not a bit. This is the warmest, kindest hotel in the world.

TOP TIP... Jacqui Baldry has handed over the cooking to ex-head chef at Sharrow Bay, Colin Akrigg. Don’t miss the cheese soufflé he made famous there.

Doubles from £99 +44 (0)1768 486514; howtown-hotel.com

THE INN AT WHITEWELL FOREST OF BOWLAND, LANCASHIRE

Charlie Bowman is the third generation of his family to run this charming 23-bedroom inn. Their taste for antiques is evident, with an eclectic mix, from Victorian bathing machines in some bathrooms to the pictures and prints that line the bedroom walls. With roots in the 14th century, the inn is full of character; glass bookcases groan with travel and cookery books for sale, while the reception doubles as a well-stocked wine shop. Modern day pampering has not been forgotten, with a new SkinSense treatment room. The unfussy food, from head chef Jamie Cadman, now in his 18th year there, is locally sourced. Bar meals are served in the spacious sitting room, while, in the elevated restaurant, the window-seat views are so compelling that it’s almost impossible to maintain a conversation. The road leading to tiny Whitewell descends through the wild, steepsided Trough of Bowland, but here it opens out into a natural amphitheatre of meadows and hills, with the River Hodder, where fishing is available, running past.

TOP TIP... Visit Browsholme Hall, the beautiful 16th-century home of the Parker family.

Doubles from £132 +44 (0)1200 448222; innatwhitewell.com 146 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE NORTH

LINTHWAITE HOUSE WINDERMERE, CUMBRIA

In many ways, Linthwaite House, built in 1900 as a private home, is the perfect Lake District hotel: traditional yet also glamorous; professional but warmly welcoming and deeply relaxing. And the view over Lake Windermere... how can you beat it? Sometimes, when the sun slants across, it brings tears to the eye. In the hall, you’ll find a carved mahogany fireplace with crackling fire and, beyond, unflashy sitting rooms and wraparound conservatory with those mesmerising views. Outside in the wooded, gently sloping grounds there’s a tarn with a secluded summerhouse. Back in the hotel, the glossy bar has a wall of tropical fish and the elegant dining room makes a fine setting for refined, delicious food. Linthwaite House has been privately and caringly run for more than 25 years. The bedrooms, two with hot tubs, are the last word in lakeland luxury. Add a croquet lawn, pétanque and fishing on the tarn and you have a Lake District hotel that ticks all the boxes.

TOP TIP... Celebrate Beatrix Potter’s 150th birthday with a visit to her home Hill Top, a 17th-century house kept exactly as she left it, complete with her furniture and china.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1539 488600; linthwaite.com

LORD CREWE ARMS BLANCHLAND, NORTHUMBERLAND

One of the best pieces of hotel news in recent times happened in 2014 when this wonderfully characterful and historic inn was bought and superbly and sensitively revamped by one of the best small hotel groups in the country. In the medieval village of Blanchland, amidst gorgeous countryside, the Lord Crewe Arms reopened following a £1.5m renovation by Lord Crewe’s Charity (formed in 1721) in partnership with The Calcot Collection, owners of Calcot (see page 106), Barnsley House (page 106) and The Painswick (page 110). Dating back to the 12th century, the posh pub-cum-hotel now comprises 21 bedrooms with relaxed eating areas displaying baronial and monastic touches as befit the building, originally part of Blanchland Abbey.

The look throughout is spot on: English country calm mixed with cosmopolitan beat and pace. As for the honest, robust food, it is in the safe and excellent hands of Simon Hicks, formerly head chef at Hix Soho. Readers: this haven, in one of the loveliest spots in the country, is a true delight.

TOP TIP... Get on your bike or set off on two legs to discover the cycling and hiking routes mapped out by the dramatic North Pennine landscape.

Doubles from £99 +44 (0)1434 675469; lordcrewearmsblanchland.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 147

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MIDDLETHORPE HALL YORK, YORKSHIRE

If the exterior of this gorgeous, mellow red brick 1699 house looks like something straight from a Jane Austen novel, the interior is no disappointment. You’ll find a magnificent oak staircase, quaint sitting rooms, each with a roaring fire, and even a ballroom, should you fancy a waltz. The atmosphere is serene, and there’s a tranquil spa across the road. Expect four-poster beds, floral bedspreads, home-made shortbread and kind attention from the staff. For dinner, try the catch of the day: perhaps sea trout landed at Whitby, followed by Yorkshire rhubarb served with panna cotta and blood orange sorbet. A hotel that’s as alluring in winter, all cosy and snug, as it is in summer, when you can stroll through the grounds and make friends with the resident deer. It also makes the perfect base for visiting York. Rescued from decay in the 1980s, Middlethorpe Hall is a National Trust-owned Historic House Hotel (see Bodysgallen Hall, page 158 and Hartwell House, page 68).

TOP TIP... Step out into glorious Yorkshire and discover the magnificent stately homes on Middlethorpe Hall’s doorstep – Castle Howard, Harewood House and Newby Hall.

Doubles from £205 +44 (0)1904 641241; middlethorpe.com

NORTHCOTE

BLACKBURN, LANCASHIRE

Northcote’s notable success is thanks to a formidable double act: general manager Craig Bancroft and chef Nigel Haworth. When they met in 1983, Craig didn’t know that Nigel would become one of the most highly regarded Michelin-starred chefs in the north; Nigel didn’t know that Craig had a gift for wine, as well as being a consummate hotelier and host. ‘We weren’t friends when we started. But we became friends.’ The brilliant food, rooted in the north, is, of course, the thing, produced with panache by the dream team of Nigel, his Executive Head Chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen and Head Chef Aled Williams. But it is richly complemented by the ambience. It feels like a treat to stay here, and it is a beacon of excellence amongst the stunning hills and valleys of rural Lancashire. The solid Victorian house, built for a wealthy spinster, now glows with good living, with supremely comfortable bedrooms. And then there’s the Cookery School: unsurprisingly, one of the finest in the country.

TOP TIP... Visit the excellent D Byrne & Co wine shop in historic Clitheroe, a ten-minute drive away.

Doubles from £260 +44 (0)1254 240555; northcote.com 148 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE NORTH

ODDFELLOWS CHESTER, CHESHIRE

Fancy a spot of retail therapy? A day at the races?

Then hop on a train and head for Chester, whose compact medieval city centre, with its roots in Roman times, is graced by its cathedral and encircled by its city walls, which you can walk right round. If you feel like some fun, head for Oddfellows, which makes a perfect base for any age, but especially the young at heart. Set in a beautiful neo-classical mansion house, the decoration is nicely zany, with old typewriters crawling up the wall, huge appliqué birds and foxes on panelled walls in the bar and an indoor/ outdoor courtyard, with water feature, artificial turf, booths, firepits and oversized lamps. The comfortable, well-equipped bedrooms are stylish, full of curios and fun accessories, and good value (great housekeeping here). There are also cool, spacious self-catering apartments. Downstairs, you’ll find great cocktails in the glamorous bar, and the food in the pretty, countrified restaurant is very good indeed.

TOP TIP... Discover the hotel’s secret covered garden with rustic potting shed bar, as well as glass-fronted outdoor fires and blankets for cool evenings.

Doubles from £162 +44 (0)1244 895700; oddfellowschester.com

ROCKLIFFE HALL

HURWORTH ON TEES, COUNTY DURHAM

Looking for a resort hotel with golf and spa and access to glorious countryside? Thinking of somewhere in the south? Then think again.

In under two hours from King’s Cross, you can be in Darlington, from where the Rockliffe Hall Mercedes will whisk you to the hotel.

And what will you find? A luxurious spa offering holistic spa rituals and results-driven treatments, 20-metre indoor pool, state-of-the-art gym and wonderful new indoor/outdoor Spa Garden – with infinity edge pool, heated beds and glass-fronted sauna – that offers a rare sense of privacy and tranquility. And then there’s the championship golf course that stretches out in front of the Victorian mansion and its modern wings, with spacious, well-equipped bedrooms in which to flop at night. And the divine tasting menus of Richard Allen in The Orangery, plus two more restaurants. And best of all, the ingredient that makes Rockcliffe Hall so special: the warmth of the local Teesside staff and their pride in their hotel. Go there.

TOP TIP... Six dog-friendly rooms await those with four-legged friends, who receive a gift on arrival, and a dog-walker’s route through the estate.

Doubles from £195 +44 (0)1325 729999; rockliffehall.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 149

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Wales & The Marches ‘And you alone can hear the invisible starfall, the darkest-beforedawn minutely dewgrazed stir of the black, dab-filled sea where the Arethusa, the Curlew and the Skylark, Zanzibar, Rhiannon, the Rover, the Cormorant, and the Star of Wales tilt and ride.’

From Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, 1954

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Mist Rolling In, Mawddach Estuary, Gwynedd by Ann Paine (Commended, Take a view 2015)

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BEST NEWCOMER

Well, it’s not new, but the charming Strawberry Hill Gothic Penally Abbey (p160), close to pretty Tenby, has just got fabulous new owners, and a new lease of life.

The Boissevain family has style and warmth; you won’t find a more agreeable place to stay.

ABOVE: Llyn Ogwen in Snowdonia National Park BELOW: Penally Abbey

Break for the Borders From salmon rivers to soaring mountains, Wales is oh-so beautiful View from the look out tower at Bodysgallen Hall

Climb the medieval lookout tower at Bodysgallen Hall (p156) and you’ll be rewarded with a panoramic view that sweeps over Snowdonia, Anglesey, the Great Orme, Llandudno’s famous seafront and the beautiful gardens of the hotel below. One word: wow.

Shaun Hill at The Walnut Tree

FAVOURITE DISH

Beef stew with mash and leeks (or anything else cooked by Shaun Hill) at The Walnut Tree, sister restaurant to The Angel Hotel at Abergavenny (p155).

Don’t visit one without the other.

Fishing on the Usk at Gliffaes

BEST ACTIVITY

Salmon fishing on the River Usk, which runs dreamily below the lovely, comforting, family-run Gliffaes Hotel (p158), and drinking one of owner James Suter’s knock-out martinis in the bar afterwards.

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

F

or such a small landmass, and more sheep than people, Wales packs an incredible punch. Just think: the glorious mountain landscape of Snowdonia; the Pembrokeshire Coast with its world-class beaches, pretty harbour towns and that most spiritual and enigmatic of cathedrals, St David’s; the rolling green hills of the Borders; the mighty The Pembrokeshire coastline castles, moody poets and soaring singers. And the sheep. And the daffodils...

We love Wales; we love Welsh black beef and Welsh lamb and, even, laverbread, and we love they way that the best Welsh chefs cook their local produce: with simplicity and naturalness. So, if it’s peace and quiet amongst the mountains and valleys you are looking for, cross that border and cease to ignore a country that is greater than the sum of its consonants (of which there are many). Croeso i cymru a mwynhau Laverbread eich arhosiad.

BEST VIEW »

152 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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WALES & THE MARCHES

TAKE THE BISCUIT, Powys

Baked near Powys, Cradoc’s biscuits are sold in delis all over Wales. Made by the mother and daughter, Allie and Ella Thomas, the biscuits are savoury and come in startlingly bright colours caused by the crushed vegetables with which they are made, rather than the use of any colourings. Flavours include beetroot and garlic, spinach and celery and pear and Earl Grey tea. Try them on their own at cocktail time or as a canapé base. cradocssavourybiscuits.co.uk FISH FEAST, Pembrokeshire If the sun is shining, try and bag a table on Coast’s terrace overlooking Saundersfoot’s sandy beach. A few miles from Tenby and housed in a modernist, wood-clad building, the menu is simple, effective and very definitely fish orientated – great fish soup, grilled lobster or dressed crab with an avocado purée. coastsaundersfoot.co.uk

CHEESE PLEASE Carmarthenshire From mother to son, Thelma handed over to Gwynfor, the sixth generation, to make Caerffili on at Fferm Glyneithinog by Pontseli.

As well as the plain Caerffili, Caws Cenarth also produces a garlic and herb and smoked Caerffili. New cheeses include the brie-like Perl Wen, a creamy blue, Perl Las and a washed rind Golden Cenarth. cawscenarth.co.uk

Local Foodie Edible insects and creamy cheese

« SMOKIN’ ACES Powys

While you might associate smoked fish with Scotland, the Welsh do it just as well, if not better. For 20 years, family-run Black Mountains Smokery has cured and smoked meat and fish in its Crickhowell smokehouse, sourced from the best British suppliers. Stock up on smoked quail, trout and kippers, or take home a treat-laden hamper. smoked-foods.co.uk

PUB OF THE YEAR Pontypridd The Bunch of Grapes in Pontypridd – or The Bunch as it is known locally – has been voted Welsh Pub of the Year two years running. Eight hand pumps for pulling beer and two for cider show the commitment to serving a whole range of different styles and strength of drinks. Food is equally important and this may be the only pub in Britain to offer an inhouse deli, cookery classes, tutored beer tastings and a beer academy. bunchofgrapes.org.uk

» FOOD FEST, Abergavenny

Is it just coincidence or a dedication to food that has resulted in two of the best British food festivals taking place within under an hour’s drive of each other and on consecutive weekends every September?

Ludlow kicks off the festival season with lots of local farmers, growers and producers setting up stalls in the castle area (foodfestival.co.uk). Abergavenny Food Festival takes over the whole town, filling the narrow street with stalls. Its focus is on food debates and discussions (abergavennyfoodfestival.com).

2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 153

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Welsh Wonder Tyddyn Llan’s Bryan Webb treats his ingredients with respect and care The ingredient I couldn’t live without is butter.

I first got into food around the age of 16, as I was no good at doing anything else. I left school after my O-levels and went to work at The Whitebrook in the Wye Valley.

In 1985, I came to London, where eventually I took over from Simon Hopkinson at Hilaire. My wife and I then bought the restaurant and ran it for 14 years before selling up, taking a year to travel, then returning to Wales to set up Tyddyn Llan.

The last memorable meal I had was at Michel Roux’s The Waterside Inn. It was a very special occasion with six friends marking a very important event. Then around two years ago, in Milan, I had a potato ravioli with white truffle that blew my mind.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel a lot, but I’ve just finished a wine course and have never been to Burgundy or the Rhône, so they would be next on my list. I’d also love to eat at three Michelin-starred Troisgros in Roanne.

In my fridge you’ll find salamis, half a bottle of champagne, tomatoes, Keen’s cheddar and that’s it.

The biggest influence on my career has been Franco Taruschio at The Walnut Tree in Abergavenny. My mum used to live nearby and I’ve been eating there since I was 16. Although I never worked there, his cooking taught me about flavour.

Another food hero is Simon Hopkinson, who taught me to keep it simple.

It’s a bit of a cliché now but my style of cooking is using the best ingredients and treating them with respect.

Today I’m cooking wild seabass with laverbread and beurre blanc (see recipe) and local spring lamb with vignole of peas, broad beans and artichokes.

INGREDIENTS » 4 x 150g pieces of wild bass, skin on and all pin bones removed » 4 finely chopped shallots » 1 tbsp white wine vinegar » 175ml dry white wine, Muscadet if possible » 250g unsalted butter » Salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper » Juice of half a lemon » 2 tbsp of Laverbread » 2 tbsp of double cream » 300g raw picked spinach » 50g extra butter

And also my veal and chicken stock, without which I couldn’t make anything.

When at home, I cook something like a simple piece of fish or a nice steak for supper. Or we go out – my wife doesn’t cook.

The restaurants I most like to eat at are The Walnut Tree, Chez Bruce, Koffman’s at the Berkeley and Sticky Walnut in Chester.

My most memorable foodie moment was cooking for 100 Welsh hoteliers, with Shaun Hill, for the 30th anniversary of Welsh Rarebit Day. That was pretty amazing.

ROAST WILD BASS with Laverbread butter sauce

Put the white wine, vinegar and shallots into a saucepan and slowly reduce to a syrup.

On a light heat, slowly add the butter, a little at a time, until it forms a slightly thick sauce, season with salt and cayenne pepper, add the juice of the half lemon. Strain the sauce into a clean saucepan. In a separate saucepan, add two tablespoons of Laverbread with two tablespoons of cream, bring to the boil and add half the beurre blanc.

Season the fish and coat lightly with olive oil. Place onto a hot griddle, skin side down, until the skin is crisp, place onto an oiled tray and bake in a hot oven at 200˚C for five minutes.

While the fish is cooking, melt the extra butter in a large pan and cook the spinach until wilted.

Serve the bass on a bed of spinach and pour the Laverbread sauce around one side and the remaining beurre blanc around the other.

154 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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THE ANGEL HOTEL ABERGAVENNY, MONMOUTHSHIRE

With fine views from its once mighty castle, the bustling market town of Abergavenny plays host to two special places that, paired together, make for a memorable – and affordable – gourmet break. The centrally located Angel Hotel is the smart, yet relaxed and welcoming town hub. Locals pop in for a drink in the Foxhunter Bar, others dine in the popular Oak Room restaurant, and throngs of people indulge in delectable, award-winning afternoon teas.

The bedrooms upstairs are calm and stylish with snow-white beds dressed with pretty cashmere throws and elegant bathrooms.

Or choose a room in one of the nearby cottages, including one in the castle grounds. Just outside town at Llanddewi Skirrid is The Angel’s sister restaurant, The Walnut Tree, where the uncomplicated yet sublime, Michelin-starred dishes of Shaun Hill are many a foodie’s idea of perfection, served with a refreshing lack of pomp in simple, attractive surroundings.

TOP TIP... Visit Abergavenny’s hidden gem, The Art Shop and Chapel, for unusual books, crafts and jewellery as well as delicious, locally sourced food.

Doubles from £101 +44 (0)1873 857121; angelabergavenny.com

THE BELL AT SKENFRITH MONMOUTHSHIRE

Contemporary and cosy rarely coincide, but this stylishly converted 17th-century coaching inn is one place that convincingly combines the two.

The Bell has been winning awards since 1999, when it was fully restored, and the new owners Sarah and Richard have been busy since they took over in December 2014, maintaining its warm atmosphere and enhancing its reputation for superb seasonal food. The Locals’ Bar has been reinstated and named The Dog and Boot Bar, where both are equally welcome, and food and drink are served all day (don’t miss Sarah’s homemade cakes). The inn has a magnificent setting in unspoilt countryside beside the River Monnow, with comfy sofas beside the fires in a huge inglenook or in the guest sitting room. In the candlelit, flagstoned dining room, modern British dishes (with ingredients from the kitchen garden) are supported by a well-organised wine list. Many of the 11 sophisticated bedrooms, each charmingly named after a trout fly, have beams, four posters and billowing white duvets.

TOP TIP... Order a picnic and embark on one of The Bell’s legendary circular walks around this area of outstanding natural beauty.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1600 750235; skenfrith.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 155

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BODYSGALLEN HALL LLANDUDNO, CONWY

One of three National Trust-owned Historic House Hotels, Bodysgallen Hall is a dignified, gentle paced island of calm, close to Llandudno’s famous promenade and beaches. Climb its tower, built as a lookout for Conwy Castle – the medieval core of the fine 17th-century mansion – and you’ll be rewarded with a panoramic view that sweeps across Snowdonia, Anglesey and the Great Orme. The house has great character, with 15 antiques-filled bedrooms and 16 postcard-pretty cottages scattered around the estate’s 200 acres of wooded parkland. Grass terraces overlook the award-winning gardens, which include a walled rose garden, cascade and rare 17th-century parterre of box hedges filled with herbs. There is a formal dining room in the main hall: Llandudno’s best restaurant, serving delicious locally sourced dishes. The former farmhouse now houses the spa with a large indoor pool, plus steam room, sauna and solarium. All in all, Bodysgallen Hall is one of the loveliest hotels in Britain.

TOP TIP... Take a stroll around Bodnant Garden’s 80 acres of grand formal terraces, landscaped lawns and pretty ponds.

Doubles from £179 +44 (0)1492 584466; bodysgallen.com

THE CASTLE HOTEL BISHOP’S CASTLE, SHROPSHIRE

If it weren’t all so English, you might think you were in France. Bishop’s Castle feels a little like one of those Provençal hilltop towns, surrounded by glorious countryside, in this case the South Shropshire Hills and the Welsh borders: superb walking country. When the medieval motte-and-bailey castle, built by the Bishop of Hereford, fell into disrepair, The Castle Hotel replaced it. The square stone building has presence. To the left of the entrance is the Snug – just that – with further bars beyond; to the right, a venerable panelled dining room. Outside, a surprise: a lovely garden full of flowering borders and a spacious terrace under a pergola.

In the sunshine, with those spellbinding views, it feels distinctly Gallic. Upstairs, there are attractive, well priced, recently decorated bedrooms, but it’s downstairs that you will feel the pull of this place with its hearty, delicious food, its constant hum of activity and the way that hotel and market town are plainly symbiotic.

TOP TIP... Bishop’s Castle is located in the heart of the South Shropshire Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, some of the least spoilt countryside in England and Wales.

Doubles from £95 +44 (0)1588 638403; thecastlehotelbishopscastle.co.uk 156 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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CASTLE HOUSE HEREFORD, HEREFORDSHIRE

Castle House is a privately owned hotel in an elegant Grade II-listed mansion with an unrivalled location. Hereford is a tranquil city, whose fine cathedral houses the world-famous Mappa Mundi and Chained Library. Although the centre and River Wye are just moments away, peace reigns in the hotel’s enchanting terraced garden, overlooking the old castle moat. Of the light-filled public rooms, the smart sitting room and restaurant have French doors leading on to the garden. The latter is the domain of one of the country’s top female chefs, Claire Nicholls, whose imaginative food has won a clutch of awards. For light meals and cocktails, there’s the Ballingham Bar and Bistro.

The 24 bedrooms and suites are all stylish and individual, split between the main building and Number 25 Townhouse, where there are eight striking rooms, each offering an array of treats, from a complimentary hospitality box filled with local produce to under-floor heating in the bathrooms. A hotel that fits perfectly into its surroundings and ticks all the boxes.

TOP TIP... Check the hotel’s events diary for tours of The Laskett Gardens or the Mappa Mundi.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1432 356321; castlehse.co.uk

THE FELIN FACH GRIFFIN BRECON, POWYS

This is the first of Edmund and Charlie Inkin’s three wonderfully unpretentious and enjoyable establishments (see also The Gurnard’s Head, page 16 and The Old Coastguard, page 20), located between the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons. Set amidst magnificent scenery, with hostess Julie Bell at the helm, the plain but pleasing old inn has become a sanctuary for food lovers, walkers and literary visitors to the nearby book town of Hay-on-Wye. They love the honest simplicity, the warmth, colour and comfort, both in ground floor rooms whose names say it all – Library, Tack Room, Aga Room – and in bedrooms whose beds and linens are second to none. Curl up here with one of the books that lie around the building, listen to your Roberts radio or simply gaze out at the hills. After a superlative dinner from head chef Ben Ogden that, simple and seasonal, fits perfectly with its surroundings, you will lack for nothing a five-star hotel could provide.

TOP TIP... Explore the Black Mountains and its hidden castles by foot. Don’t miss Skenfrith, White and Grosmont castles, or the beautiful Llanthony Priory.

Doubles from £130 +44 (0)1874 620111; felinfachgriffin.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 157

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

GLIFFAES

CRICKHOWELL, POWYS

Gliffaes stands above the River Usk. Crowned by two quirky campaniles, it was built in the 1880s in Italianate style. There are lovely grounds and, for fishermen, five salmon and trout beats along the river. For the last 60 years it has been in the same family, and now Susie and James Suter run it with hands-on dedication. It’s hard to imagine a more peaceful hotel. Sitting on the wide stone terrace with nothing but the sound of birdsong and the rushing river certainly helps, but for peace to really take hold, the hotel itself has to be genuine, unpretentious, satisfying for its guests and loved by its owners. There are 23 bedrooms, four of which have superlative views over the river and the sky-high hill that rises beyond it.

With country-house fabrics and serviceable bathrooms, they are traditional and pretty.

There are copious afternoon teas, James Suter’s knockout martinis and, in the dining room, satisfying dishes that hit the spot.

TOP TIP... Ask to borrow the pair of electric bikes and ride the back lanes of the Brecon Beacons, stopping at the Talgarth Mill for lunch.

Doubles from £135 +44 (0)1874 730371; gliffaeshotel.com

THE GROVE

NARBERTH, PEMBROKESHIRE

This striking country house was an uninhabited wreck when, in 2008, Neil Kedward and his partner, Zoe Agar, took on the challenge of restoring it. They opened nine months later as an instantly relaxing restaurant with rooms.

There are two main façades: one is three storeys high, gleaming white and many windowed; the other gabled, with arts and crafts elements that are continued inside. This most charming of destinations now has 26 luxurious bedrooms and suites, perfect in every way, each with a view of the stunning gardens, surrounding fields or Preseli Hills. In the spring of 2016, the hotel unveiled six new luxury suites by leading interior designer Martin Hulbert, his first project in Wales. In the main house, cosy sitting rooms spread out on either side of the front hall, there’s a separate cocktail bar and a light-filled garden room for breakfast. Dinners in the spacious three AA Rosettes-awarded restaurant or on the terrace in summer are a highlight. Executive Chef Allister Barsby has an outstanding pedigree and his food reflects that.

TOP TIP... Walk from the door through Canaston Wood and down to Blacpkpool mill.

Doubles from £210 +44 (0)1834 860915; thegrove-narberth.co.uk 158 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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LLANGOED HALL LLYSWEN, POWYS

One of the best country-house hotels in Britain, with numerous awards to prove it, Llangoed Hall has never felt better. It was Sir Bernard Ashley, widower of Laura, who bought and restored the Jacobean mansion – redesigned by Clough Williams-Ellis in 1912, which was once lost in a card game – as a showcase for his wife’s fabrics and wallpapers. Today it is still managed by the excellent Calum Milne and still filled with Sir Bernard’s furniture and fine collection of mainly early 20th-century British art. The bedrooms are particularly lovely, full of personal touches and pretty things, with views of the Wye Valley (the river is a five-minute walk) and Black Mountains.

And dinner is a real treat, courtesy of head chef Nick Brodie: imaginative and intricately presented, yet rooted in local produce, much of it culled from his burgeoning kitchen garden, where there are also ducks, hens, quail, bees and even a maze. Wander the hotel, playing snooker, admiring the paintings, tinkering on the piano, feeling thoroughly at home.

TOP TIP... Hay-on-Wye is a lovely little country town, approximately ten minutes away, where you can easily while away a couple of hours.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1874 754525; llangoedhall.co.uk

NANTEOS MANSION

ABERYSTWYTH, CEREDIGION ON RHYDYFELIN

A hugely welcome country-house hotel that perfectly blends the key ingredients we look for: style, elegance, a splash of grandeur, a sense of good living and peace and quiet. Nanteos is a fine Grade I listed Georgian mansion in a secluded spot between Cardigan Bay and the Cambrian Mountains that was owned for 200 years by the Powell family. Now it has been rescued and superbly restored by its new owners, who have done a terrific job of giving it not just new life, but contemporary panache as well. Public rooms, including a well-stocked library bar and a grand Georgian dining room, mix splendour with style and comfort in a lovely palette of colours. The 14 bedrooms, found in the former Bakery and Carriage House, as well as the Mansion itself, are stunning: all different, all elegant yet homely: the sort that make you want to linger. The food, drawing on the local larder, more than matches its surroundings. As for the peace: guaranteed.

TOP TIP... Discover the beautiful coves and golden sands of Cardigan Bay on a coastal walk, bike ride or hike.

Doubles from £120 +44 (0)1970 600522; nanteos.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 159

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

PENALLY ABBEY TENBY, PEMBROKESHIRE

Penally Abbey exudes bonhomie. Many hotels claim it, but few can truly pull it off: you instantly relax and feel at home. New owners Lucas and Melanie Boissevain have brought the lovely late 18th-century Strawberry Gothic House, with characteristic ogee head doors and windows, stunningly back to life; now you enter a spacious hallway with wood-burning stove; there follows a bar that opens on to a pretty conservatory, an elegant yet homely sitting room and a glamorous candlelit dining room set with white-clothed tables. Melanie’s look – she is an interior designer – mixes an appropriately traditional feel with judicious stylish touches, and the 11 bedrooms are equally charming: restful and comfortable spaces, most with sea views, in which it’s a pleasure to while away time. Each one includes a delightful hand-illustrated guide to things to do and see in the area. It sums up the charms of this exceptional hotel where, by the way, the food is very good too.

TOP TIP... Just a ten-minute stroll from the hotel across the sand dunes is Tenby South Beach – high tide is the best time for a swim.

Doubles from £145 +44 (0)1834 843033; penally-abbey.com

PLAS BODEGROES PWLLHELI, GWYNEDD

It’s all change at Plas Bodegroes. After nearly 30 years, Chris and Gunna Chown have handed over the reins to Chris and Camille Lovell. He is head chef, with an impressive background of cooking alongside multi-Michelin-starred chefs for more than 15 years and with three AA Rosettes gained in his own right. His wife, Camille, hails from northern France and has years of experience front of house in upmarket restaurants and hotels. Their new home (the English translation is Rosehip Hall) is a charming Georgian manor with a delicate frill of a veranda smothered in wisteria and roses in summer. With its flowery courtyard and heartshaped swathe of lawn leading to a 200-year-old avenue of beech trees, it’s a truly romantic place.

The bedrooms are pretty and comfortable and the duck egg blue dining room is a delight. Try Chris’s fragrant Welsh lamb or melting Welsh Black beef, accompanied by kindly priced wines and served by a friendly local team. Perfection.

TOP TIP... Between relaxing on the beaches, playing golf, enjoying the Llŷn Peninsula scenery or, even, adventuring with Bear Grylls at his survival academy, there is something for everyone.

Doubles from £150 +44 (0)1758 612363; bodegroes.co.uk 160 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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TYDDYN LLAN

LLANDRILLO, DENBIGHSHIRE

Just outside Llandrillo stands this modest Georgian house with a sympathetic extension employing local slate and stone. Once a shooting lodge belonging to the Dukes of Westminster, the house offers stunning views of the Vale of Edeyrnion and the slopes of the Berwyn Mountains beyond. Susan and Bryan Webb (he is the Michelin-starred chef) have been at the helm since 2002. In the dining room, Wedgwood blue with tall windows, you’ll find some of the very best cooking in Wales, from a seasonal menu that changes every day; there’s a superb, excellent value wine list too. The 12 idiosyncratic bedrooms are immaculate and of varying shapes and sizes, priced accordingly, and there is one elegant garden suite. After an outstanding breakfast, you can follow local walks into the Berwyns or stroll around the four acres of grounds, awash with daffodils in spring, and later linger over afternoon tea by the fire or on the veranda. A lovely, gentle place.

TOP TIP... Take a steam train ride along Bala lake, enjoy a canal boat trip over Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, walk to the Stone Circle and visit Rug Chapel.

Doubles from £190 +44 (0)1490 440264; tyddynllan.co.uk

YNYSHIR HALL MACHYNLLETH, POWYS

Ynyshir Hall is a special place, once owned by Queen Victoria, who loved spending time in the gracious white-painted house and undulating grounds, filled with rare varieties of trees and shrubs. And it just happens to harbour Wales’s most exciting restaurant, spearheaded by young Gareth Ward, who achieved a Michelin star in under a year of his arrival, three years ago.

Gareth was chosen by Ynyshir Hall’s owner Joan Reen, who sadly died this year. She knew that Gareth was destined for success and, together, their vision has made the hotel, with ten gorgeous, spoiling, vibrant yet soothing bedrooms, into a prime foodie destination.

Amongst his menus, Gareth’s enchanting dishes are presented on two extended tasting menus, each around 11 courses, with some unexpected culinary fireworks, including fun with liquid nitrogen, and superb wines to match. The gardens of Ynyshir Hall lead to the nature reserve, with superb birdwatching in a one thousand-acre sanctuary. The hotel, you will find, is a sanctuary too.

TOP TIP... Peruse the numerous pop-up antiques shops in Machynlleth for a bargain to take home.

Doubles from £215 +44 (0)1654 781209; ynyshirhall.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 161

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Scotland ‘A thistle can draw blood, so can a rose, growing together where the river flows, shared currency, across a border it can never know; where, somewhen, Rabbie Burns might swim, or pilgrim Keats come walking out of love for him.

Aye, here’s to you, cousins, sisters, brothers, in your brave, bold, brilliant land: the thistle jags our hearts, take these roses from our bloodied hands.’

From Carol Ann Duffy’s Tha gaol agam ort, 2014

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Rattray Head Lighthouse, Aberdeenshire by Martin Steele (Commended, Take a view 2015) facebook.com/ martinsteelephotography

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BEST ACTIVITY

Each evening at the Isle of Eriska (p169), guests gather for a hotel exclusive: badgers feeding from brown bread and skimmed milk right in front of them on the terrace.

ABOVE: River Sligachan and the mountains of Sgùrr nan Gillean RIGHT: Isle of Eriska

Take the High Road BEST TOT OF WHISKY

Whether they want to be independent or not, Scots are rightly proud of their country

Killiecrankie Hotel

QUIRKIEST FACT

At Killiecrankie Hotel (p170), with direct access to the stunning pass of Killiecrankie, there’s a beautiful cottage garden, with a sign on the garden gate: Rabbits Keep Out. And they do.

Every self-respecting Scottish hotel has a whisky bar, but The Torridon’s (p173) is something else, with over 350 malts packing the shelves, including many rarities.

Just don’t blame us for the morning after the night before.

BEST NEWCOMER

Looking for a boutique B&B in Edinburgh?

Look no further than Brooks Hotel (p168), a fine 1840 Gothic stone building, with many original features and a sympathetic makeover by Carla and Andrew Brooks, who also have Brooks Guesthouse in Bath and Brooks Guesthouse in Bristol.

Brooks Hotel, Edinburgh

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

S

tand on a rocky shore on the West Coast of Scotland on a summer’s day, with seals perched on rocks, mainland mountains and off islands stretched out in the distance, most probably a The Isle of Mull white sand beach as beautiful as any in the Caribbean and quite possibly a small castle in the frame, and you will surely rate the scene as the loveliest you have ever been privileged to gaze upon. Scotland Seal-spotting is awesomely beautiful, incredibly varied, full of history and marvellous for the sporting life. If you think only of tartan, shortbread and Scottish terriers, it will only be until you go. And what a time View over Edinburgh in the country’s history to visit.

Having lost the independence referendum, the SNP went on to scoop 56 of 59 parliamentary seats in last year’s election and this May they won a historic third term. One thing is for sure: the Scots are rightly proud of their country and of their principal cities, edgy Glasgow and elegant Edinburgh, both beacons of cultural life.

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SCOTLAND

FIN TO TAIL, Scrabster, Caithness

Joint winner of the UK’s most sustainable venue, awarded by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, the Captain’s Galley in Scrabster is a worthy, if unexpected, winner.

Seating a mere 30 diners and adhering to strict ethical and environmental principles, fish is very much the star of the show. Chef/owner Jim Cowie operates a fin-to-tail approach. ‘I fillet, keeping the best bits. Bones go for stock, the rest back to the boats and crab and lobster pots for bait.’ Jim also smokes his fish and gathers seaweed on the shore for his sushi. captainsgalley.co.uk

HOT CHOCOLATE, Edinburgh With three shops around Edinburgh in Bruntsfield, Broughton and Stockbridge, plus a specialist Chocolate Kitchen in Summerhall, where you can book in for chocolate-making classes, Coco Chocolatier specialises in making ethically traded, organic bars using single origin chocolate from the Dominican Republic. To emphasise their Scottish credentials, they’ve dreamt up Haggis Spice and Hazelnut & Isle of Skye Sea Salt bars. cocochocolate.co.uk

SALT OF THE SEA, Isle of Lewis At last, a Scottish sea salt. Sea water harvested from the shores of the Hebridean Isle of Lewis is transformed into crunchy flakes by applying the simplest of scientific principles – heat and time. It comes in three flavours: pure original, peat, for an extra dimension of smoky flavour, and seaweed infused with a mild peppery note.

On sale throughout Scotland, no doubt it will be coming south soon. hebrideanseasalt.co.uk

Local Foodie Seaweed flavoured salt and worthy whisky

LOCAL AND LOVELY St Monans, Fife

PHOTOS: CHRIS MACKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY

You’ll find Craig Millar @ 16 West End by St Monans harbour with views of the Firth of Forth and beyond. Tuck into local produce; fish, of course, but also well-hung Scottish beef and game deftly cooked by one of Scotland’s established chefs. 16westend.com

MADE WITH CARE, Beeswing, Dumfries Loch Arthur has a bakery, creamery, farm shop and café, which sells its own meat and veg, but there is so much more to it. As part of the Camphill Community, it offers support to its residents and views food-based activities as contributing to their sense of pride. locharthur.org.uk

COTTAGE INDUSTRY Edinburgh

Unlike some who pay lip service to the principles, The Gardener’s Cottage in Edinburgh is seriously committed to seasonality and local Scottish produce. So much so that they will not even use garlic or onions if they are not homegrown and available on the market and, refreshingly, it is not something they shout about. thegardenerscottage.co

A WEE DRAM Aberdeen

With nearly 600 single malts and blends to choose from, The Grill bar in Aberdeen is often called a whisky lovers’ paradise. They cater for all tastes – with the most expensive tot costing a mere £160. thegrillaberdeen.co.uk

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Mhor, Please Tom Lewis of Monachyle Mhor cites his mum as his biggest foodie influence My earliest food memory is of picking wild strawberries with my grandmother somewhere near Tintern Abbey. I was small, very small – probably no more that two or three – and I remember finding them and eating them, that sense of discovery, the burst of flavour. Food has always been around for gathering and collecting.

My mum has had the biggest influence on my career. She lost her sight in her 20s and it heightened her senses. Her enthusiasm and understanding of flavour – it’s second to none. I love her food.

Before I was a chef I was going to be a farmer but it wasn’t paying the bills, so I had to learn something else. My mother started serving teas, and then ran a B&B and like Topsy, the business grew and grew. Everything I’ve learnt, I learnt from her. We’re probably the world’s most spoilt restaurant with everything on our doorstep. And even though the business has grown, we still get everything as locally as possible – the beef and lamb comes from our farms, the game is all shot locally and, from mid-June until the first frosts, we all go out picking wild mushrooms.

Right now there’s a young stag in the fridge that has been hung for a while and needs skinning. It was shot – out of season – but legally as it was ‘marauding’. Our menu changes daily, depending on what’s about and the weather. If it’s cold, then warming

NETTLE, ROCKET AND PUMPKIN SEED PESTO

soups are the order of the day.

Knives are my weapon of choice, obviously, and mine have red handles so the other chefs know not to use them. But also a 99p plastic scraper for cleaning out bowls and getting out the last drop. It’s handy for bread-making and clearing up the work surfaces.

There are so many great local ingredients in Scotland that it’s hard to pick just one. Katy Rodgers churns a mildly fermented butter down the road, it’s always in my fridge, or Summer Harvest produces a beautifully golden rapeseed oil with a gentle rounded flavour. It reminds me of toasted pine nuts.

Pound the garlic with a little pinch of salt, the rocket and nettle leaves. Pulse the mixture in the food processor or in a pestle and mortar. Add the toasted pumpkin seeds and pulse again.

Pour out into a bowl and mix with the Isle of Mull cheddar. Stir INGREDIENTS gently and add the olive » ½ clove of garlic » Sea salt oil (you need » Freshly ground just enough black pepper to bind the » 100g rocket » 200g nettle leaves, sauce together blanched, refreshed to get an oozy and thoroughly dried consistency) » 100g toasted pumpkin seeds, use a hot pan and season and toss until they pop to taste. » 100g Isle of Mull cheddar, Add more finely grated » 200ml–250ml of light cheddar and olive oil oil until you » Squeeze of lemon juice are happy with the taste and consistency, you might like to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to give it a little twang.

Be careful not to over grind the mixture as it needs a bit of texture, and make sure you pick the tender top nettle leaves and not the woody ones at the bottom.

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BROOKS HOTEL EDINBURGH

Carla and Andrew Brooks have their fingers right on the pulse of the city hotel scene. As with Brooks Guesthouses in Bath (see page 33) and Bristol (see page 34), they’ve created an affordable home from home that still feels spoiling, with their bed and breakfast hotel in Edinburgh’s lively West End. The interior of the handsome 1840 Gothic stone building preserves many of its original features, which make a fine backdrop for their fresh, easygoing decorative style. With bold designer wallpaper and furniture, goose down duvets and crisp cotton bed linen, the 46 bedrooms feel they belong to a much more expensive establishment. They range in size from singles to family rooms. Classic and contemporary styles happily collide in the sitting room, with its hunting trophies and eye-catching modern furniture. An open fire in winter makes this the perfect place to relax with a drink from the well-stocked honesty bar, whereas the delightful courtyard, a summer suntrap, is the place to head to when it’s warm.

TOP TIP... Run like a local along Union Canal behind Fountain bridge.

Doubles from £79 +44 (0)1312 282323; brooksedinburgh.com

FORSS HOUSE THURSO, CAITHNESS

Caithness is compelling: eerie landscapes, enigmatic standing stones, the enchanting Castle of Mey, light-filled night skies in summer, amazing stars and northern lights in winter – and much more. At Forss House, close to Britain’s most northerly point, Dunnet Head, you’ll find easily the best base from which to explore, plus excellent and comfortable salmon fishing on the River Forss, which flows in a picturesque arc around the hotel. Sabine and Ian Richards have owned Forss House for the past dozen years and have decorated it in a way that respects tradition yet also feels fresh. You’ll find tartan carpets, a malt whisky bar, a sunny conservatory for breakfast and an elegant ripple of a shallow Georgian staircase from the light and spacious first-floor master bedrooms. The food is exceptional: don’t miss the Mey Selection beef or raspberry soufflé. In short, Forss House is a gem, whose best asset is its manager Anne Mackenzie, the life force here for 30 years.

TOP TIP... Walk on Dunnet Beach, take a wildlife boat trip from John O’Groats, a day trip to Orkney Islands and visit the Castle of Mey. Doubles from £135 +44 (0)1847 861201; forsshousehotel.co.uk 168 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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SCOTLAND

GLENAPP CASTLE BALLANTRAE, AYRSHIRE

Be inspired, reflect, recharge, reconnect. That’s what the new owners of Glenapp Castle, Paul and Poppy Szkiler, hope you will do when you come to stay, and that is surely what will happen.

The 19th-century sandstone castle, once the seat of the Earl of Inchcape, is suitably grand, with oak-panelled hallways and corridors, lavishly decorated reception rooms and 17 highly individual bedrooms and suites. But it’s the wonderful extensive gardens and grounds overlooking Ailsa Craig that make this Relais & Châteaux hotel truly special, where guests have exclusive access to the huge Victorian glasshouse, rare plants and shrubs, walled garden and woodland walks. Not to mention the hotel’s own 11-metre rib for fishing and birdwatching trips, as well as a host of worldclass golf courses nearby. And then there’s the seriously good food, sourced from the Scottish larder. Despite all these assets, it’s the staff – local, friendly, warm yet always professional, who are the very best asset of Glenapp Castle.

TOP TIP... Visit Ailsa Craig, a volcanic outcrop that’s home to gannets, razorbills, guillemots and many more incredible bird species.

Doubles from £295 +44 (0)1465 831212; glenappcastle.com

ISLE OF ERISKA HOTEL ISLE OF ERISKA, ARGYLL

Eriska is magical: a private island where peace wraps around you like a warm tartan blanket. A wonderfully rumbly old bridge connects the mainland to the island and its Scottish Baronial Big House, built in 1884.

The experience of staying here is very much like being in a grand, old-fashioned private house, with its panelled great hall and roaring log fires. In the library-cum-bar you can browse the books with a malt whisky in hand, or play the piano. After a fine dinner, served in the smart dining room, morning room and adjoining conservatory, guests gather for an Eriska exclusive: badgers feeding from brown bread and skimmed milk right in front of them on the terrace. There’s plenty to do: a ninehole, professionally designed golf course, a spa and leisure centre and – perfect for rainy days – a gleaming multi-purpose sports hall. But, above all, there’s the island itself, all yours, with its seals and otters and its dreamlike views.

TOP TIP... Ask the staff where the best spots are to view the incredible wildlife in action – there’s always something different to see throughout the year.

Doubles from £370 +44 (0)1631 720371; eriska-hotel.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 169

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

KILCAMB LODGE STRONTIAN, ARGYLL

A short ferry ride brings you to the Ardnamurchan peninsula, a tranquil wooded place, rich in wildlife, with magnificent scenery, and to this superbly restored country-house hotel. Originally built in the 1700s, with two imposing stone wings added in the 19th century, it has a fabulous location on the shores of Loch Sunart, with its own private beach. The interior is reassuringly traditional – smart tartan or chintz fabrics, plump sofas, shelves full of books. Roaring log fires and triple-lined curtains keep out the winter chill. From almost every window there are breathtaking views.

Seafood and venison are particular specialities of head chef Gary Phillips, who presides over both the classically stylish restaurant and the airy, contemporary Driftwood Brasserie. Relax in the elegant drawing room or cosy bar, and go for walks to glimpse pine martens, red deer, seals and, occasionally, otters. In summer there are whale-watching trips from Laga Bay to the Sound of Mull and the island of Coll.

TOP TIP... For sightings of otters, eagles and stunning scenery, climb aboard the hotel’s vintage boat, with the option of afternoon tea.

Doubles from £160 +44 (0)1967 402257; kilcamblodge.co.uk

KILLIECRANKIE HOTEL PITLOCHRY, PERTHSHIRE

‘We believe in good old-fashioned hospitality,’ says owner Henrietta Fergusson, ‘and always welcome guests with a complimentary afternoon tea.’ And there lies the secret of this adorable hotel: the down-to-earth, very Scottish warmth and hospitality extended by Henrietta and her tartan-trousered staff. With direct access to the beautiful Pass of Killiecrankie, the whitewashed 1840s house has been a hotel since 1939 and, despite upgrading and redecorating, its traditional homely feel has been retained.

A four-course table d’hôte dinner is served at white-clothed tables in the dining room, with lighter dishes available in the Bar Conservatory.

The ten bedrooms are elegant, with rich colours and fabrics, and fresh flowers. They overlook what is perhaps the most memorable feature of Killiecrankie: its enchanting, old-fashioned garden. ‘I don’t want this to be a “treat” sort of place,’ says Henrietta, ‘I just hope people might say, “Let’s go to Killiecrankie and unwind for a couple of days”.’ Absolutely.

TOP TIP... See salmon jump, glimpse an otter and contemplate the Soldier’s Leap along the River Garry (guided by Beanie, the cocker spaniel).

Doubles from £250 +44 (0)1796 473220; killiecrankiehotel.co.uk 170 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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SCOTLAND

KINLOCH LODGE ISLE OF SKYE, ROSS-SHIRE

Foodies flock to Kinloch Lodge. Hardly surprising, since it belongs to the cookery writer Lady Claire Macdonald and her husband, Lord Godfrey (Macdonald of Macdonald, High Chief of Clan Donald), and boasts Michelin-starred Marcello Tully in charge of the kitchen.

Brazilian-born Marcello, who arrived in 2007, has kept Kinloch’s culinary reputation very much alive since Claire stepped back; her charming daughter Isabella now runs the hotel. The former hunting lodge stands on the peaceful shores of Loch na Dal. Inside: an immediately welcoming mix of well-bred and unpretentious, with antique furniture, family portraits and, of course, a cosy whisky bar you may never leave. A feeling of good living pervades, and soon it’s time for dinner and Marcello’s fabulous tasting menu, a showcase of his finest dishes such as Mallaig seabass with lime and coconut or Moray pork belly with scallops, pickled fennel and oriental sauce. A nightcap, perhaps, and then bed: you will sleep well in your strikingly decorated, very comfortable room.

TOP TIP... Kinloch’s own ghillie will introduce guests to the island, with fishing rod in hand, on one of the hotel’s Wild Walks.

Doubles from £260 +44 (0)1471 833333; kinloch-lodge.co.uk

KNOCKINAAM LODGE PORTPATRICK, DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY

Want to escape the hurly-burly? Head for Galloway and Knockinaam Lodge, a perfect pairing. With a wonderfully secluded setting on its own cove, lawns that run down to the water and stunning sunsets, the Victorian hunting lodge makes a remote, relaxing and truly enchanting spot; no surprise that it was chosen by Winston Churchill as a secret location in which to meet General Eisenhower during the Second World War. Since 2003, it has been in the caring hands of David and Sian Ibbotson and their friendliest of staff. They have created a house that is instantly welcoming and effortlessly stylish and gracious. Wood smoke and fresh garden flowers scent the air, fine pictures adorn the walls and there are 150 malts in the panelled bar and well over 500 bins in the cellar. As for food, it’s some of the finest in Scotland. And though Knockinaam Lodge is properly remote, it’s only two hours’ drive from Glasgow.

TOP TIP... Visit the Logan Botanic Garden – a little slice of exotic paradise in the southwest of Scotland.

Doubles from £290 +44 (0)1776 810471; knockinaamlodge.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 171

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

MONACHYLE MHOR BALQUHIDDER, PERTHSHIRE

The setting is both serene and romantic – as well it might be: this was the location of the family home of Rob Roy MacGregor, approached along the Braes of Balquhidder (described in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped) and set beside Lochs Doine and Voil. Rob and Jean Lewis first farmed the 2,000acre estate, then opened the building as a hotel.

Today, it is son Tom and his family who are in charge, and the hotel now has 14 luxurious and stylish rooms. Tom is the highly praised chef, and the light and airy conservatory restaurant overlooking the lochs is popular with locals and guests alike. Most of the produce, including lamb and beef, has been grown, raised or foraged on the farm. For a relaxing break in magnificent scenery, Monachyle Mhor is very hard to beat... and it doesn’t stop there. As well as the farm and hotel, the Lewis empire extends to a fish shop and bakery in Callander as well as the excellent seven-bedroom MHOR 84 motel.

TOP TIP... Book a Highland Glen Safari to enjoy all the beautiful scenery the glen has to offer, while getting close to nature and spying for the elusive red deer and soaring golden eagles.

Doubles from £185 +44 (0)1877 384622; mhor.net

PRESTONFIELD HOUSE EDINBURGH

Let’s face it, they don’t make hotels like Prestonfield anymore. Not usually. It’s romantic, it’s opulent and it’s shamelessly seductive. The mansion, set in a quiet location on the edge of the city, gives no hint of what lies inside.

Minimalism be damned. There are swags and columns, brocades and velvets, rich colours and intimate corners. Bedrooms are better described as boudoirs, where velvet, silk and antiques mix with high-tech playthings, and surfaces are scattered with flowers, fruit and candles. Suites are even more lavish: a Gothic day bed, a velvethung four-poster, silk toile wallpaper, a silver chariot bath. The two oval-shaped dining rooms become a candlelit Gothic fantasy at night, and the food and the hotel’s impressive wine cellar live up to the ambience. Staff are relaxed and friendly, and will track you down in whatever intimate sitting room (there are at least four) you are curled up in. And, once you manage to uncurl, Edinburgh awaits.

TOP TIP... Visit Holyrood Palace nearby (an even grander building by Prestonfield’s architect), and then explore the less-visited end of the charming old town.

Doubles from £335 +44 (0)131 225 7800; prestonfield.com 172 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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SCOTLAND

THE TORRIDON TORRIDON, WESTER ROSS

A former and still very grand shooting lodge, The Torridon has one of the Highlands’ most stunning locations. It stands on a beautiful sea loch in 58 acres of parkland, with breathtaking views all around. Its staff are well trained and motivated, and it has a particularly fine interior. The public rooms have been lovingly restored to their former glory and the 18 gorgeous bedrooms combine the elegantly classic with an upbeat contemporary look. In the attractive sitting room, relax in a window seat perfectly positioned for the view. In the restaurant, David Barnett combines Scottish ingredients with French flair; his stand-out dishes include venison, grouse, razor clams and John Dory. After dinner, head for the whisky bar, stocked with more than 350 malts.

There are various outdoor activities on the doorstep, from cycling and bird watching to kayaking and sea loch cruises. You’ll find simpler rooms at the cosy Torridon Inn and the self-catered Boat House (weekly lets only).

TOP TIP... Tour the North Coast 500, on which The Torridon is located – a scenic and rugged route around the north of Scotland.

Doubles from £245 +44 (0)1445 791242; thetorridon.com

WITCHERY BY THE CASTLE EDINBURGH

James Thomson’s Gothic conversion of this substantial 16th-century building is darkly mysterious and thrillingly exotic. At the top of Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile, it’s named after the hundreds of witches that were burned nearby. You enter through an ancient close into a flamboyantly theatrical world, where ceilings are richly gilded and painted, walls are hung with tapestries or panelled in oak, and rooms are decorated in jewel-like colours with swathes of velvet. Its nine suites are vast, sumptuous and wickedly romantic, furnished with four-posters or extravagantly curtained beds, antiques and oil paintings. A celebrity haunt, the Witchery restaurant not only looks magical, with its red leather seats, panelling and candle light, but showcases the very best produce Scotland has to offer. The Angus beef steak tartare is legendary.

In summer, there’s al fresco dining on the private terrace of the hotel’s other restaurant, The Secret Garden. James Thomson’s second Edinburgh hotel is the opulent baroque Prestonfield House (see opposite).

TOP TIP... Head to the rooftop Tower Restaurant for an afternoon tea with a view.

Doubles from £325 +44 (0)131 225 5613; thewitchery.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 173

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Ireland ‘I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made: Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings; There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow, And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey, I hear it in the deep heart’s core.’

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

From WB Yeats’ Lake Isle of Innisfree, 1888

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Lough Leane Lake, Killarney National Park, County Kerry

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BEST SPA

The Well Spa at Cliff House (p182) takes its name from the sacred spring at St Declan’s Spring, a short walk from the hotel. Take a peat bath treatment in an outdoor tub overlooking the sea: truly relaxing.

ABOVE: The Irish Atlantic coast in Co Cork BELOW: The pool at Cliff House

Irish Charm Go, and go now. You can’t fail to be seduced…

A

The Liffey runs through Dublin

BEST ACTIVITY

Currarevagh House

QUIRKIEST FACT

A huge tiger skin hangs on a wall at Currarevagh House (p183), home to the Hodgson family for centuries. ‘It was a dangerous man-eater shot in selfdefence,’ says Henry Hodgson.

‘We’re not American dentists.’

The Merrion (p184) is home to an important collection of 19th- and 20th-century art. Take the audio tour to find out more and then indulge in the hotel’s Art Afternoon Tea with pastries inspired by some of the paintings. Art that’s good enough to eat.

BEST SPOILING TREAT

Just being at Ballyfin (p180) is a spoiling treat. It’s one of Ireland’s most important Neoclassical houses, and is filled with more beautiful and important furniture, pictures and objects than any other hotel we can Deep comfort at Ballyfin think of.

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

re the British mad? We have a hard time persuading them to head for Ireland for a short break, but honestly, even a quick weekend is worth its weight in golden leprechauns and anyone who ignores the Emerald Isle and all its glories is simply missing out. It’s like home – they think – only further away, so why go? But truly, it isn’t.

We promise you that from the moment you arrive at Dublin, Cork or Shannon airport till the moment you leave, you will be beguiled by the blarney, the craic and the natural dry wit of the people that you meet. Forget potatoes – the food is wonderful and the best hotels are as they used to be 40 years ago in England: privately owned, often in gorgeous Georgian houses, with amazing views, peat fires and comfort second to none. As for the welcome: you will be entranced wherever you go. Dublin is back in business and on a high, while from County Cork to County Wicklow and Connemara to County Donegal, the abundant nature, unfettered wilds and geological richness of the lore-soaked landscape is the chief draw. Well, that and the Guinness. Ireland isn’t a destination, it’s a love affair, and we are in love.

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IRELAND

THE VEGGIE TWINS Greystones, Co Wicklow

Twins with a mission or, as The Times suggested, ‘poster boys for a healthy way of life’, Stephen and David Flynn run The Happy Pear Café in Greystones and at Shoreline Gym, where menus are funky and fun, full of textures and featuring a surprising palette of flavours. They even find the time to write books. thehappypear.ie ICE MAGIC, Co Kerry

TONGUE AND CHEEK Moira, Co Armagh Opened a few months ago, the complimentary reviews about Wine & Brine are coming in thick and fast. Combining fresh, local produce with traditional ageing, curing and pickling techniques, chef-owner Chris McGowan has sketched out an innovative vision. His tongue and cheek pie, which featured on the Great British Menu, makes the occasional appearance and has everyone begging for more. wineandbrine.co.uk

Local Foodie Irish Ben & Jerry’s and tongue in cheek pie

Murphy’s ice cream is Ireland’s answer to Ben & Jerry’s. Started in 2000 in Dingle by Seán and Kieran with the goal of making the best ice cream in the world, apart from ‘bigger pots and pans’, nothing much has changed.

They still make it ‘by breaking eggs and using fresh cream and milk from the rare, indigenous breed of Kerry cow and pure cane sugar’.

Worst flavour they ever admit to making – smoked salmon – and it was pronounced ‘horrible’. Check out their best flavours and where to buy them in Ireland. murphysicecream.ie

« FALLON FOR FOODIES, Dublin

Acknowledged as one of Ireland’s best shops for serious foodies, Fallon & Byrne just gets better and better.

With a brasserie for grazing, food-togo and great meat, fish and vegetable sections, you can expect interesting varieties and splendid quality. fallonandbyrne.com CHOICE CHEESE

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

FOOD TOURS Killinchy, Co Down Tracey Jeffrey, teacher and pâtissier, has developed Food Tours in and around Co Down. Aimed at ‘people who like food and, of course, drink, which is just as important here’, she plans to include cider-makers, chocolatiers, fishermen around Strangford Lough and much more. If you want to indulge your Downton Abbey fantasy, then you can enjoy an Edwardian dining experience with the local gentry. nifoodtours.com

HOORAY FOR HARRY Bridgend, Co Donegal

Harry – actually now Harry’s son Donal – is making his mark food-wise. First off is Harry’s Restaurant in Bridgend, with its splendidly sourced, confidently cooked food; then there’s the Saturday market he hosts. Next comes Harry’s Shack on the edge of the dunes in Portstewart that receives rave reviews and, finally, rumours of Harry’s Wagon for takeaways. Next step... the world? harrys.ie

Cheesemongers Sheridans now has shops in Dublin, Meath, Galway and Waterford and remain the best source for the ever-increasing range of Irish farmhouse cheeses, including the creamy goat’s milk St Tola which, as it matures, develops a wonderful citrus flavour that mingles with lots of other subtle tones. sheridanscheese mongers. com

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

Dutch Courage

SLOW-COOKED ARDMORE LOBSTER SALAD

Martijn Kajuiter of The Cliff Hotel is happy to share his knives

with turnip crème and tarragon

My earliest food memory is of boiling horrible green eggs. My parents ran a little catering business in Holland and, when I was about five, I used to cook the eggs for the Russian salad. There were far too many in a batch, the water took too long to come the boil, there was no way of controlling the timing – so the yolk always turned out green.

My interest in cooking started when I was at Gymnasium school (the Dutch equivalent of English grammar school). I didn’t enjoy it and, against my parents’ advice, decided to ‘let’s go cook’. I liked to eat, had always been around kitchens, so thought – why not?

My style of cooking is wide ranging – classical but with modern twists. In a way I’m quite old-fashioned and like to please my guests but I like to experiment while always respecting the ingredients.

On the menu today is my soufflé in the colours of the Irish flag using sea buckthorn (orange), mint (green) and fromage frais (white). And I serve it with a layered trifle in a glass so the colours really show up.

The best meal I’ve ever eaten was at Restaurante DiverXO in Madrid. It was sensational and unlike anywhere else.

Clever, surprising, thoughtful – a complete food experience.

When I’m back in Holland, I like to go to Den Helder by the coast with my wife and our three boys. There we buy sweet brown

shrimps and, if they’re too small or too fiddly to peel, we bake them under a salt crust and eat them whole with mayonnaise.

We enjoy so many local ingredients. Our own garden here at the hotel is a great source. Then there are the lobsters caught in the bay, as well as really good fish, plus lamb from Mr MacGrath, our local butcher.

My weapons of choice are my knives, the same Global knives I have had ever since I started as a chef.

And, unlike most chefs, anyone can use them.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a medium-sized pot and add the fennel, celery and shallots. Then add the herbs, a teaspoon of all the dried spices and the vinegar.

Bring to the boil and add 900ml water.

Let it simmer for ten minutes and season with sea salt. Next, put the lobster in a similarly sized pot, off the INGREDIENTS heat, and pour the boiling liquid – the court bouillon – on top.

SERVES FOUR FOR THE LOBSTER: Let the lobster cool down in » 2 Irish lobster this. They will cook very, very » 1 fennel bulb, finely diced slowly. After one hour remove the » 4 celery stalks, finely diced » 2 shallots, finely diced lobster and clean them. » 40g tarragon, parsley, Prepare the turnip crème by chervil, dill, mint – stalks dicing the turnip into small cubes. only, no leaves » 100ml vinegar Boil the turnip in the vegetable » Rapeseed oil stock with seasoning. When » ½ tsp peppercorns cooked, strain and purée in a » ½ tsp coriander seeds, » ½ tsp fennel seeds blender with the olive oil into a smooth cream. Season to taste and FOR THE TURNIP CRÈME: add some grated lemon zest. » ¼ turnip (approx 250g) » 200ml vegetable stock Blend the basic vinaigrette with » 40ml olive oil a few tarragon leaves. Put a few » sea salt dots of the crème on the plate and » lemon zest place the tail and the claw around FOR THE DRESSING: these. Arrange a few lettuce leaves » 50ml basic vinaigrette around it with some julienne of » ½ bunch tarragon » ½ butterhead lettuce apple, crushed hazelnuts and » 1 apple, julienned tarragon leaves. The vinaigrette » Handful of hazelnuts, can be drizzled on the lobster meat crushed together with some ground black pepper and sea salt. Serve.

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FLAGSHIP STORES

LONDON ∙ CHELTENHAM ∙ DUBLIN Visit our website for retail partners in your area or to buy online

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BALLYFIN

BALLYFIN, COUNTY LAOIS

One of Ireland’s most important neo-classical houses, Ballyfin stands in its own 614-acre demesne, full of delights, including lake, Victorian fernery, Edwardian rockery and walled garden, not to mention the tower: climb to the top for a panoramic view. A Downtonesque knot of staff awaits guests on the steps of this remarkable hotel as they arrive, setting the tone for service that is old school, yet warm and friendly. The reception rooms are filled with superb antiques and paintings and there’s a glamorous indoor pool, vitality pool, sauna and four treatment rooms. The 20 bedrooms are all gorgeous, in classic Irish country-house style; perhaps the loveliest is the Lady Caroline Coote, with its graceful Empire-style ceiling, but it’s hard to choose, with each one appealing in its own distinctive way. As for the food, it lives up to the surroundings and head chef Michael Tweedie’s menus are always spot on. Standards are high, and it’s the sort of place where one jarring note would spoil the show. Happily, it never does.

TOP TIP... Join the house tour and delight in a story of Irish history recounted through Ballyfin’s significant collection of art and antiques.

Doubles from €560 +353 (0)57 875 5866; ballyfin.com

BALLYNAHINCH CASTLE RECESS, COUNTY GALWAY

Set at the foot of the Twelve Bens, Ballynahinch Castle has a history as colourful as its riverside setting is stunning. Surrounded by 450 acres of rugged Connemara landscape, it’s a hotel with a big heart that captivates its many returning guests. It enchanted Seamus Heaney, who wrote his fine poem Ballynahinch Lake while staying here, and it captivated delightful General Manager Patrick O’Flaherty, who has been at the helm for 19 years and lives with his family on the estate. Don’t worry – no spa or heliport here, just superb salmon fishing (the atmospheric, wood-panelled pub is full of memorabilia and has a famous set of weighing scales), spacious bedrooms, good food, comfort and kindness.

In the elegantly redecorated restaurant, hung with superb 20th-century Irish art, you will kill for a table overlooking the Owenmore River. Stewarding the kitchen is head chef Ultan Cooke, previously of Michelin-starred Aniar. It’s a treat you will only want to repeat.

TOP TIP...Take a guided walk of the estate, learn about Ballynahinch’s myths and legends and discover ancient ruins.

Doubles from £158 +353 (0)95 31006; ballynahinchcastle.com 180 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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IRELAND

BALLYVOLANE HOUSE CASTELYONS, COUNTY CORK

Imagine a grand, Italianate, Georgian, Irish country house, gorgeous but lived-in, run as a guesthouse by its old-school owners since the mid-1980s. Imagine their son growing up there, then leaving to work at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong and later as General Manager at Babington House. Imagine that he then returns, takes over the reins and runs the hotel his way.

You are imagining Ballyvolane. Filled with antiques, oozing atmosphere, it’s also – thanks to deft touches introduced by Justin Green – somewhere that’s cool and stylish too. It’s that hard to achieve thing: a place where one can unwind, but makes its guests feel glamorous and special. There are Persian rugs, antiques, quirky retro tables, leather Chesterfields, roaring fires and a lavishly stocked honesty bar, with Justin’s own delicious gin, Bertha’s Revenge, taking pride of place. The bedrooms are lovely, and the food, eaten communally, unless you specify otherwise (you won’t), delicious. Breakfast is served whenever you want.

TOP TIP... Take a guided canoe trip on the River Blackwater from Ballyduff to Lismore, then visit Lismore Castle Gardens and Arts afterwards.

Doubles from £190 +353 (0)25 36349; ballyvolanehouse.ie

BELLINTER HOUSE NAVAN, COUNTY MEATH

A country-house hotel in a splendid Palladian mansion, the trademark style of leading 18thcentury architect Richard Cassels, Bellinter House achieves that rare combination of unpretentious and hip. Food and drinks are served throughout the day and evening in the captivating double drawing room with its fine stucco ceilings, vintage sofas and chairs, wacky art and full-height windows overlooking the River Boyne. You could happily spend hours here, curled up by the peat fire, but there are plenty of other tempting distractions – from fishing on the river and billiards or chess in the Games Room to an impressive range of treatments in the soothing Bathhouse Spa. Divided between the Main House and various annexes, the 34 stylish rooms range from the traditional to the contemporary, and duplexes in the converted stables are great for families and groups. The restaurant is an offshoot of Dublin’s award-winning Eden.

TOP TIP... Take to the skies in a hot air balloon, which launches from the hotel’s very own front lawn. The perfect way to enjoy a spectacular sunrise or sunset over Boyne Valley.

Doubles from £98 +353 (0)46 9030900; bellinterhouse.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 181

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

CASTLES, CAUSEWAYS AND THE CRAIC AN EXCEPTIONAL NEW RAIL EXPERIENCE IS TAKING SHAPE IN IRELAND. BELMOND GRAND HIBERNIAN IS THE COUNTRY’S FIRST EVER LUXURY TOURING TRAIN, LIFTING TRAVEL IN THE EMERALD ISLE TO DAZZLING NEW HEIGHTS.

GRAND HIBERNIAN IRELAND HOTELS | TRAINS | RIVER CRUISES | JOURNEYS l BELMOND.COM

CLIFF HOUSE

ARDMORE, COUNTY WATERFORD

A good hotel in an unusual location is such a joy, not only because it offers spoiling things – including, in this case, a fabulous building, all glass, steel, slate and ‘living’ roofs. Cliff House drops to the sea in a series of levels, connected internally by a lift and a spiral staircase, with all rooms facing the water. It has fabulous bedrooms, an airy restaurant, jazzy bar and semicircular, lime green spa, and as for the Michelin-starred food, it’s courtesy of hugely talented 6’8” Dutchman Martijn Kajuiter.

But it’s the clifftop waterside setting, the views and the charming local staff that really make Cliff House special. Ardmore is special too: Ireland’s earliest Christian settlement, founded

by St Declán in 1416; nowadays a summertime seaside resort, its charms include a famous 12th-century round tower and a gently curving beach. At Cliff House, you are guaranteed to rest, explore, make friends and eat well in equal measure. A delightful spot.

TOP TIP... Take a guided foraging, whale or birdwatching hike along the Ardmore cliffs.

Dolphins, fin whales, minke and the occasional humpback have all been spotted here.

Doubles from £150 +353 (0)2487 800; thecliffhousehotel.com 182 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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IRELAND

CURRAREVAGH HOUSE COUNTY GALWAY

‘Things have always stayed the same here,’ says Henry Hodgson, fifth generation of his family to run their home as a guesthouse. ‘It would be rude to change them now.’ And that’s the joy of Currarevagh House. Beautifully set on Lough Corrib, with huge sash windows and original shutters, the house was built in 1840, though the family has lived here since the 17th century. Inside, you are transported to a calmer, more dignified time (wifi is the only modern concession) where a gong heralds dinner, and the breakfast coffee is served in original ’50s glass Cona receptacles, warmed by methylated spirit burners. Henry is charming and funny and totally at ease; his wife Lucy (they have three young daughters) is a marvellous cook and dinner is always delicious. You feel completely relaxed: what more could you possibly want?

Room keys? ‘We don’t have them,’ says Henry, ‘your things will be perfectly safe.’ And you know, without doubt, that he speaks the truth.

TOP TIP... Make sure to take a trip on the Lough to visit Inchagoill Island and view the fifth-century monastery there – Henry can organise a boat for you.

Doubles from £120 +353 (0)9155 2312; currarevagh.com

GREGANS CASTLE BALLYVAUGHAN, COUNTY CLARE

Gregans is a gem, but it’s not a castle. It’s another of Ireland’s fine crop of Georgian houses (the castle, a 15th-century towerhouse, stands across the road). With sweeping windows and a surprising spread of rooms, both gracious and intimate, the house has an immediately soothing effect, but it’s the location that creates the extra twist. Gregans Castle stands in The Burren, the unique region of limestone terraces strewn with wildflowers, ancient burial tombs, stone forts and ecclesiastical ruins. It’s no surprise then that JRR Tolkien – who stayed here – is said to have been influenced by its magic when writing The Lord of the Rings. The 20-bedroom hotel purrs along like a well-oiled classic car, as only family-run hotels can. Simon Haden took over from his parents in 2003, and his wife Freddie is responsible for bringing the interiors beautifully up to date with voguish paint colours and sympathetic and stylish lighting, sofas, modern artworks and so on. As for David Hurley’s food, it’s quite simply marvellous.

TOP TIP... Take the guided Burren hill walk with local farmer Shane Connolly and learn about the geology, botany, archaeology and social history of this fascinating area.

Doubles from €265 +353 (0)65 707 7005; gregans.ie 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 183

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

THE MERRION DUBLIN

Dublin’s finest hotel is effortlessly gracious.

Everything feels right, from the location opposite the Government Buildings and the twinkly doormen, to the polished service and the elegant, classic bedrooms. Four tall, sober Georgian town houses – one of which was the birthplace of the first Duke of Wellington – have been opened up to create a series of expansive, welcoming reception rooms with stucco ceilings, peat fires, antique furniture and the owner’s outstanding collection of 19th- and 20th-century Irish art, which you can learn about in a discreet audio tour. Just as impressive is the lovely formal garden, now graced by Rowan Gillespie’s wonderful statue of James Joyce, around which the hotel’s two wings, old and new, are wrapped.

As for the soothing restaurant, it’s the province of two-Michelin-starred Patrick Guilbaud, and there’s a spa with pillared infinity pool. No surprise that the charming general manager, Peter MacCann, has been in place since the Merrion opened, but quite a surprise to know that was less than 20 years ago. It feels timeless.

TOP TIP... Learn the secrets of the city at The Little Museum of Dublin.

Doubles from £225 +353 (0)1603 0600; merrionhotel.com

RATHMULLAN HOUSE RATHMULLAN, COUNTY DONEGAL

Rathmullan House is one of those much-loved hotels that feels like discovering a hot water bottle in a chilly bed. It’s the sort of place where you are quite likely to find yourself still basking on a comfy sofa by the fire hours after you first installed yourself there.

Built as a grand Georgian holiday home, the house was remodeled in 1870 to include the distinctive row of bay windows across the facade. It’s been a hotel since 1962 and is now run by Mark and Mary Wheeler. Its setting on the golden shores of Lough Swilly is superb and it harbours some unexpected treats. One is the tailor-made menu of the holistic treatments delivered by Bernie, who has a magic touch. Another is the hotel’s attractive modern extension housing light and spacious bedrooms. And then there’s the food. Dinner, in the elegant restaurant, its tented ceiling studded with twinkling lights, is outstanding, as is breakfast. All in all, an endearing place in which to unwind.

TOP TIP... Escape to the tap room in the cellar for locally brewed craft beer from Kinnegar Brewing.

Doubles from £140 +353 (0)7491 58188; rathmullanhouse.com 184 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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IRELAND

THE RIVER LEE CORK

Where better to stay in Cork than this stunning modern hotel, as exciting and hip as the city itself? Part of The Doyle Collection and sister of The Westbury in Dublin (see below), it’s set on a picturesque bend in the river just outside the centre, with remarkable views from almost every room. Cork has a fast growing reputation as a destination for foodies and the hotel’s riverside all-day bistro, Terrace On The Weir, is a local favourite for everything from weekend brunch to late-night cocktails. It’s a relaxed place, where you can sit in the sunshine and enjoy good food and the view. There are Donegal tweed blankets to wrap yourself in if it turns chilly, and a retractable roof if it rains. Inside, the river is on show through floor-to ceiling windows in the grown-up Weir Rooms restaurant, also open all day. Here, deliciously simple dishes are prepared using prime Irish ingredients. The hotel also has a juice bar, excellent gym, pool and spa, fabulously comfortable rooms and friendly staff.

TOP TIP... Discover the growing craft beer scene in Cork, which hosts several festivals throughout the year.

Doubles from £126 +353 (0)2142 52700; doylecollection.com

THE WESTBURY DUBLIN

Standards are always high at The Doyle Collection. Never more so than at The Westbury.

Like its sister, The River Lee (see above) and the Doyles’ London hotels, The Kensington, The Bloomsbury and The Marylebone, it has a sleek design, intuitive staff and luxuriously comfortable rooms. Chief among its assets is its location on Grafton Street, with its galaxy of consumer delights. After a long day, your room will seem like the answer to a prayer – enveloping and soothing in shades of taupe, with customwoven Irish wool carpet, the softest mohaircovered chairs, sumptuous blackout curtains and underfloor-heated marble bathrooms. For food, there’s Balfes, a contemporary cross between a New York deli and Parisian brasserie, where the dishes match its edgy decor, or haute cuisine at the sophisticated, upmarket Wilde. Whatever you do, don’t miss afternoon tea at The Gallery.

A feast of sandwiches, scones, home-made cakes and fragrant teas is served daily, overlooking the throngs of Grafton Street and surrounded by a private art collection – a true Irish institution.

TOP TIP... Explore Dublin’s creative quarter, which is filled with quirky shops and cafés.

Doubles from £126 +353 (0)1679 1122; doylecollection.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 185

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Bruisyard Hall, Suffolk

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Private Houses ‘The stately homes of England How beautiful they stand!

Amidst their tall ancestral trees, O’er all the pleasant land!

The deer across their green sward bound Through shade and sunny gleam, And the swan glides past them with the sound Of some rejoicing stream.’

From Felicia Dorothea Hemans’ The Homes Of England, 1827

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

BARSHAM BARNS GREENWAY, NORFOLK

What sort of barn has a Jacuzzi with steam room and four-poster beds? The kind we’d like to spend the week in, exploring the Norfolk coastline and roaming the Broads.

Barsham Barns aren’t any old conversion, designed by an award-winning architect, these cosy hideaways make self-catering so much more glam. Whether there are four of you, or 48, between the seven barns, there’s sure to be something to suit, and there’s no question of its five-star Gold Awards from Visit England.

Try sunny Little Barsham for small families (up to four), a pretty flint building with views over the meadow to All Saints Church.

Or, for bigger groups (up to 14), there’s the impressive Great East Barn, which used to be a 19th-century granary, with a roomy sitting room for late nights, with unusual clunch walls and wood burner. If you can tear yourself away from this rural retreat, you’re just 15 minutes from the coast, where you can go sailing, windsurfing or day trippin’ on a magnificent sailing barge.

TOP TIP... Go to Wiveton Hall Café for its delicious, local food and buzzing atmosphere – Friday night tapas is especially recommended. +44 (0)1328 821744; barshambarns.co.uk

BOCONNOC HOUSE LOSTWITHIEL, CORNWALL

Wow. What a restoration project it was to return this stunning manor house – which can trace its history back to Norman times and the Pitt Diamond – to its former glory. It lay unoccupied for around 50 years before the Fortescue family spent 12 years transforming it into the gloriously peaceful place it is today, where the only sounds you hear are birdsong and water flowing along the stream. Once here, you and your guests are encouraged to treat the house and grounds as if they are your own, so kick off your shoes and settle in. Up to 40 guests can be accommodated in the house and surrounding cottages, and everyone can explore the breathtaking grounds, play cricket on the estate pitch, watch the deer in the park, or enjoy a sundowner by the lake.

If nurturing is what you need, the local masseuse or yoga teacher can be booked in. If the weather hasn’t blessed you, tuck yourselves up with hot chocolate and blankets for a movie night in the library, read by a crackling log fire or head to the games room for pool and table football.

TOP TIP... Book yourself on a guided tour of the stunning Camel Valley Vineyard (Cornwall’s largest) followed by a tasting session of their award-winning wines. +44 (0)1208 872507; boconnoc.com 188 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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PRIVATE HOUSES

BRUISYARD HALL SAXMUNDHAM, SUFFOLK

If you want to take a serious country house for entertainment (or education), Bruisyard Hall is a striking mid-14th century mellow brick building in 700 acres. It has been owned by the Rous family since 1611.

Recently, Paul Rous has masterminded its redevelopment, deftly bringing it up to date whilst retaining its historic feel. The hall, grounds and newly converted timberframed barn make for splendid settings.

Together, the hall and barn can accommodate 24 guests in luxurious, elegant bedrooms, overlooking the grounds. Whether you’re throwing a dinner party or curling up with a book, one of the three handsome reception rooms will fit the bill. There’s even a billiard table in the well-stocked Games Room. Extras can include tea in the drawing room or a day’s shooting, arranged by the willing team that runs Bruisyard like clockwork.

TOP TIP... Sample a glass of beer poured straight from the barrrel at The King’s Head in Laxfield, a 15th-century thatched inn with a traditional tap room, known locally as the 'Low House’. +44 (0)1728 639000; bruisyardhall.com

MAUNSEL HOUSE NORTH NEWTON, NR TAUNTON

Not many houses can boast Geoffrey Chaucer as a house guest, but Maunsel House can.

It is believed that the Father of English literature wrote The Canterbury Tales in this 13th-century manor house, and you too are invited to create your own memorable tales here. The true charm of this place lies in its family home atmosphere and every room is simply bursting with character (a reflection of its owner, Sir Benjamin Slade), history and beauty. Guests are encouraged to treat Maunsel House like it was their own estate, meaning its 100 acres of glorious parkland, lakes and orchards are yours to enjoy, as well as its 17 decadent bedrooms. Visit the duck ponds and ponies, then enjoy a quiet moment by the roaring wood fire in the library. Or if you are looking for something a little different, friendly staff are on hand to help curate truly wonderful experiences – ask them about the variety of activities on offer such as clay pigeon shooting, archery and hot air balloon rides.

TOP TIP... Visit Somerset Lavender, a family-run farm offering its visitors spectacular views across its lavender fields. Take in the soothing scent and admire the scenery from the rose arbour. +44 (0)1278 661076; maunselhouse.co.uk 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 189

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

RUTLAND RETREATS OAKHAM

It’s hard to imagine that the old villages of Nether Hambleton and Middle Hambleton lie somewhere at the bottom of the stunning Rutland Water. But, we’re thankful for their sacrifice, for it means we can escape to the beautiful, eco-build timber Rutland Retreats for a wonderful, peaceful holiday. Not to worry if you haven’t put your name to one yet, they are available for holiday lets, too. Available as two or three beds, all have tri-light windows opening onto private patios and smart finishes throughout, as well as WiFi, log burners and moss sedum roofs. On the doorstep there’s shooting, biking, boating and fishing trips, as well as riding, walking and stately homes to visit. Keep an eye out too for red kite, deer, partridge and osprey regularly spotted in the area. Or have concierge at the adjacent hotel, Barnsdale Lodge (see page 120), arrange picnics, BBQs, dinner parties, you name it – or pick up food hampers or breakfast trays (if you’re in need of a long lie-in, they will deliver all of this straight to your door).

TOP TIP... Be chauffeur driven to and from Barnsdale Lodge for dinner by the ever-willing porter. +44 (0)1572 725971; rutlandretreats.co.uk

SOMERLEYTON LOVINGLAND, SUFFOLK

For a house party that will blow the socks off all others, take over the resplendently grand Somerleyton and its 5,000 acres, which owners Hugh (Lord Somerleyton, the great great grandson of the original owner) and his wife, Lara, have spent the last years restoring and refreshing. Sleeping 24, this house was built for entertaining. How about inviting 80 guests for a Saturday night shindig to remember, seated for dinner in the romantic Winter garden, then moving on to the ballroom for a late-night boogie, before, perhaps, getting lost in one of the finest yew hedge mazes in England. Even better, you’re not the one left with the washing up.

Nothing is too much trouble for the crew, who can arrange everything from sailing, game shooting, stalking and horse riding to more esoteric activities such as butchery, floristry or gardening. Whatever you do, it will be a weekend to remember, especially if you’re here to celebrate your big day – Lord and Lady Somerleyton will even give over their private guest accommodation to big wedding parties.

TOP TIP... Ask the team to arrange an afternoon of waterskiing on Fritton Lake. +44 (0)8712 224244; somerleyton.co.uk 190 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 2016

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PRIVATE HOUSES

STANFORD HALL LUTTERWORTH, LEICESTERSHIRE

It’s been in the family for years, since 1430 to be precise. The current Hall is an imposing Queen Anne-style manor, which once played host to Queen Mary in the South East bedroom. Ideal for a big celebration, there are 15 tastefully themed bedrooms and a magnificently restored ballroom with eye-averting golden frescos, where up to 90 guests can dine under the watchful gaze of the Stuart kings of England. Butler and Gurkha stewards are optional. And then there are the gardens; with 900 acres to roam, a secluded walled rose garden and oak-lined approach, guests can play at being lord of the manor. Go the whole hog and take all rooms. Simon Jenkins once described Stanford as, ‘The perfect William and Mary house. The south front floats like a palace of romance across a distant meadow,’ and, when that palace is just a 50-minute train ride from Euston, we should be knocking on its door in droves.

TOP TIP... Visit Kilworth House open air theatre, set in a beautiful wood close to the lake in the grounds of Kilworth House Hotel, just ten minutes from Stanford Hall. +44 (0)1788 860250; stanfordhall.co.uk

WATER MEADOW COTTAGE BLENHEIM PALACE ESTATE, OXFORDSHIRE

This charming two-bed, 18th-century Cotswoldstone cottage, is as authentic as quintessential England gets. Nestled in the Blenheim Palace Estate’s grounds, The Duke of Marlborough has leased it to DJ Nichols, founder of Unlisted London. Boldly designed with statement furniture and crystal chandeliers, it’s also bug- snug with underfloor heating, eco-fuelled fireplaces, Belgian linen sheets and fresh flowerfilled vases. There’s a welcome breakfast hamper (brimming with farmhouse eggs, bacon, artisan bread and orange marmalade), a well-curated honesty larder filled with candles, spa goodies and gourmet savouries, complemented by an exceptional selection of wines from Berry Bros & Rudd. Even your pooch gets paw wipes, blankets and food. What’s more, Unlisted will organise everything from a charismatic tour guide to in-cottage catering whisked up by their award-winning chef. The enchanting clapboard summer house is the perfect place for afternoon tea as you gaze out over the Duke’s sheep filled meadows. Simply brilliant.

TOP TIP... Ask the team to arrange a pass to visit the palace and its romantic park designed by the famous landscape gardener ‘Capability’ Brown. +44 (0)8702 255007; watermeadowcottage.com 2016 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK/GREAT-BRITISH-AND-IRISH-HOTELS | 191

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C&TH GREAT BRITISH & IRISH HOTELS

Index A

The Abbey Hotel Albion House The Alexander Pope The Alma Anchor Inn The Apartments

by Sloane Club The Angel Hotel The Arch London Artist Residence (Brighton) Artist Residence (Penzance) Artist Residence (Pimlico) Askham Hall At The Chapel Augill Castle

D

Dorset Square Hotel Driftwood The Dundas Arms 31 62 62 82 47 97 155 82 63 14 83 140 31 140

B

Bailiffscourt 63 180 Ballyfin Ballynahinch Castle 180 Ballyvolane House 181 The Bar Convent 141 Barnsdale Lodge 120 106 Barnsley House Barsham Barns 188 The Bath Priory 32 Batty Langley’s 83 The Beach at Bude 14 The Beaumont 84 32 The Beckford Arms The Bell at Skenfrith 155 181 Bellinter House The Berkeley 84 The Bingham 85 The Bloomsbury 85 Boconnoc House 188 Bodysgallen Hall & Spa 156 Bowood Hotel, Spa & 33 Golf Resort Brocco on the Park 141 Brooks Guesthouse (Bath) 33 Brooks Guesthouse (Bristol) 34 Brooks Guesthouse 168 (Edinburgh) Brown’s Hotel 86 Bruisyard Hall 189 64 The Bunk Inn

C

Calcot The Capital Careys Manor The Castle Hotel Castle House The Cat Inn The Cavendish Hotel Chewton Glen Claridge’s Cley Windmill Cliff House Cliveden House The Coach House at Middleton Lodge Congham Hall The Connaught Cowley Manor Crab & Lobster Inn Currarevagh House

106 86 47 156 157 64 120 48 87 130 182 65 142 130 87 107 65 183

E

Easby Hall East End Arms Ellenborough Park

F

The Felin Fach Griffin The Five Alls Flemings Mayfair Forest Side Forss House Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire Fowey Hall

G

The George George and Dragon Gidleigh Park Gilpin Hotel Gilpin Lake House Glenapp Castle Gliffaes The Goodwood Hotel The Goring The Grange Hotel Gravetye Manor The Grazing Goat The Great House Gregans Castle The Grove The Gunton Arms The Gurnard’s Head

H

Halfway Bridge Inn Hambleton Hall Hampton Manor Hand and Spear Hart’s Hartwell House Hazlitt’s Hell Bay Hillside Hipping Hall The Horn of Plenty Hotel Endsleigh Hotel TerraVina Hotel Tresanton The Howard Arms Howtown Hotel

I

The Inn at Whitewell Isle of Eriska

J

Jeake’s House

K

The Kensington Kilcamb Lodge Killiecrankie Hotel

88 15 66

The King John Inn Kinloch Lodge Knightsbridge Hotel Knockinaam Lodge

L

142 48 107

157 108 88 143 168 49 15

49 143 16 144 144 169 158 66 89 145 67 89 131 183 158 131 16

67 121 121 68 122 68 90 17 50 145 17 18 50 18 108 146

146 169

69

90 170 170

The Lamb Hindon The Lamb Inn Langar Hall Langford Fivehead The Levin Lime Tree Hotel Lime Wood Linden House Linthwaite House Little Barwick House The Little Gloster Llangoed Hall The London Edition Lord Crewe Arms Lucknam Park

M

Maison Talbooth The Manor at Sway The Marylebone The Master Builder’s Maunsel House The Merrion Middlethorpe Hall The Milk House The Mill at Gordleton Monachyle Mhor The Montagu Arms Moonfleet Manor The Museum

N

Nanteos Mansion The Nare Hotel No. 38 The Park No. 131 Nonsuch House Norfolk Mead The Northcote Number Sixteen

O

Ockenden Manor Oddfellows The Old Coastguard The Old Quay House The Orange The Orange Tree

P

Padstow Townhouse The Painswick Park House The Peacock at Rowsley The Peat Spade Inn Penally Abbey The Pheasant Inn The Pier The Pig The Pig at Combe The Pig in the Wall The Pig near Bath The Pig on the Beach The Plantation Plas Bodegros

34 171 91 171

The Plough at Kelmscott The Portobello Hotel Prestonfield House

R

35 69 122 35 91 92 51 70 147 36 51 159 92 147 36

132 52 93 52 189 184 148 70 53 172 53 37 37

159 19 109 109 19 132 148 93

71 149 20 20 94 94

21 110 71 123 54 160 72 133 54 21 55 38 38 39 160

Rathmullan House The River Lee The Red Lion Freehouse Rockcliffe Hall Rosewood The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa The Royal Oak (East Lavant) The Royal Oak (Yattendon) Rutland Retreats

S

The Savoy The Seafood Restaurant The Sloane Club Somerleyton Sopwell House The Spread Eagle The Stafford St Enodoc St Moritz Stanford Hall Star Castle Stoke Park

T

The Talbot Inn 10 Castle Street Thornbury Castle Thyme The Torridon Tregulland The Trout at Tadpole Bridge Tyddyn Llan

V

Villa Magdala

W

Water Meadow Cottage Watergate Bay The Waterside Inn The Wellington Arms The Westbury Whatley Manor The Wheatsheaf The White Horse The Wild Rabbit The William Cecil The Windmill The Winning Post The Witchery by the Castle

Y

Ynyshir Hall

Z

The Zetter Hotel The Zetter Townhouse Clerkenwell The Zetter Townhouse Marylebone

110 95 172

184 185 39 149 95 40 72 73 190

96 22 96 190 73 74 97 22 23 191 23 74

40 41 111 111 173 24 112 161

41

191 24 75 55 185 112 113 133 113 123 98 75 173

161

98 99 99

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Unbridled Collection in 18ct white, yellow and rose gold set with white and yellow diamonds

MAYFAIR STORE

43 Davies Street, London, W1K 4LU Unbridled Add option A.indd 1 David Marshall.indd 1

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OUTRAGEOUSLY BEAUTIFUL JEWELLERY

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 01789 267 072 WWW.PRAGNELL.CO.UK

BY APPOINTMENT - BERKELEY SQUARE, LONDON

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