The Times - UK (2022-04-30)

the times Saturday April 30 2022

Travel 47

Need to

know

The mansion at the

Cirencester Estate

then chocolate mousse. I wouldn’t have
minded a bit of people-watching at dinner
— a favourite pastime of mine at hotels.
Instead, yet more relatives peer down in
the wood-panelled, mint-coloured dining
room and the ambience veers perilously
towards tumbleweed silence, with no
background chatter or music. It comes
into its own at breakfast, though, with a
buffet as impressive as any at a five-star
resort, and nobody coughing over
the sliced fruit or pastries.
We have the master bed-
room, which has MO
touches that include
branded bathrobes
and slippers laid out
at turndown, along
with gifts of luxur-
iant balms left on
our pillows. The
bedroom alloca-
tion can cause con-
flict on villa holidays
because there is often
a marked disparity
between the largest and
smallest. But MO has been
careful about such details and all
ten bedrooms here are large, light-filled
and prettily decorated in primrose yellows,
new-bud greens and sky blues. Only the
attic ones, designed for children, have a
shared bathroom.
Ours has penthouse proportions, splen-
did country views and a vast dressing
room, but our en suite isn’t up to MO
standards. Apart from a steam setting in
the shower (which can be replicated just by
staying in there a long time), the bathroom
is pretty boring, with one functional-
looking sink and a bland, boxed-in bath

that will never make it on to Instagram.

There is no gym or spa, either — stan-

dard facilities in the average five-star

establishment that I also miss. But we do

have other distractions.

We start one morning with yoga in

the drawing room, its French windows

thrown open so we have a soundtrack of

birdsong. I rate MO’s wellness instructors

highly, and Clare’s hatha class is perfectly

judged for a house-party group.

We also stroll to a spot near

the woods to try clay-

-pigeon shooting, and

Denham arranges a

private vineyard

tour of the nearby

Poulton Hill Es-

tate, where we

stock up on its

award-winning

Bulari sparkling

rosé. There is al-

so horse riding,

off-road driving, a

field picnic, wildlife

watching and archery,

and guests have the might

of the MO team to fulfil any

specific requests.

As we prepare to leave we conclude that

the estate feels more relaxed than a hotel

but more pampering than a villa, and apart

from apparently losing our walking boots

it’s been great. Then Denham appears

brandishing them. He has polished their

leather to a mirror finish, explaining that

he couldn’t let us put anything muddy in

our car. My husband and I exchange

embarrassed glances, and I grab the shiny

shoes from Denham — we couldn’t

possibly let him see the state of its boot.

Susan d’Arcy was a

guest of Mandarin

Oriental Exclusive

Homes, which has one

night at the Cirencester

Estate for 20 people from

£6,750, including butler,

chef, concierge, driver

and housekeeping,

but excluding food.

Minimum two-night stay

(mandarinoriental.com)

more grand houses for

a country escape

Keythorpe Hall, Leicestershire

Sustainable gastronomy is central to

this grade II-listed Georgian country

house near Uppingham, on the border

of Rutland and Leicestershire. Guests

can chat menus with the chef Peter

Johansen, who uses produce from the

1.8-acre kitchen garden and works with

local farmers. Its wine cellar is as good

as that at any French château-hotel

and is overseen by the award-winning

sommelier Bert Blaize, who honed his

skills at the two-Michelin-starred

Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in

Oxfordshire. The interior is eclectic,

with a carved French dresser, vintage

lampshades and modern art that sits

surprisingly comfortably with the

18th-century architecture. Tennis,

croquet and clay-pigeon shooting

will help to build up an appetite, and

experiences include cookery and

gardening classes and wild food walks

in the walled garden.

Details One night for 20 from

£6,000 (keythorpehall.co.uk)

Brownber Hall, Cumbria

For a more loosened-corset ambience

try this Victorian manse at the foot of

the Howgill Fells. It’s seven miles from

Kirkby Stephen, but you’d be forgiven

for thinking you’re in Shoreditch. The

moodboard is hipster slick thanks to its

renovation by Georgina Rose of Soho

House fame, with cosy sofas, bare

floorboards, original fireplaces snazzed

up by contemporary art and touches

such as vibrantly painted skateboards

hanging on William Morris wallpaper.

On the large custom-made dining-

room table antiques and eBay finds

have been combined to striking effect,

while rural views entice you out for

spectacular walks. Wild swimming

spots and the Carlisle-to-Settle steam

railway are also nearby.

Details Three nights for 15 from

£1,600 (brownber.co.uk)

Kin House, Wiltshire

The owners are putting the finishing

touches to this grade II listed Georgian

manor in quaint Kington Langley,

near Chippenham, before its July

launch and given their backgrounds in

event planning, its ethos is very much

vibrant party house. The design

includes a shell mural created by the

decorative artist Mel Campion, Delft

tiles, pink marble counters, intricate

wallpapers and a speakeasy-style bar

with a round-the-clock service as

good as that at any London grande

dame property. Some of the 12 en

suite bedrooms have tubs big

enough for two and are wrapped in

Fermoie’s Shell Grotto fabric.

There’s a well-stocked

complimentary minibar, and any

overindulgence can be chased

away in the ten acres of walled

gardens, meadows and woodland

paths. Workshops from yoga to

floristry are included.

Details One nights’ B&B for 24

from £9,500 (kinhouse.co.uk)

Hedsor House, Buckinghamshire

You might recognise this

Italianate mansion from The

Golden Compass, in which the

house put Nicole Kidman in the

shade. Don’t sulk, Nicole, it was

after all designed by Sir William

Chambers, also behind Somerset

House. Service is red-carpet too, with

uniformed staff on duty in eight wood-

panelled reception rooms and a dining

hall adorned with ancestral portraits

and heirlooms. Galleried staircases lead

to huge bedrooms with four-posters,

crystal chandeliers and marble

bathrooms that have freestanding tubs.

Outside is 100 acres of grade II listed

parkland with views over the Thames,

and there is tennis and a 4x4 track.

Details One night for 26 from £7,140

(hedsor.com)

Sibton Park, Suffolk

Your arrival at the 8,000-acre

Wilderness Reserve could have been

scripted by the Downton Abbey creator

Julian Fellowes. Guests motor up a

serpentine drive, over an ornamental

bridge and past a lake before seeing the

grade II listed Georgian façade of

Sibton Park — the work of the

architect Decimus Burton. Robert

Pattinson, Alexander Skarsgard and

Alexa Chung have all partied here. The

drawing room has listed Chinese

wallpaper, the kitchen a wood-burner

and deer-antler chandeliers, and while

there is an antique-heavy dining room,

it’s more fun to eat by candlelight in the

vaulted corridor. Facilities include a

gym, cinema and games room. Beyond,

the rewilded estate stretches across

three valleys. For coastal excursions,

Southwold and Aldeburgh are nearby.

Details One night for 27 from £3,317

(wildernessreserve.com)

The Great Escape, Gloucestershire

On Lake Bowmoor with use of a

motorised boat, paddleboards, a canoe

and a kayak, this three-storey lodge is

the country retreat reinvented for the

modern age — think shoreside dining

area with retractable roof. There is a

Bulthaup kitchen, Gaggenau appliances

and a sitting room with 75in TV and

PlayStation, B&B Italia furniture and

Tom Dixon lighting. The property is

within Lakes by Yoo, spread over 850

acres of lakes, meadows and woodlands

outside Fairford. Guests have access to

the Orchard Spa, which has a heated

pool, sauna and steam room. And,

there’s a kids’ club, a gym, tennis courts,

a zip wire and dune buggies.

Details Two nights for 12 from

£4,286. (mrandmrssmith.com)

Prices exclude food unless stated

6

One of the ten bedrooms

A smart sitting room

The outdoor pool

A bathroom at Keythorpe Hall