For gathering
In the end, we’ll look back at the pictures we took beside that fire pit, in that treehouse, dancing around that kitchen island, and we’ll say: “look at us, we always filled those big houses to the rafters.”
Welcome to the family reunion: where kith and kin gather in large houses around the nation. Out on the wind-whipped balcony, an imaginative elder points out to sea and tells concocted stories of fisticuffs with sharks and trading treasures with the Pirates of Penzance. Inside, there’s fresh coffee and sweet apples from the orchard; and fair isle socks muffle the thuds of young ones testing their pillow obstacle course.
This winter is for coming together in luxury, for dogs dodging tumbling stacks of Jenga, for floating in and out of slumber as the stardust-souled play a motion picture, and the whole group gathers in the fire-warmed snug. Tables piled high with crackers and trailing grapes. Cheese boards and nut bowls and jars of fruit chutney; no space left for elbows. Carafes slosh with plummy Malbecs until the last drop is poured, well into the small hours.
Aria
Crowcombe, The Quantock Hills, Somerset, UK
A cubic zinc build at the edge of Somerset's Quantock Hills, Aria is a luxury architectural home with a curated edge and wood-fired hot tub set between olive trees in Crowcombe.
Sleeps: Up to 8 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 & Up to 2 guests
From: £2,850 per week, £2,295 per short break
Pets: Sorry, no pets
Features: Wood-fired hot tub
Wool Merchant´s House
Beckington, Frome, Somerset, UK
Classic and tasteful in style, with pops of modern artwork, a heated outdoor swimming pool and immaculate attention to detail, this Frome country home is an exquisite Somerset retreat.
Sleeps: Up to 10 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £3,995 per week, £2,995 per short break
Pets: One well-behaved dog is welcome, or two on prior request
Features: Heated outdoor swimming pool (May - September inclusive)
Viola
Butleigh, Glastonbury, Somerset, UK
In the hills of Somerset, not far from Glastonbury, Viola is a luxury country estate that offers a private fair; think spa, pool, gym, cinema, and even Formula 1 racing simulators.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 8 guests
From: £10,995 per week, £8,250 per short break
Pets: One well-behaved dog is welcome or two on request
Features: Spa Jacuzzi, sauna, swimming pool (available May- September inclusive), a fully equipped gym, cinema room, a lake, two full motion Formula 1 racing simulators, table tennis and a tennis court
Pearl´s Place
Hugged by rose gardens and woodland glades, this rock 'n' roll Somerset home brings together country chic with faded glamour; this is Pearl's Place, a unique family home in Frome.
Sleeps: Up to 18 (14 adults and 4 children)
From: £10,995 per week, £8,850 per short break
Pets: Two small well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Wood-fired hot tub
