For kin
One day they’ll say, “When we were kids, we found a place to call home, a family cottage that became a midwinter fortress. The floor was lava, and there were owls each night, and always crumpets at breakfast.”
Or, something like that, anyway.
In places where lochside retreats are eclipsed by peasouper fogs, and sea-crafted gales are carried in on the wings of sooty shearwaters, your motley crew (and the dogs, too) will always be found together. Here’s to time away with your homefolk, to tallying up the seconds between lightning flashes and thunder claps, and the careful cherry-picking of Monopoly tokens.
These weathered seasons are for luxury hideaways. For teaching the children the cosy curriculum: discovering herbs in the garden at dawn, squeezing lemon wedges over cast-iron puffed pancakes at lunch, and melting boiled sweets into stained glass sugar cookies for last lesson. What you feel most has no name but cinnamon, blankets, puzzles, chuckles, and rivers of honey flowing from the drizzler.
Hollyhocks
A chalky Tudor cottage nestled on the banks of the river Arrow in the fairy-tale village of Eardisland, this is a characterful home, complete with hot tub.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests (+2)
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,950 per week, £1,450 per short break
Pets: Two well behaved dogs are welcome
Features: William Holland spa bath and outdoor kitchen
The Hop Store
Set within 150 acres of perfectly aligned hop yards, rolling meadows and juicy apple orchards, The Hop Store is idyllically situated on one of the last remaining hop farms in the UK.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,795 per week, £1,350 per short break
Pets: Sorry, no pets
Features: Hot tub and fire pit, heated garden room, games room with pool table, dartboard and giant jenga
Atelier Rose
This luxury riverside home in Herefordshire’s Leominster is a wonderland of charm; walk through the topiaries to find Atelier Rose, with its orangery that hides a giant tin spa tub.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests (10 adults and 2 children)
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £3,550 per week, £2,695 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Large William Holland spa bath, cinema room, pool table room
Charity
Black Mountains, Herefordshire, UK
Divinely secluded, Charity is a real wild retreat; set down a mountain road in the Black Mountains of Herefordshire, this luxury country home has a hot tub and sauna.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £3,795 per week, £2,850 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Wood-fired hot tub, sauna, outdoor shower, outdoor pizza oven, table tennis, snooker room, cinema barn and badminton lawn
