Glorious West Country properties
GRAND HOTELS
Bovey Castle, North Bovey, in Dartmoor National Park, is a lavish neo-Elizabethan-style mansion house built in the early 1900s, now a glorious country-house hotel with 79 bedrooms, including 14 lodges. It also has a Sundari spa and an 18-hole golf course, and offers activities such as falconry, cider and sloe gin making, tennis and crolf (a combination of croquet and golf). Nearby attractions include The Eden Project, National Marine Aquarium, The Miniature Pony Centre, Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts and, of course, great beaches. Rooms are from £125 per person, accommodation only.
0800-089 3929, www.prideofbritainhotels.com
The Mount Somerset Hotel and Spa near Taunton, Somerset, and Buckland Tout-Saints Hotel in the South Hams, Devon, together offer a great minibreak. At The Mount Somerset, arrive to tea and cake, use the spa and enjoy a 30-minute Express Glorious Skin treatment. Come evening, relax over a twocourse dinner. The following day, travel to the Buckland Tout-Saints for a seven-course dinner with a glass of bubbly. This two-night break, which can be done in the opposite direction, costs from only £199 per person (based on two sharing and subject to availability until June).
01823-442500, www.themountsomersethotelandspa.com
01548-853055, www.tout-saints.co.uk
JUST FOR THE DAY
Clevedon Court, Clevedon, Somerset, is a fine 14th-century manor house with a wonderful 18th-century terraced garden. It’s been home to the lords of the manor of Clevedon for centuries, with parts of a massive 13th-century tower and great hall, and much of the original building still evident. The house was bought by Abraham Elton in 1709, and it is still the much-loved family home of his descendants today. It contains many striking Eltonware pots and vases, and a fascinating collection of Nailsea glass, with its typical latticinio striping.01275-872257, www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Pencarrow House, Bodmin, Cornwall, a largely Georgian mansion, is still owned and occupied by descendants of the family who settled there in the 1500s. The house was taken on in the 1970s by Lieutenant Colonel Sir Arscott and Lady Molesworth-St Aubyn, who spent decades shaping it and reclaiming the gardens to open to the public. Pencarrow has a fine collection of paintings, most notably family portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds and two riverscape views of London by Samuel Scott, and many other treasures. Tours of the house and gardens are available, and there’s the Peacock Cafe for tea and cake, and a gift and plant shop.
01208-841369, www.pencarrow.co.uk
Prideaux Place is an Elizabethan manor house overlooking the picturesque fishing harbour of Padstow in North Cornwall. The Prideaux family is an ancient Cornish clan, whose origins go back to the 11th century and who descend from such diverse characters as William the Conqueror, King Edward I and Queen Eleanor of Castile. Jane Austen, too, was a close relation. Since its completion in 1592, 14 generations of the family have lived at Prideaux Place. Tours of the house are available, and there’s a fully licensed Terrace Tea Room for light lunches or Cornish cream teas.
01841-532411, www.prideauxplace.co.uk
Tyntesfield House, Wraxall, Bristol, is a fi ne Victorian country house created by one of England’s richest commoners, William Gibbs, who built his fortune on fertiliser. The house has a gothic look, with turrets and pinnacles, ornate stone carvings and church-like windows. There’s a restaurant and café, gift and plant shop, and events from guided walks to food and craft markets and kids’ activities – check the website for details. There are also three estate houses in which you can stay: Summerhouse Cottage, Chaplain’s Lodge and Chaplain’s House.
01275-461900, www.nationaltrust.org.uk
HOLIDAY HOMES
Shute Barton, near Axminster, Devon, is one of the county’s most important old manor houses. Accommodation includes a medieval great hall with a late-medieval 15ft window and a bedroom with late 17th-century painted panelling. Outside, the garden features lawns that are ideal for croquet or tennis, an orchard and distant views to the sea at Seaton. Five bedrooms sleep up to 10 people, and two dogs are allowed to stay, too. Attractions nearby include the dinosaur fossils of the Jurassic Coast, Lyme Regis and Crealy Adventure Park. Three nights cost from £882.0844-800 2070, www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk
Tintinhull House, near Yeovil, Somerset, is an elegant 17th-century manor house built from local Ham Hill stone, which overlooks the most delightful formal garden. With four bedrooms, it can sleep up to eight people, and the house has many original features, such as leaded windows. The kitchen has a huge Aga, and there’s a large, open fi re in the sitting room. Popular nearby activities include walking, fishing and shopping in Yeovil and Shepton Mallet. Three nights cost from £713.
0844-800 2070, www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk
THE APARTMENT
Greenway, Devon, is a large holiday apartment spread over the first and second floors of Greenway House, famously the holiday home of Agatha Christie and her family. The house was built in about 1792, but the apartment, which sleeps 10, is decorated as it was when the house was refurbished for modern living in 1938. It has its own exclusive garden, with an open-air swimming pool (open June to September) and patio. Guests also have the privilege of access to Greenway garden at all times. Three nights cost from £823.www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk
IN OTHER NEWS…
Great walksVictorian Entrepreneurs And Explorers and Bossington Butterfl ies are two of the new walks featured in the 13th North Devon And Exmoor Walking Festival, 27 April to 6 May.
www.exmoorwalkingfestival.co.uk
Just the ticket
Ticket provider 365tickets sells admission tickets for top attractions, including the National Seal Sanctuary, Helford Estuary, Cornwall, with a 10% saving on the gate price. The UK’s busiest seal rescue centre is home to sea lions, otters and penguins, too.
www.365tickets.co.uk
Spring break
Daish’s Holidays offers four-night spring breaks in Newquay, Torquay and Bournemouth from just £99 per person. This price, based on two people sharing, applies to selected dates and includes half-board and entertainment.
01803-201432, www.daishs.com.
Charcoal Day
The ancient art of charcoal making is brought back to life at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall on 19 April. Free to garden visitors, visit the kilns in the Lost Valley between 11am and 1pm to take part.
01726-845100, www.heligan.com
Egg-travaganza
St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall, kicks off a new season with its annual Cadbury’s Easter Egg Hunt around the village and harbour on 29 and 31 March from 10.30am to 4pm; £2 per child.
www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk