Staycations are definitely the done thing this year, it’s all we've heard about. With friends opting for smaller mini-moons in the UK and choosing cosy weekends away in cabins.
And so when spring finally arrived, it was time to take a few days to relax and make the most of the weather. With longer days and milder evenings, it was a great excuse to have a long weekend away in the country.
Somewhere with all the comforts of home, but in a quiet, tranquil place, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
And so that’s exactly what we did, and found Puggiestone House tucked away in Dartmoor National Park.
Our trip wasn’t exactly small-scale, the ‘house’ - if I can call it that - is a exquisite country manor with an impressive seven bedrooms, with one in a separate annex, there’s plenty of room for every man and his dog.
Arriving late on Friday night, and after a very swift, one hour flight from Manchester to Exeter, we arrived at the house and made our way up the driveway to be greeted by an impressive manor house. The first thing we noticed was the wonderful wall-long window in the kitchen, which light flooded the courtyard with light and so we could spot the private chef pottering around in the kitchen.
That evening after a tour of the grand house we went up to our bedroom, complete with ensuite, size-able wardrobes and a view of the private pool and patio outside.
We awoke to beautiful views from every angle, the house is nestled within beautiful gardens and nature is everywhere you turn.
We felt relaxed as soon as we walked through the door, the house is rented as a whole, so you’re free to go about your day as you would at home, making tea and relaxing as you please. But you can enjoy the added benefits of; a luxury swimming pool; pretty landscaped gardens; dinner cooked - and washing up done - for you.
Enjoying the outdoors
For lunch we headed to Home Farm Cafe ( Homefarmcafe.co.uk) in Bovey Tracey, where we enjoyed a traditional cornish pasty and had the chance to meet some local ponies. The National Trust site also had an ‘Apple Day’ event on, showing how they farm the apple trees that are scattered about the site.
We enjoyed an afternoon of foraging with Dartmoor’s Daughter - and no, I hadn’t really heard of this either before I went - however it turned out to be a lot of fun and pretty eye-opening, if a little wet up on the tor due to the weather. We picked up a variety of leafy salad accompaniments, elderberry berries for a homemade cordial and berries for a ketchup. We then carted all our ultra-organic ingredients home ready to (attempt to) use in our delightful dinner.
Before you start questioning how we all knew what to cook and how to make just a few ingredients found in the woodlands into a meal, I’ll let you in on our secret. We had the benefit of having ‘dine indulged’ help us out in the kitchen. Our chef rustled up a delicious nine-course taster menu which started with a gazpacho hot followed by a selection of seared mushrooms. The third course was a crusted scallop with shelled peas and a milk foam followed by a truffle tagliatelle with shaved celeriac and truffle oil.
In between courses we enjoyed a carraway and orange granita which was followed by a lamb noisette with carrot puree. Finally the dessert was a dark-chocolate marquise with a pickled strawberry, and then, after we were all feeling pretty food coma-d there was a delicious board of cheeses.
Quaint Market Village
Wandering about the ground, we discovered the quaint little market village of Chagford with welcoming characteristic pubs and boutique stores. We also ventured a little closer to the house to explore the woodland areas and discovered a quaint little stream at the bottom of the garden.
We got back, slightly bedraggled by the autumn weather, we decided to relax and freshen up with a swim as, how could we stay in a manor house with a beautiful private swimming pool without taking a dip?!
...and relax
The indoor pool also has a sauna on the side along with seating areas and a TV so it made for an extremely relaxing afternoon!
Finally, before we left, we had to take a trip to the on-site treehouse. Being a huge fan of treehouses and cabins in general this was right up my street. A very ‘zen’ space with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and decked balcony makes it a lovely little retreating space. We had a few hours chilling here enjoying the surrounding views before we hopped on a plane and headed back to reality.
For more information on hiring a private chef for your stay please head to dineindulge.co.uk and for foraging or dartmoor outdoor guides head to dartmoorsdaughter.com.
Oliver’s Travels, a villa specialist, brings you over 1,400 properties across Europe and Caribbean
Foraging – Emma Cunis, ‘Dartmoor’s Daughter’ - www.dartmoorsdaughter.com - arranged through Visit Devon
Home Farm Café - www.homefarmcafe.co.uk - arranged through Visit Devon
Puggiestone House, Oliver’s Travels – www.oliverstravels.com - from £4,333.72 per week
Visit Devon – www.visitdevon.co.uk
