To visit the best stately houses for gourmets
Highclere Castle, Hampshire
The starting point must of course be the actual stately home Downtone is filmed in. While Downton Abbey itself is fictional, the Grand Manor in which it is rotated is very real; And in the possession of the 8th Earl and the Countess of Carnarvon, nothing less.
Highclere is a little more than 60 miles from London and is a good day trip from the capital. But it was the Victorian age in which the place turned into the announced landmark that it is today, and was built in 1842 by Sir Charles Barry, the architect, who also built the houses of Parliament.
The visitors will come and want to explore some of the 300 rooms of the opulent buildings as well as the extensive gardens such as the healing herb garden and the wildflower meadows as part of a pre -booked tour. These prices vary depending on the season, and if you are a special event, a popular tour includes a champagne afternoon tea. If you want to make a weekend out of it, there are two lodges on site that are rented overnight (from £ 529 per night). The winter time – especially at Christmas – is a particularly magical time to visit the castle. Think about Christmas carols and mulled wine about roaring fire. Some traditions have not rightly changed for 100 years.
Clived House, Berkshire
Another stately home that occurred on the screen on the screen was the topic of the DOCU series 2018. A very British stately houseExploration of the interior of one of the most luxurious mansions of the UK. First built in 1666 by the second Duke of Buckingham (for his lover, apparently an action that is worth it Downtone in itself))) this list of class in the class and its 376 morning beautifully maintained area is also part of the National Trust. Inside the building, it gets better with 5-star rooms from silver service and a spa for the ultimate opulent relaxation.
No day trip to Clveds is completely without a meal in her elegant dining room. Originally, the salon of the manor house, the extensive, gold -covered restaurant looks over the gardens and the guests can sink into baby blue velvet chairs again to take the view. Have a cup of standing with a style – your luxury afternoon tea Starts at £ 60 per person. Go off the decadent scones and pastries by then exploring the site. For a special occasion, the best of the house in your great seven-course tasting menu (£ 165) can be enjoyed, in which dishes for license fees are decadent: Oscietra Caviar, Wagyu Beef and Jakobsmussels have recently been served.
Penmaenuchaf Hall, Wales
When it comes to the landscape, it is unlikely that you will find a more dramatic place than the Penmaenuchaf Hall, which is located in the muzzle mouth of Mawddach at the foot of the robust Cadair -with the wider mountain backdrop of the Snowdonia National Park. It is a great place to visit when you want to dive in a stately house in a stately house and not just for a day trip.
The impressive Victorian Manor with a stone front, which was taken over by couple Zoe and Neil Kedward in 2022, received a fully tasteful restoration, and now the 14 bedrooms (from £ 122 per night) each have their own unique characters; For calm luxury inspired by mythical Welsh stories. The guests want to run and do not go to the newly launched Myydd Bar, which celebrates the local art in the impressive bar covered from oak basin. A cocktail is best enjoyed on one of the jewel -colored velvet chairs and looks at the incredible view outside.
However, the view from her Afon-Restaurant is just as spectacularly we recommend that the eight-course tasting menu (99 £) recently belonged to Bala Lamb with a courget flowers, Isle of Wight tomatoes with Fedw cheese and a dark chocolate and sour cherry pudding.
The backdrop means that it is practically mandatory to take a hike through the mountain area if it stays in Penmaenuchaf Hall or the more adventurous bike tours. If you come back from a large, wind -flogged hike and take Welly boots in the stately hall, you will experience the Welsh word “Hiraeth”: Nostalgia for the place where your soul feels the most at home.
Heckfield Place, Hampshire
Another option for an experience in the Country Estate Hotel and not for a day trip. We jump back to the Georgian Times with a stay at the Heckfield Place, which has been “gently developed” for more than 250 years to make it a very modern hotel that has still been penetrated in the past.
The statuesque red manor-die listed class II-Wurde made available to every Royal’s standard, which was the von Viscount Eversley family as Heckfield in the 19th century. But in a pleasantly modern touch, the entire property is also environmentally friendly and comes up with the practices of the organic farm for accommodation. And what translates the jewel in Heckfields Krone: their restaurants Marle and Hearth under the direction of culinary director Skye Gyngell.
gauze -The has a green Michelin star is not a cheap matter (main brand around 40 GBP), but the food is exceptional and follows a similar inspiration by Gyngell’s spring restaurant, a real seed table ethos. The latest dishes include Hummer Panzanella made of home -grown tomatoes; SABASS Crudo with almonds and cherries and homemade tailfield pork and fennel.
Elsewhere there is wild swimming in your lake or treatment in your ultra-saved Bothy spa access through a secret garden that promises to help you take a step back from modern life. The hotel also organizes tours around the nearby high -cleric lock so that you can do that Downtone double.
Double rooms from £ 550 per night.
The Newt, Somerset
A former stately house – Hadspen House from 1687 – has made this small part of Somerset into a goal since its renovation and start as Newt in 2019.
Less a hotel and more an entire lifestyle concept -enthusiastic guests can become members -as soon as they check in, they never want to go. The flawless gardens are stunning and the 2,000 hectare arable land all supply them into the eco-loan of the event location. become as sustainable as possible and live from the country. The restaurants can only book and visit for a meal, even if they do not spend the night as a hotel guest.
Inside there is a sharp eye for style with contemporary, warm decor. In each of the restaurants on site; The botanical rooms, the courtyard kitchen and the Garden Cafe, the food offers could not be fresher – every dish on the menu has at least one ingredient that wanes on the farmland. This has 267 Apple varieties (you can even take a tour of your cider press). A three-course dinner in the botanical rooms costs £ 95 and can include Cornish Crab, Estate Gurcumber and Fettuccine or Wild Sea Bass, Estate Beans and Newt Cider.
Thanks to special small touches such as its typical garden massage, which begins with a barefoot walk through its herb garden, the spa attracted a cult-like followers in the UK. Elsewhere there are enough activities to keep every family member entertaining – from cycling, swimming and the increased sidewalk through the wood; Beekeeping and food hours, for a tour of the Roman villa of the replica on site or the history of the garden museum.
Exactly down the street is the creative enclave of Bruton, with even more artistic runs in the gallery Hauser & Wirth Somerset and delicious food in coastYour Italian -inspired restaurant. Travel Tip: Get some Newt Goodies from your farm store at Castle Cary station for the ultimate train picnic. It is easily the best train business/Café Great Britain.
Hambleton Hall, East Midlands
This Victorian mansion in the East Midlands may have started life as a fox hunting lodge. But with former guests like Noel Coward it was a magnet for others who have been looking for an elite animal mini break since his renovation to a hotel in the 1980s.
There are only 17 rooms, so overcrowding is never a problem here, so they are free to roam the spacious 150-year-old, stately house and the 17 hectares of gardens, all of which look at the photo-worthy view of Rutland Water. For a bathroom, guests should hit the heated open-air swimming pool or if it is in summer Downtone and have a small crocative game on the lawn; Martinis optional.
The star in the heart of Hambleton Hall is your restaurant restaurant, which has been organizing a Michelin star since 1992. The ethos here is British food with a flair, and on a recently carried out trip, dishes such as poached cocks of Langoustines and Brat-Merryfield ducks with Hoisin and watermelon on the menu with three circles (£ 135). The fruits of the work of the estate – and its plate – can be seen on a walk through their walled kitchen garden. While further hikes bring you through a topiary tastic division and your remote “sitoty”, a place that is perfect for a quiet contemplation. It is So Last century, in the best possible way.
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