With its stretching views over to Solway, the garden’s a feast for the eyes, but it’s also a heap of fun. Watch the kids on the trampoline, slackwire and swings. Get down to the river for wild wetsuit swimming. Bring your dog to discover secret paths, fruit bushes and an orchard. Spot hare and deer. Spark up late-night chat around the firepit.
Elevate your lifestyle with a huge slice of Edwardian elegance. Borders Retreat feels like a home, because it is one. Surround yourself with antiques, family portraits and the cosy warmth that comes from open fires and cosseted soft furnishings in a grand country home that pops with period charm.
But a feast of fun’s on the agenda also. Bring your passwords to stream movies on the projector screen over the fast Wi-Fi. Fill in time with table football and table tennis. Get all Agatha Christie with a murder-mystery night complete with local actors. Blast out the Bluetooth, raid the books, battle it out over board games. Be a family once again.
Love an Aga? So will your dog: the kitchen, complete with a couple of soft sofas and the homely warmth that pumps from the oven, is his for the duration. If you’d rather chill than bubble and boil, call up our chef for a one-off celebration of fully catered (maybe fully waitered) break.
Shop for goodies at Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Spar and get your deli delicacies from Hill’s. Order takeaway treats from Spice Fusion Indian, Kingsland Chinese, and Classic Pizza. Stock up on red, white and rosé at Majestic or Lusitano’s. Eat around the dining table for 16 or out in the sunshine.
The best dining here comes with the finest walk: wander over to Hidden River for dinner and drinks on the veranda, including focaccia, romesco and whipped butter for starters, followed by venison burger or wagyu beef, and all wrapped up with sticky toffee pudding. Or elope to Gretna Green Café for lunch or brunch.
Grab hot and cold rolls from Del’s Diner when you’re out and about. Order classic, traditional bar meals at The Graham Arms Inn. Tuck into lasagne or chilli con carne at
The Sycamore Tree. For slick, city-centre dining, head into Carlisle for top-grade plates at La Mezzaluna, Amato’s or The White Duke.
Where red deer graze and hares zigzag across the lawns, night noises won’t be intrusive. Borders Retreat sleeps up to 24 in nine family-friendly bedrooms, with four bathrooms.
Bedroom one is queensize on the ground floor, while bedroom two offers a single bed, and family-friendly bedroom three a kingsize plus bunks. Bedroom four is an en-suite with a double and single, while bedroom five provides a queensize and bedroom six a kingsize and single.
Bedroom seven gives you a kingsize, bedroom eight offers two singles, and bedroom nine a double bed. Extra zed-beds offer potential accommodation for another three.
