Don’t forget the dog because this estate is all about wildflower meadows and magical woodland complete with themed shepherds’ huts to wander. And for humans, you’ve got a cricket field for rounders, volleyball, badminton and table tennis. And when hunger strikes, bring your charcoal for the purpose-built BBQ.
If it’s character you’re after, look no further than the preserved grain shoot, the sandblasted oak beams, the exposed stone walls, the spiral staircases and the wooden floors. Sing along with the DAB radio or head up to the estate’s Green Room for communal snooker, chess, Scrabble, backgammon, pool and bar skittles.
Find your own space for a cheeky social recharge in the shepherds’ hut. And get together around the smart TVs (one in each cottage) for Netflix and Prime (bring your passwords) streamed over Gigaclear broadband. The Dairy is the do-as-much-as-you-can, or as-little-as-you-want experience, where family life sits in harmony with wildlife.
Cook in your own space in one of three gleaming kitchens across the cottages. Or get together in Constable with its larger dining space for communal cuisine, with ingredients sourced from Waitrose, Ocado and Trendall’s butchers. Or hang up the apron and call up Private Chef Marcel or Beetroot Catering for a one-off or fully catered break.
Keep the whites off and get onto Curry Passion Oundle for Indian delivery, pizza and more, or The Blue Marlin for fish and chips takeaway. Fire up the charcoal barbecues on the cricket field for al-fresco dining and load them up with bangers and burgers from Trendall’s or the monthly farmers’ market.
Head out to Polebrook for gastro grub in the dining room, bar, green room or nooks at The Kings Arms. Try waterside dining on red-pepper romesco and roasted chickpea or west-coast mackerel with Italian potatoes, at Tap and Kitchen on Oundle Wharf. Or head out to The Chequered Skipper for quality pub fare.
Tuck into everything from gourmet burgers and steaks to fresh seafood delights, at Mediterranean-style Dexter’s in Oundle. Or head to Katana Peterborough for a little bit of teppanyaki table theatre accompanied by jazz, cocktails and a glitzy West End-style interior.
Who needs sleep apps when the owls hoot gently and the breeze through the boughs provides an all-natural backdrop to your dropping-off? There’s no shortage of holiday accommodation here, with 13 bedrooms sleeping 25 and, if you need more, add on Home Farm Cottage, looking all Hansel and Gretel and sleeping another six.
In The Constable House, bedroom one offers a kingsize bed on the ground floor and comes with en-suite bathroom, while bedroom two is another ground-floor kingsize. Bedroom three sleeps two in single beds and bedroom four is another single with en-suite shower room.
The Gainsborough House offers ground-floor kingsize bedroom one with en-suite shower room and bedroom two a ground-floor double. Bedroom three sleeps two in a ground-floor king and ground-floor bedroom four offers two singles with en-suite shower room.
On to The Turner House and you’ll find bedroom one is a ground-floor kingsize with en-suite shower room and bedroom two, also on the ground floor, offers two singles. Bedroom three is a ground-floor kingsize and bedroom four gives you a first-floor kingsize.
For the extra space, across the garden in Home Farm Cottage, there are three first floor bedrooms, two king-sized and a twin with a shared wet room.
