Welcome to an oak-panelled world of riding crops, inglenook fireplaces and ancient-timbered floors. Get the family together at Arts and Crafts Owl’s Hatch, round up your hens, or call an emergency boardroom meeting in deepest Sussex, where 18 of you can dine, drink, dance and delight in each other’s company.
There’s an English country garden involved here, too – two-thirds of an acre, in fact. So don’t forget your dog. Treat him to a sausage from the coal barbecue. Play badminton and boules while you wait for your burgers and the kids find the swing. Eat out on the terrace in the shadow of the Ashdown Forest.
A home…but one with plenty of toys. Cook on the Aga with treats from the farm shop, eat in the baronial diner, mis-spend an evening in the billiard room, drift through the French doors into the garden with views of the High Weald. Tinkle the ivories on the baby grand, enjoy Netflix nights in the living room, live it up late around the starlit firepit.
In an English country garden of two-thirds of an acre, you’ll enjoy hints of The High Weald and the farm beyond. Eat out on the terrace in the Sussex sunshine with meat on the barbie from Tablehurst Farm. Play badminton and boules. Finish your day around the firepit wrapped in a throw under a blanket of stars.
Owl’s Hatch is greater than the sum of its parts. The carved wooden fireplaces, refurbed industrial lighting, Sisal carpets and oak panelling all add up to something that feels a lot like a family home. And one with a delicious indoor-outdoor flow, as you drift through the French doors out into the English country garden with High Weald views.
Get the party started by connecting your Bluetooth to the stereo system with Mission speakers. Enjoy TV nights in the living room with the whole gang, streaming BT TV and Netflix over superfast BT Full Fibre. Escape the throng awhile to recharge in the library, over billiards, or add a touch of class with a bash on the baby grand.
This is a family home and the heart of it is the large kitchen/dining room. Whip up your own dinner party in here or call in the private chefs Leaf and Ladle or Dan Turner. Pop to the farm shop next door for biodynamic frtui and veg and browse the offering to supply your barbie for dining out on the terrace with a view of the High Weald.
Shop at Shears Fine Foods, The Seasons, Waitrose or Sainsbury’s, with wine from The Secret Cellar. Order in tasty takeaways from Roochi for traditional and fusion Indian, Thai Time and Khan’s Balti. Taste wine and cheese at Grape and Mouse, coffee at Nick’s, and cakes at Oast House Bakery.
Eat out at The Hatch Inn on Rye Bay crab risotto or chargrilled ribeye steak in peppercorn sauce. Head to The Gallipot Inn for venison bourguignon with rich red wine and wild mushrooms. Or try The Red Lion in Haywards Heath for Thai green chicken curry or grilled seabass fillet.
The best takeaways here are also the best restaurants: Roochi, Thai Time and Khan’s Balti. But you’ll also enjoy the Camembert sharing platter or grilled salmon Florentine at The Heathy Farm, or Asian at Jai Ho at The Coppingham Arms. If only The Michelin Guide will do, consider Chalk, The Cat Inn or Interlude.
On the edge of The High Weald and with a farm at the foot of the garden, you’ll sleep like one of Ashdown Forest’s many logs. Owl’s Hatch sleeps 18 in six period-style bedrooms.
The master (Pink) offers a superking with a shared bathroom and the possibility of two extra single mattresses, while the Pink Snug, the Yellow and Blue are kingsize rooms with a shared bathroom. The Attic Pink is a double that shares a bathroom with the Attic Dorm, a kingsize with four singles.