Turning a pigsty into a slice of rural bliss
The chickens have been evicted from their coop, which is unlucky for them, but great for the rest of us.
In their absence, the old shed on this 10-acre, former dairy farm in southwest England has been turned into a luxurious suite with: reclaimed timber on the walls; an enormous bed on the mezzanine with uninterrupted views of endless green fields; a small kitchen; a stylish bathroom on top of a copper bath out on the terrace; and a fiercely efficient woodburner (which I learn when overloading it with logs before turning my lair as hot as a sauna).
This is Outbuildings Dorset, around 3km north of Bridport, which began as self-catering holiday lets about 15 years ago. It’s since morphed into seven (soon-tobe-nine) gorgeous en-suites run by one family.
Ed leads the team with his husband, Dom; Billy, his retired father, is director of logistics (‘gardening and bins mostly’, says Ed), his mother deals with accounts and brother George is the carpenter behind the development.
They’ve created a slice of authentic rural life – one bedroom, the Farrows, is the former pig sty; another is the Pressing Room, where apples were turned into cider.
What’s more, the whole set-up is dug into the community. The meat comes from the 500-yearold local butcher, Balsons; the bread from the neighbouring Wobbly Cottage bakery; the tinlined copper baths are handmade in nearby Dorchester.
This is an animal-less farm stay (apart from two cheery dogs) where you are left to get on with your holiday, but with a difference. Ed describes it as a ‘farm’otel’, the latter part being the briskly efficient concierge service available at the touch of your phone. You can even ‘text for a tipple’ to your door.
I message my breakfast order the night before and a wicker basket – full of tasty food – appears outside my door first thing the next day. The suites are set up for self-catering, but it’s too tempting to head instead for dinner in the Cart Shed.
For an extra charge, there’s an outdoor hot tub in a glade, with a lever attached to a tree to ‘crank for champagne’, and the Hay Barn cinema is heavensent for anyone who longs for the big screen. Made for two, and parked inside the vast old Dutch barn, the former sheep trailer has been kitted-out with fur throws, hot water bottles, heated blankets, snacks on tap and a 3m screen. Bridport is just over the fields and the town is an easy-ambler, lined with bakeries, bookshops and butchers. I keep going to West Bay, with its towering cliffs made famous as the dramatic backdrop for Broadchurch a decade ago.
Go before the summer crowds descend on this special strip and you’ll find the sea is moody, wild – and, potentially, all to yourself.
Outbuildings Dorset offers nightly rates from €222 to €467, based on two adults sharing (holidayoutbuildings.com). Breakfast hamper €17.50pp;
Hay Barn Cinema from €94; Bubbles in the Woods (champagne and hot tub in the forest) from €59.