Tr avel report DEVON
EA views, rambling countryside walks, a characterful hotel with oodles of charm - the epitome of what a holiday in Devon should be.
And that’s what we found during a stay at the Orestone Manor hotel overlooking Lyme Bay in the south of the county.
This award-winning family-run country house is set in landscaped gardens above the village of Maidencombe - just off the coast road between Teignmouth and Torquay.
And turns it out, there’s no better time to stay than over the festive period, as Orestone is the bona fide birthplace of the world’s first Christmas card.
The first card was designed by painter Sir John Calcott Horsley, who lived in the manor from 1817 to 1903.
His sister, Mary Elizabeth Horsley, was the wife of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who first came to Torquay as chief engineer of the Great Western Railway and later lived at Watcombe Villa and then Portland Villa – which became the nowdemolished Maidencombe House Hotel.
He joined in many family gatherings at Orestone and his presence can still be felt in the swanky Brunel Bar and Lounge – a cosy characterful and fire-lit spot to enjoy a drink on squishy leather chairs.
Back to that card, which shows three generations of a family raising a toast. On either side of the card are scenes of charity, with food and clothing being given to the poor.
Admirable and innocent enough until you observe the tiny child taking a sip out of their mother’s wine glass.
Commissioned by Henry Cole, who ensured the card landed on more than a thousand doorsteps, that scene of under-age drinking caused quite the controversy at the time.
But it still earned its place as the most popular card of the Victorian era. The hotel hands out copies of the cards to guests in the run-up to Christmas.
The originals are harder to come by. Fetching more than £20,000 at auction, there are fewer than 20 in existence. One is exhibited at the V&A museum, another is owned by the Royal Mail.
And Christmas cards aren’t the only legacy Horsley brought to the modern mail we know today. He also designed the Horsley envelope - a pre-paid envelope that was the precursor to the postage stamp.
ON arrival, we are warmly greeted at reception and shown to our room, where we’re met by a nicely proportioned bedroom with a generous bed, period furniture and a cosy seating area.
A nice touch are the two bathrooms and the view out to the sea boosts the already-high relaxation factor. There are also robes and slippers and Sky T V including Sky Sports for those who need a football fix.
The dinner menu changes seasonally and with each night. The service is top notch, friendly and efficient.
We enjoyed a drink in the lounge before joining fellow guests in the very traditional dining room. Many of our fellow diners, we discovered, lived in the area but were regularly drawn to the hotel by it’s awardwinning food (Conde Nast Johansens, double AA Rosettes for fine dining, gold-wins in the Taste of the West awards).
And we soon learnt why. A highlight was the starter of goat’s cheese, carpaccio beetroots, red pepper jellie, apple syrup and walnuts. It arrived looking like it could have been painted by an artist of Horsley’s calibre – and tasted as good as it looked.
The fish comes straight from the local dayboat fishing, and the proof was in the tasting.
Fresh pan-fried halibut with a black garlic puree and vegetables impressed, as did the perfectly panroasted monkfish, prawns in garlic butter, sugar snap peas, pea shoots and new potatoes. A true taste of the very waters that dazzled beneath our window each morning.
Also frequently featuring on the menu are Brixham Crab, handdived Torbay scallops and lobsters, Teign River Mussels.
The chocolate torte served with butterscotch crisp and caramel ice cream was a rich, decadent and delicious close to the meal.
The only tiny blip was on the second night, when we ordered a pork dish asking for it to be well done because of a pregnant member of our party.
It arrived quite pink and the waiter apologised when we didn’t finish it and he saw its colour.
The hotel later explained the pork had been cooked ‘sous vide’, meaning it had been sealed in heated water immersion before being seared in the pan. It’s a shame we weren’t told this on the night.
Breakfast was a perfectly cooked full English with high quality and locally-sourced ingredients. On a brighter morning, we took it in the sun-dappled conservatory.
Overall, a warm, friendly stay in a truly unique hotel in one of the most beautiful regions this country