Devon is a place on Earth... . and Mary Berry is a big fan
Devon in southwest England is a county bursting with choice. There are two coasts (north and south), steep cliffs, golden beaches, market towns, lazy winding valleys, hills full of little fields – and all those cream teas in cosy cafés.
You’ve also got the distinguished cathedral city of Exeter and two remote areas of ancient, weathered high ground – Dartmoor and (part of ) Exmoor. And then there are those place names guaranteed to make you smile… Chittlehamholt, Zeal Monachorum and Black Dog, to name just three.
Now it’s time to praise the not-so-wellknown bits of this unique county. Behind every glorious inland view, there’s a tranquil, hideaway place to stay, maybe complete with golf course, tennis courts, spas, and fine dining. Somewhere like Highbullen Hotel. ‘Deep countryside calm’ was high on Exeter architect William Moore’s wish list when, in 1879, he designed this mansion near South Molton in the Arts & Crafts style in vogue at the time. It is now a year-round rural retreat. Mary Berry, left, was a recent
guest, our taxi driver said – here for the excellent restaurant, I suspect, rather than the golf and the tennis.
I wouldn’t be surprised if a forebear of the driver’s hadn’t picked up Agatha Christie, down to research a location for her next Miss Marple book. She would have found the proud Victorian facade, the deep porches and marble fireplace in the drawing room much to her taste.
Today, any big old house in the Devon countryside is a perfect candidate for conversion into a boutique hotel. High-bullen shows the way. A frequent guest liked it so much he bought it in 2012.
The best way to see Devon is by rail. Strolling out of the hotel’s gates, Dartmoor’s granite tors were frowning through the heat haze away in the south. But something closer caught my eye, a glint of shining steel.
It just had to be the railway tracks of the Exeter to Barnstaple Tarka Line. This 163-year-old line is still the way to reach this county’s hidden nooks, without the hassle of trying to find a parking space.