VOTE LEAVES!
Embrace autumn and book a hotel with a glorious garden. Jane Knight of The Good Hotel Guide picks the best to enjoy the changing colours of the season
FISCHER’S AT BASLOW HALL
Baslow, Derbyshire
THE whole of the Peak District is your back garden when you stay at this luxury manor house with finedining restaurant on the edge of the Chatsworth Estate.
The emphasis in the garden these days is on soil health and a deep connection to the kitchen.
A secret corner holds a summer house, and there is also an arboretum, plus plenty of sculpture and shape in the bird-filled grounds. There are only 11 bedrooms, of which the five spacious garden rooms are more contemporary in style, with their own private walled garden.
■ Doubles from £197, B&B fischers-baslowhall.co.uk
DOUNESIDE HOUSE
Tarland, Aberdeenshire
The 17 acres here feature an “infinity lawn” at the front of the house with views of the Aberdeenshire countryside and Grampian mountains, as well as a plethora of shrubs, flowers, topiary and summerhouses.
Explore the rock-pool gardens, with their hosta, primula and irises, as well as the small arboretum, with its collection of ornamental trees.
This is a house with history – it is owned by the charitable Macrobert Trust, set up by Lady Macrobert after the baronetcy died with her three sons in flying accidents before and during the Second World War.
■ Doubles from £220, B&B, dounesidehouse.co.uk
CONGHAM HALL
King’s Lynn, Norfolk
It’s easy on the eye and sweet on the nose in the renowned herb garden at this Georgian manor house. As well as the more usual sorrels and sages, it features rare varieties such as goat’s rue, once used to treat the plague. Herbs are picked twice daily so the restaurant chefs have fresh garnishes and produce for their tasty dishes. Some are also used in the spa’s signature treatments, for the ultimate relaxation. Book a garden room of one of the new orchard cabins to stay in the heart of the greenery.
■ Doubles from £265, dinner, B&B, conghamhallhotel.co.uk
HOTEL ENDSLEIGH
Milton Abbot, Devon
Alan Titchmarsh described the gardens here as an “Arcadian landscape”.
That’s no overstatement. Designed by Humphry Repton in 1814, these Elysian 100-plus acres feature formal planting, woodlands, follies, grottos, streams and bridges, a dell with picnic spots and an arboretum.
Built for the 6th Duke of Bedford and his Duchess, Georgiana, the property also has eight miles of riverbank for salmon and trout fishing. Return from exploring the grounds to afternoon tea in the library or dinner in the original wood-panelled dining room before you retire to an elegant bedroom.
■ Doubles from £260, B&B, hotelendsleigh.com
HAMBLETON HALL
Hambleton, Rutland
Everything’s as pretty as a picture in these idyllic 17 acres overlooking Rutland Water. A parterre provides year-round colour and there are plenty of secret nooks and crannies where you can sit and admire the view. Chef Aaron Patterson relies on the walled kitchen garden to supply his Michelin-starred restaurant – bag a window seat to really appreciate the setting.
■ Doubles from £340, B&B, hambletonhall.com
COWLEY MANOR
Cowley, Gloucestershire
The extraordinarily beautiful grounds surrounding this Italianate mansion are thought to have inspired Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland. They certainly maintain a magical quality about them. Lose yourself among their secret woodland pathways, lakes with gliding swans, sculptures, flowers and trees. When the weather is fine, you can dine on the terrace to the sound of the Victorian cascade plunging into the lake waters. Interiors mix original features with 60s styling.
■ Doubles from £235, B&B, cowleymanor.com
WHATLEY MANOR
Easton Grey, Wiltshire
The 26 ornamental garden rooms at this romantic Cotswold country house hotel with a Michelin-star restaurant follow the design of Septimus Warwick, an arts and crafts enthusiast. Head gardener David Pearce maintains the 12-acre garden according to that ethos.
Managed ecologically, it features wild-flower meadows and Victorian greenhouses along with manicured lawns, water features, gazebos and
The extraordinarily beautiful grounds... are thought to have inspired Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland On Cowley Manor
sculptures. Bedrooms range from contemporary classics to swish splitlevel suites, and at breakfast, there is honey from the hives.
■ Doubles from £354, B&B, whatleymanor.com
The Newt in Somerset
Bruton, Somerset
Fashioned by generations of talented gardeners including renowned designer Penelope Hobhouse, these gardens are a feast for the stomach as well as the eye. At their heart is the Parabola, a walled garden with an apple tree maze, while at their edges are acres of apple orchards, ancient woodland and a deer park. Whatever’s in season is served in the garden cafe. An interesting interactive gardening museum is among the attractions in the grounds.
■ Doubles from £520, B&B, thenewtinsomerset.com
Gravetye manor
East Grinstead, West Sussex
Gravetye’s historic grounds continue to enchant visitors more than a century after visionary gardener William Robinson developed his ideas on wild, cottage-style gardens at his Sussex home. Flowers overspill borders and the feel everywhere is that nature should be celebrated rather than controlled.
Now eight full-time gardeners maintain the manor’s 35 acres, which also feature orchards and a meadow. A kitchen garden supplies the Michelinstarred restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows looking onto the garden. Some of the traditional bedrooms also have glorious garden views.
■ Doubles from £405, B&B, gravetyemanor.co.uk
■ The Good Hotel Guide 46th edition is out now, £20
■ goodhotelguide.com/editors-choicegarden-hotels