Weekend bolthole

Relax in nature at Hampshire’s Heck eld Place, then spend some time recreating the fresh, inventive menu at home

Let the natural surroundings soothe you at this Hampshire estate, where the lines between inside and out are beautifully blurred – plus, a seasonal menu to leisurely enjoy at home

What makes Heckfield Place unique?

Sustainability and seasonality are key. The hotel has its own biodynamic, organic farm and orchards that supply its restaurants, Marle and Hearth, with fruit, vegetables, herbs, honey and flowers. Saddleback pigs and chickens lead a happy life here, and a microdairy provides the house with milk, cream, yogurt and butter from Guernsey cows. Rooms are both luxurious and plastic-free. Public spaces wow with dramatic displays of preserved fruits and vegetables, and huge floral arrangements.

On the menu Overseen by culinary director Skye Gyngell (previously of Petersham Nurseries and now chef-patron at Spring at Somerset House in London), plates are elegantly simple, focussing on what’s good to eat right now. As well as the menu featured here, you’ll find dishes such as roast corn-fed chicken with lemon-thyme butter, braised lettuce and gravy on the Sunday lunch menu, and an afternoon tea with smoked salmon brioche buns and a classic victoria sponge with softly whipped cream. Imaginative breakfasts include bircher muesli and roasted rhubarb, bubble and squeak with fried eggs, and buckwheat crêpes with honey butter.

Highlights During summer, meals are served on the Italian terrace overlooking the gardens and woodlands, with fire pits and sheepskins to keep you cosy on chillier nights.

What you’ll want to recreate at home Interiors feature muted shades and natural materials such as rush matting, and headboards are made by local craftspeople. Dried flowers and plants bring the outdoors in, while simple white linen table settings are brightened with a single seasonal flower and baskets of veg.

Fun fact In line with Heckfield’s biodynamic ethos, cocktails in the Moon Bar are influenced by the lunar phases and made with unique tinctures and bitters. Try First Quarter (raspberry vodka, loganberry liqueur, sugar syrup and espresso) or Waning Gibbous (gin, whey and basil leaves).

Doubles from £350 per night; heckfieldplace.com

• Book a treatment in the Little Bothy spa – products are from the Wildsmith beauty range, which is fully recyclable or has compostable packaging

• Visit the farm and kitchen gardens

• Watch a film in the hotel’s cinema

• Check out Heckfield’s programme of events, from painting with watercolours to talks on environmental initiatives

• Take a woodland hike