Secret Berkshire
Wokefield Estate is the ideal base for an epic GB&I golf trip, whispers Chris Bertram
There are 14 courses in Golf World’s benchmark GB&I Top 100 located in the counties of Surrey and neighbouring Berkshire, and a further six listed in the Next 100.
It is the greatest concentration of worldclass courses anywhere in these islands and thus an area any connoisseur of great golf courses has to visit at least once in his or her lifetime.
However, unlike the other golfing hotspots of our GB&I Top 100 list – such as Ayrshire, Fife, East Lothian, Devon and Cornwall, Southport, Kent and south-west Ireland – there really is no obvious place to stay when playing Surrey and Berkshire’s superstars.
Or so we thought. Until we discovered Wokefield Estate.
You may already know all about Wokefield Estate and be shaking your head at our ignorance. All we can say to that is: you really should have told us!
We found out in the end and are so glad that we did, for this is a GB&I Top 100 Resort of real calibre.
The course offers more interest and entertainment than many of those attached to resorts and is presented very nicely.
It makes for an excellent start to a trip or a break from the ‘championship’ tests you will be facing on your visit to Sunningdale, Walton Heath, The Berkshire and so on.
Where Wokefield really shines, though, is in its hotel. It is split between a modern and traditional wing. The former houses a good gym and super restaurant as well as lots of well-appointed rooms. The latter is absolutely exquisite, with a nice bar and another fine restaurant – an oak-panelled affair where you’ll have breakfast – but it is in the bedrooms where it really shines.
It is no exaggeration to say they would fit very comfortably in among anywhere in our GB&I Resorts list. Sumptuous, stylish and enchanting, a stay in the historic wing will enhance even the most star-studded and eagerly awaited trip to Berkshire and Surrey.
We may be late to the party here, but we’re relieved that we made it in the end.