SUMMER STAYCATION
This summer, Nick and I headed out of the city to explore more of the UK.
From our home in the suburbs of South East London, our first stop was Birch Community, located on the outskirts of North London, in Cheshunt. We’d heard about Birch through the grapevine, a place which apparently combines family, friends, work and play (for adults and kids alike) all in one setting?? We were intrigued, especially travelling with our nearly 18-month-old daughter and not forgetting two dogs in tow (yes, everywhere mentioned in this blog post is exceedingly pet-friendly!).
We then made our way to Norfolk to revisit some spots we’d enjoyed the previous winter. Seeing it in full summer mode was definitely worth the trip — instead of a hotel we opted to go a bit more outdoorsy with a three-bed lodge in a fancy caravan-style park, situated next to to a fragrant pine forest leading to the vast beach and endless fine yellow sand of Wells-next-the-Sea, an area we’d already fallen in love with. From there, we ventured to another (moveable yet stationary) Shepherd’s Hut, a tiny wooden home with a compostable toilet, set solo in rural countryside — an experience I was sure would be more nerve-racking for me (I’m not keen on being so secluded!!!) but was an absolute delight and made living in the moment (without any wifi, TV, phone connection or activity other than making food, cleaning up and staring out to woods or the stars) a cinch.
Our final trip was to Hemingstone in Suffolk, this time to a solid stone-built, little (well, fairly large actually!) self-catered barn set up within a converted dairy farm. Here we enjoyed beautiful countryside walks and a bit of spa time while the baby snoozed and the dogs sunbathed. We were very lucky with the weather on these trips, although some may say we weren’t, seeing as it was 38°C for two days of it, but the British countryside in summer is gorgeous whatever the weather.
A private members, club and hotel destination, set within the 55-acre Georgian Theobalds Estate and grade II restored manor house (previously home to Victorian socialite Lady Meux), this is a place they claim is perfect to rest, explore, connect, work, taste, move, or dance as you wish — all in one place. I booked in for a two-hour pottery class and both Nick and I took advantage of the many gym and yoga classes available at the all-new wellbeing studio to alternate with some quiet time.
There’s a huge lido (with children's pool attached) on site in the expansive grounds as well as chickens, pigs, a large veg plot and lots of interesting places to eat throughout the grounds with great food — a menu for everyone that was fresh and tasty. We loved Birch’s artistic style, ethos of reuse and repair and full use of produce both brought in and sourced on site. Water is filtered and free — yes, free — just grab one of the glass bottles that are refilled throughout the day and a glass and pop both back when you're done.
Their mantra is a home from home, a relaxed place with lots of adventures to be had for adults and kids. We stumbled across a games room on our way out for a walk one day and an art room the next, and you can totally put your feet up on the sofas. It was cool, a bit wild, shabby and artistic, chilled and vibey all at the same time.
The room décor is Made.com meets Apartment Therapy — Birch have taken the existing ‘70s-built hotel block adjacent to the manor house and given it a makeover with colours, pottery made on site in one of their two pottery studios (the art is dotted about the place from the reception to the room numbers) — with artist-made creations to hang clothes, put jewellery in and throw your hat on.
We went on a Sunday so met lots of weekenders who’d stayed since Friday — and members can get their Sunday night free if they book for the weekend then work from the space on Monday. Imagine new and mid century designs intermixed ound the main foyer and rooms leading off with coworkers dotted about minding their own business or chatting over a cuppa and a home-baked good. And when I say home-baked, I mean it: an impressive on-site bakery lets you pop in when you fancy to see the sourdough rising and the croissants browning. But we can’t talk about the croissants. Because they are the best and I miss them already…
Our next stop, mid-heatwave, was a totally different experience. A two-hour drive north east took us into Norfolk and back to the fishing town of Well-next-the-Sea. Saltmarsh lodges is a newly built holiday estate with holiday homes — imagine three-bedroom, two-bathroom mobile home lodges like a bungalow on stilts, each one fitting into the landscape with its own unique garden.
This luxury two-year-old lodge is part of the Holkham Estate, near the Holkham National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Panoramic windows treated us to a light and airy feel with an open plan, well-appointed lounge and the kitchen/diner. Each lodge has a generous wrap-around deck allowing you to soak up the sun, dine al fresco or enjoy an evening drink.
We only had one night here, so picked up some groceries from the pretty town of Wells and made a simple supper back at the lodge before heading out at 9 p.m. for a late-night swim from the beach — which sounds odd, but it had been 38°C that day so being outdoors was preferable to in, and we couldn't wait to do the Pinewoods forest walk to the beach (a highlight from our last visit to Wells, even in the dark on the way home!). Lunch the next day was at the Globe located on the village green. Nick enjoyed a seafood medley and I opted for the vegetable medley, with starters and chips on the side that we tucked into, seeing that the temp had now dropped to something much more tolerable and our appetites were back with a vengeance!
And now onto our little cabin in the woods! So this is the one that I was a teeny bit apprehensive about — two nights in the middle of nowhere! Well, not nowhere exactly, but for a city girl, no road or other lodging as far as the eye can see is definitely wild. Unyoked, founded in Australia, believes that spending time out in the woods can unlock infinite positives for your mind, body and creativity, so they provide hideaway spaces (currently in Australia, NZ and now recently launched in the UK) for solitude and inspiration as an opportunity for thinking, writing, clearing your mind, or immersing yourself in nature.
We stayed at their very first in the UK, singing and dancing (solar power, rainwater and compostable loos leave a minimal impact on the environment) cabin (named Rex, but we spotted a signpost for a Ruby on our drive down), which has been built and placed in a beautiful spot in rural Norfolk, next to a lake in a vast, lush estate.
Nick was practically attached to his wood fire, cooking up our meals for two and a half days on the provided cast iron pans (we enjoyed pancakes, risotto, pasta and awesome cheese toasties, collecting firewood every morning from the surrounding area. The cabin itself had a kitchen with gas fire — great for cooking up a quick small meal for Mahi or popping on an old-fashioned kettle.
Mahi and I had the yoga mats (provided) out on the deck and listened to the radio, and the dogs loved it — no distractions of strangers and strange dogs as you get in the city and countryside pubs — to contend with. When they weren't looking out across the lake at the deer wandering past they were busy snoozing after all the travel and excitement of the earlier week. We slept very, very well and I even started a Penguin Modern Classic I had trouble putting down: A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr.
Back home for a week, we were quite the pros when it came to packing for this two-night stay in Hemingstone, Suffolk this time (we barely unpacked from the last trip anyway). Hemingstone, previously a working 16th-century farm, has been taken over by Retreat East, and has been reimagined as a rejuvenating retreat occupying 35 acres of pristine Suffolk countryside. The site has been converted into a luxurious spa resort with 15 beautifully appointed eco-conscious barns.
We stayed at the Hayloft, a one-level barn conversion complete with kitchen, shower room, spacious cobbled courtyard with picnic bench and a huge bath in the bedroom… of course. It’s less than a stone's throw away from the triple-height Great Barn restaurant, with its attached spa and treatment rooms where I enjoyed my first lava stone massage and Nick had the steam and sauna to himself, so we didn’t have to spend any physical or mental power journeying to appointments.
The grounds of the farm are picturesque, with a horse and her identikit piebald foal to keep your eye on as they make their way around the meadow, perfect for post-lunch and dinner strolls and tours of the wild flower meadow and nature trail, farm and the kitchen gardens that supply organic produce for use in their restaurant.
We enjoyed a cross-country stroll to the local Coddenham Community Store to pick up produce and admire the village, once the largest Roman settlement in Suffolk. The lunch menu was by far my favourite thing about the place: Head Chef Adam Spicer has created the most imaginative meals from vegetables — think white radish freshly spiralised noodles in laksa sauce and beetroot pinwheels with fermented nut “cheese” plus the most delicious cheese and fig pie for dessert totally got my tastebuds firing.