When you clock up certain milestones in life, it pays to plan an escape, to take some time out in order to reflect, to celebrate and look ahead at opportunities to come. And so it was that a week after dropping off our twins at university, my husband Neil and I arrived at The Rectory in Crudwell, Wiltshire, just as the setting sun was casting a glorious glow on the beautiful Cotswold stone exterior.
Stepping through the front door of The Rectory, however, it wasn’t long before our shoulders began to drop and our spirits started to lift. The small reception desk is the only hint of formality in this relaxed country house, where dogs are as welcome as their owners – fortunately for us as our Labrador Bridie was in tow. Stylishly decorated in shades of grey, green and pale pink, the flagstone hallway makes way to lounges with large fireplaces and velvet-covered sofas, inviting us to sink in and enjoy the views through the large sash windows onto the pretty walled garden.
There are 15 bedrooms in the main house and three more in the cottage within the grounds. As you might expect from a rambling rectory, rooms range in size from the helpfully named ‘Small’ to ‘Medium’, ‘Big’ and ‘Biggest’, each tastefully finished with seagrass carpets, antique wardrobes and king size beds. Ours had a contemporary four poster for us, a robust dog bed for Bridie, and window seats from which to admire the lawns and ornamental pond in the garden. The bathroom, meanwhile, had a large walk-in shower, roll-top bath and generous supply of Bramley toiletries.
Once unpacked we smartened up before heading down to the bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. Mixologist Jess knocked up a heavenly gin martini for me, and the house special Paper Plane – a blend of whiskey, amaro, aperol and lemon juice – for Neil, who, being a pilot, couldn’t resist. After raising a toast to our twins, and to each other, we moved into the candlelit conservatory for dinner, eager to try the creations of the new team headed up by Rob Weston, previously of the Michelin starred La Trompette. Each course certainly didn’t disappoint, from the starters – sardines for Neil, pumpkin salad for me – to the mains – roast fallow deer, turbot with ceps and chard – which we washed down with a bottle of Wiltshire-made Bacchus white wine (what a discovery!). A dessert of muscovado custard tart and plate of English cheeses were the perfect finishing touches to a romantic dinner, during which it dawned on us we didn’t have to call home or worry about how many teenagers were raiding our alcohol cupboard at that very moment.
The village of Crudwell is a great place to explore the Cotswolds – the pretty towns of Malmesbury, Tetbury and Cirencester are a short drive away and garden lovers can get their fix at Highgrove, our new King’s country estate, as well as Westonbirt arboretum. As we woke to a blue-sky autumn day, we decided to spend our first morning on a walk (much to Bridie’s delight), fuelled by a delicious, hearty breakfast. The hotel has plenty of recommended routes that take in green lanes and rolling countryside, as well as the Roman road, the Fosse Way, so off we set.
There is something about walking side by side, with no one and nothing else to distract you, that makes it the ideal activity for conversation to flow. In fact, a life coach I once interviewed for the podcast I co-host, Postcards From Midlife, advised that couples should give their relationship an annual MOT, somewhere away from home. Starting with what you appreciate about each other, you should each then share some hopes, dreams and ideas about what you would like the short and long-term future to look like. For us, that meant envisioning what our relationship with our children would now be like as well as the places and activities we could start planning with our new-found freedom.
We returned to The Rectory energised and revitalised and decided to settle down for a cosy afternoon of reading and playing cards together, before heading to the village pub for a drink and early dinner. The Potting Shed was bought by the owners of The Rectory, so it’s no surprise that the ambience in this cosy pub is just as friendly and welcoming. Exposed beams and stone fireplaces make you feel like you’re stepping back in time, but the gastropub menu is contemporary fare at its finest. Alongside fish and chips, you’ll also find Cornish sole, superfood salads and black pudding scotch eggs, plus Eton Mess and apple crumble for pudding.
For our final full day, we headed out on a shorter walk (to keep the hound happy) starting in the grounds of next door All Saints church, followed by an afternoon stroll around the market town of Malmesbury. Encircled by the scenic River Avon there are pretty walks, shops aplenty for browsing, the magnificent hilltop Norman Abbey, and plenty of opportunities for a spot of afternoon tea, including the recently refurbished Old Bell, which dates back to the 12th century and is said to be the country’s oldest purpose-built hotel.
That evening, we enjoyed another delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant and a great night’s sleep. As we packed up the car the next morning, we felt like different people to the couple that arrived just three nights before. Our stay at The Rectory was the perfect midlife reset – we’ll be back again for sure, and maybe next time we’ll treat the teenagers!
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