The Middleton Lodge Estate

Leave the fuss and fret of the AI(M) at Scotch Corner to reconnect with the land at this idyllic hotel, centred on a Georgian coach house amid gardens, parkland and woodland. Created by the Allison family, who occupy the main Palladian lodge, the hotel has beautiful bedrooms dotted around the estate buildings and shepherds’ huts. Some have a log-burner, some an outdoor hot tub. A Doghouse room in the orchard has a freestanding bath and stone patio; a timber-panelled Potting Shed has its own little garden. The Head Gardener’s Cottage opens onto the two-acre kitchen garden, which supplies produce for estate-to-plate dining. In the Coach House you will find dishes such as garden beetroot risotto and chicken, leek and smoked bacon pie. In Forge, the new fine-dining restaurant, Jake Jones’s estate-inspired tasting menus might feature Thumbelina carrot tartlet, dry-aged hogget with Yorkshire salad, and caramelised apple and thyme tart. The Forest Spa has tranquil treatment rooms and an outdoor pool.