Old Whyly

It is more than thirty years since Sarah Burgoyne first welcomed guests to her Georgian manor house ‘in enchanting gardens and grounds’, where ‘deer roam at dawn and birdsong is guaranteed’. New arrivals are greeted by the 'personable hostess' with tea and cake served on delicate vintage china: ‘These little touches add to the sense of staying somewhere special.’ Public rooms are ‘conservatively furnished in just the right way’, say our inspectors, with comfy seating and fine antiques. Spacious bedrooms are decorated in soft hues of blue and dusky pinks. One has a private bathroom across the hall with ‘a big, deep roll-top bath (no shower) and views across the garden'. Paris-trained Sarah serves a no-choice dinner, by arrangement, taken communally, after guests gather for pre-dinner drinks. At breakfast, 'she will cook anything you want', with freshly squeezed orange, new-laid eggs from the hens, honey from the hives. Monet would have been seduced by the views over a wildflower meadow at sunset. There is also a 'small, rather glamorous swimming pool tucked away behind a hedge'. ‘A very beautiful, romantic house and absolutely gorgeous location.’