Staycation in the Cotswolds

While we still can, we chose to go somewhere far away from the madding crowd for our next staycation.

Bailey’s mum had long ago told us about Farncombe Estate in the Cotswolds. And as we continued our search for new places for staycations, we finally made it there last week.

A two hour drive from London, and we were in Broadway, where we had been four Christmasses ago (A Cotswold Christmas). We went further afield and after weaving our way through country roads, we arrived at Foxhill Manor.

We were ushered into the Lounge while our room was being prepared. And Mum had a glass of champers while we waited.

We were soon able to check into our room.

They had everything ready for us – two comfy beds, towels for drying our paws from running in the wet grass, very important poo bags and even a toy.

There’s a bowl for each of us and a Dog’s Dinner menu – to be noted so Mum needn’t have to bring our food for the next time.

For Mum, one of the criteria of a good staycation is a bathtub – especially a free standing roll-top tub with a view!

We ate with Mum at every meal –

Afternoon Tea in the Lounge, dinner in the bar and breakfast in a little nook by the window looking out at Broadway in the distance.

The garden around the Manor House was all fenced in so George couldn’t do a runner. Phew!

We walked down to The Fish, which is also part of the Farncombe Estate to check out a small agility course.

Yup! Ready for some action!

We had a go at the different obstacles …

But George wanted nothing to do with the tunnel.

And the best part of it, Freddie joined us for dinner.

Oh, not to mention there’s a Media Room where we could watch movies together. But this time we listened to what Boris had to tell the nation. He told us that the “invisible enemy” was back! Oh no!!!!

We need to all stop this “invisible enemy” from taking over our lives. We are loving our staycations both in London and in the countryside. We hope we can still continue to do so.

But when out in the countryside, we have to beware of other four-legged creatures.

May’s comment: Before the pandemic, we were so busy travelling abroad and never had the time to discover places at home. Since COVID-19 Lockdown was eased, we treated ourselves to staycations in London – which was unthinkable before. After we got the staycation bug, we moved further afield to places we’ve been thinking of going but haven’t yet.

For three years, we’ve been meaning to visit Farncombe Estate in the Cotswolds. The estate is a sprawl of forest and field with three different properties – Dormy House, Foxhill Manor, and The Fish.

We liked the sound of Foxhill Manor, a five-star intimate eight bedroom manor house hotel overlooking the village of Broadway.

A Grade II listed Arts and Crafts country home refurbished to the highest standards and where life revolves around each guest. It has an easy-going atmosphere, and we were encouraged to treat it like our own home.

If you decide to take the Full Fox package rather than bed and breakfast, there were no set menus but instead, your meals are personalised. You could also choose to dine anywhere on the premises. So therefore dogs can dine with you.

We spent a lot of solitude time in the spacious and light Willow room,

Looking out to a lot of greenery all around.

The grounds around the Manor House were fenced in so there was no fear of George doing a runner!

Darcy ran with a skip and a hop when she went racing around the garden. This is how I know its a fab staycation for them as well as for me.

All staff wore face masks or visors, and there was “Free alcohol” everywhere! LOL!

Except for one little hitch, we loved every moment of our stay.

But if this is not your style, there are two other properties on the estate – Dormy House and The Fish.

This was NOT GIFTED. We love finding these unique and special places – and this is the perfect time to check out these places that are safe while doing our part for the economy.

Do you know of similar places that you would recommend?