Old Whyly

Sarah Burgoyne’s ‘beautiful’ Grade II listed Georgian manor house in a Wealden village is filled with antiques and oil paintings, and surrounded by flower-filled gardens, ‘glorious’ in all seasons. The four spacious bedrooms are done in country house style, with Irish linens and woollen blankets. Two are en suite, two have a private bathroom. At 7 pm, gather with fellow guests for drinks before a three-course dinner in the candlelit dining room or on the terrace under a vine-covered pergola. The hostess, who trained as a cook in Paris, uses home-grown and local produce in her much-praised dishes, perhaps Southdown lamb, creamed peas, leeks, bacon; ‘intense’ wild blackberry jelly. ‘Her breakfasts are the best’: the honey is from the beehives in the orchard, the eggs from the hens and ducks that range around outside. Racquets and balls are provided for a game on the tennis court; in summer, while away the afternoon in the wisteria-draped pool house. Book for Glyndebourne – a ten-minute drive away – and order one of the hostess’s ‘delicious’ picnic hampers. (T and CT)