Old Whyly

‘The house is beautiful, the garden is glorious,’ writes a reader this year, after a return visit to Sarah Burgoyne’s Georgian farmhouse, so handy for Glyndebourne. Interiors of this ‘delightful’ B&B are filled with antiques and paintings. Cheery fires burn on winter days. The bedrooms are spacious, pretty and traditional. One has a shower, another a bath en suite; two have a private bathroom. The gardens blaze with year-round colour, from the first spring bulbs through azalea time to autumn. Guests have full use of a hard tennis court in the orchard, and an outdoor pool with wisteria-draped pool house. They can take tea alfresco, and walk in an adjoining estate, spotting rare orchids. At night, Paris-trained Sarah cooks a three-course dinner, using local and home-grown produce for such dishes as curried squash soup, spring Southdown lamb and chocolate tart. Breakfast is ‘as good as you’ll find anywhere’, with ‘delicious home-made stewed fruit and jams’, new-laid eggs from the ducks and hens, honey from the hives in bee heaven. A picnic is provided on request. ‘Highly recommended.’ (Catrin Treadwell, and others)