Old Whyly

‘A curling gravel drive lined with mature trees and wild flowers’ leads to this ‘exceptionally beautiful Georgian manor house’ B&B. Our inspectors were greeted by owner Sarah Burgoyne, who served tea ‘in pretty china cups’ and cake in the garden. The interiors were furnished with ‘good antiques, large sofas, Victorian rugs, oil paintings, including a fine full-length portrait of Sarah herself’. Their bedroom was ‘spacious, with a big, comfortable bed, good linen, tea, coffee, milk, a few biscuits’, and a large private bathroom across the hall, with ‘a roll-top bath (no shower)’. The ‘sweet-smelling gardens’ had a ‘small, rather glamorous swimming pool tucked away behind a hedge’. Beyond, ‘a wild-flower meadow glowed in the golden evening light’. At night, Sarah cooks a three-course dinner, on request, taken communally. ‘The candles were lit, wine was poured, conversation flowed.’ If portions were modest, ‘breakfast was ample, with freshly squeezed orange juice, first-rate porridge’, eggs from Sarah’s hens, honey from the hives in the orchard. ‘It was a privilege to stay somewhere as unforgettably lovely.’ (IW, P and CB, and others)