The Whitebrook

The beauties of the Wye valley that inspired the Georgian Picturesque movement are all around you at Chris and Kirsty Harrod’s Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms. It is tucked away on a single-track road, with the eponymous brook rushing by, and the River Wye a stroll away. This is fertile plant-hunting ground, and Chris makes full use of it, devising his menus around foraged ingredients and organic produce from the orchard and kitchen garden. He honed his skills while working for four years at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton, England (see entry), and every plate he creates is a work of art. Think Cornish plaice, Jack-by-the-hedge butter, Wye estuary greens and a sauce of the cooking juices, or rare-breed hogget, salsify and valley mushrooms. You can match your meal with a wine flight in the elegant, stripped-back restaurant. Bedrooms are smart and contemporary with a soft, subtle palette. Three have both a double-ended bath and large walk-in shower; one has a stone wet room. Four smaller rooms, overlooking the garden, have an over-bath shower. In such peaceful surroundings, a good night’s sleep is assured.