Redacre Hall
Sleeps 18
Eastnor, Herefordshire
Gardens and grounds
This could be the most majestic garden of all. Redacre Hall seems set in a bowl, with the giddy peaks, beacons and ridges of the Malverns rising all around. From the back of the house, with its breeders, orchard, mature trees and lawns, it’s all yours to admire and explore.
On site, Redacre Hall pinches four acres of the grandeur, taming it and shaping it into terraces, lawns and landscaping. Kick a ball around on the lawn. Let the dogs loose. Play a little tennis. Raise a glass on the gravelled terrace. Sear some steaks in the sunshine. Head for the hot tub at day’s end and stare at the stars.
Living spaces
Redacre is the kind of late-Georgian house that should sport a smoking jacket, keep gun dogs and have its slippers monogrammed with its initials. It should wear corduroy and use wax to seal its handwritten letters. Make no mistake, this is the crisp white linen of country houses. So how come it feels so much like home?
Maybe it’s because Redacre Hall is awash with rugs, carpets, thick curtains and plush furnishings. There are logs to be lit. You can bring up to three dogs. And four reception rooms make life seem grand, yet easy. The large laundry room makes the perfect space for removing wet clothes and rubbing down wet dogs after a long walk. There’s a cloakroom too with boot room for muddy boots and hanging space for mucky coats.
Get together all you like for movies around the fire on the full-HD Smart TVs, or duck out and enjoy the space and silence. Raid the full bookcase and escape to the snug. Find the games room and lose a few hours to pool. Gather in the drawing room, put your phones down and play heads up. Or let the kids loose for a game of hide-and-seek that might never end.
Cooking and dining
Herefordshire’s overflowing with fine produce: soft fruit, apples, hops, cider and potatoes. Do them justice with the toasty four-oven Aga with the five-ring ceramic hob, electric oven and combination microwave oven. When you’re done, pile the pots into one of the two dishwashers and put a pod or two in the Nespresso.
If you’d prefer to be pampered, we can help. Call up our experts from Clive and Emma’s Distinctive Catering, Tracey Lipton, Emma Pushman or A2Zest Events for buffets, barbecues, pig roasts, big pan paellas, canapés, vegan or vegetarian. Eat in the dining room, where the table needs its own postcode, or out on the gravelled terrace in the sunshine.
Call out for a tempting takeaway to the Sitara Indian or Raduni, washed down with red or white from Hay Wines. Options abound for eating out. Hearty pubs around Ledbury include The Feathers, The Verzon, The Horseshoe Inn and the Talbot. Kids will love a trip to Ask Italian, Prezzo, Pizza Express or Zizzi’s. Anything with a double-z, in fact.
For more grown-up fare, try The Olive Tree or All’angelo for pasta and pizza, The Malvern Hills Hotel or The Cottage in the Wood for traditional British. Try some destination dining at Bib Gourmand-winning The Inn at Welland. Or maybe go all out at Lumiere in Cheltenham for a 3AA Rosette award-winning dining experience.
Bedrooms
Redacre Hall sleeps 18 in nine en-suite bedrooms. Each exists in a glorious world of period-style furniture, heavy curtains and delicious bed linen. Surrounded by the Malvern hills, you’ll be bothered at night only by the hoot of the long-eared owl.
All bedrooms sleep two and six offer flexible zip-and-link format. Bedroom one (Goldhill) is a superking with zip-and-link. Doze dreamily in the freestanding bedroom tub. Bedroom two (Bathurst) is a fixed kingsize, while bedrooms three (Felton) and four (Somers) are fixed superkings.
Bedrooms five (Monument), six (Arthur), seven (Rowick) and eight (Manners) all offer superking/zip-and-link options, as does bedroom nine (Nash), which comes with luxury wet room.
What people say
Caves, clay and cocktails
Animal adventures for kids include the Sea Life Centre in Birmingham and the West Midlands Safari Park. Or maybe ride the Severn Valley Railway or discover the wonder of under at Clearwell Caves. Grown-ups can shoot clay on site, or head out to walk the Malvern Hills, see the Mappa Mundi, then wrap up with a cocktail at Déjà Vu.
