The House
You’ll be momentarily distracted by the glorious views when you arrive at Mellow Manor, but tear yourselves away and go in, through the porch to the wide hallway where there’s a piano for happy sing-songs. Go right to the drawing room, light and airy, fresh out of a country interiors magazine; next is the dining/living room – cosy sofas and with a long oak table for joyful celebration feasts.
Go through to the domestic kitchen, so lovely and homely with a scrubbed pine table and an Aga. Pad along the inner hall and there’s a fully equipped commercial kitchen, great for stress free cooking for a large group, or somewhere private caterers can work undisturbed. Meanwhile you can gather on the terrace to sip cocktails.
Upstairs are the bedrooms, all with ensuite bathrooms or shower rooms. Bedroom 1 has a four-poster bed and an Art Deco style bathroom with possibly the biggest and most unusual bath you’ve ever seen. Bedrooms 4 and 5 share a Jack and Jill bathroom, so it works well for a family – kids in one room, parents in the other, between them the bathroom.
Lose yourselves in the enchanting 5 acre gardens, mostly landscaped, ripe for exploring; paths twist and turn, there are surprises round every corner. Dine alfresco on the side terrace, play croquet on the lawn, have a quiet chat in the Victorian grotto. The backdrop is birdsong and the merry tinkle of the fountain. The walled pool garden has a traditional Mediterranean vibe, with a summer house, a sauna, and a pagoda; the tennis court sets the scene for your very own mini Wimbledon.
At the back of the house there’s a self-contained modern building with a laundry room, a gym and table tennis; up above is the yoga/dance studio and the games room/snooker room where the feels are distinctly gentlemen’s club. And it's all yours for the whole of your stay.
Local Area
If you can bear to leave, amble down to the little town of Chulmleigh to walk the narrow streets, browse the independent shops and linger over lunch in the Red Lion Inn. Pootle over to South Molton for a mooch, check out Quince Honey Farm on the edge of town.
Board the steam train for a ride on the Tarka Valley Railway, feast your eyes on the flowers at RHS Garden Rosemoor, stroll around Castle Hill Gardens at Filleigh. Lace up your boots for a hike on the Tarka Trail, take a wander through Eggesford Forest, find a sunlit glade for a picnic.
Love the big open spaces of Exmoor or Dartmoor, the heather clad heaths, the lush river valleys, the steep wooded combes and picturesque villages. Climb the high rocky tors for astonishing views of vast sweeping moorlands where wild ponies roam free.
And the sea, the sea… plenty of it on the North Devon coast, along with wide stretches of sand and some of the best surf in the UK; take your pick – Croyde, Woolacombe and Putsborough Sands are all favoured spots.
Love the happy days and the restful nights when you stay at Mellow Manor. Love the magic, love the memories.