Alice Humphrys reveals a collection of cosy cabins, arty townhouses and countryside finds for winter weekends away
8 Holland Street Townhouse, Bath
This boutique B&B, curated by designer and art collector Tobias Vernon, is also home to his gallery and design shop. The three‑bedroom townhouse is playful and unexpected, displaying what Tobias calls an ‘easy‑going medley of stuff’.
Walls painted in a soft off‑white create a calm backdrop for British and European artwork and iconic 20th‑century furniture. Tobias and his team have an eye for contrasting colours and styles: a bright green and yellow Plain English kitchen sits alongside mid‑century Vitsœ shelving. His approach is intuitive – he simply buys what he loves.
Upstairs, the ensuite bedrooms are cosy and comfortable with plush mattresses, crisp linen and bathrooms kitted out with Drummonds fixtures and Austin Austin products.
A generous sitting room with grand Palladian windows is open to guests to use as they please: sip a drink, browse the bookshelves or take inspiration from the makers’ and artists’ works on display.
Champernhayes, Dorset
Once a working farm, Champernhayes is home to a large thatched barn, farmhouse and four cottages in the Dorset countryside near Lyme Bay. Book a cosy nook for two, or grab the gang for a huge multigenerational get‑together. In total, the accommodation can host up to 34 guests.
The 14th‑century farm’s medieval thatched farmhouse (sleeps nine) and converted barn (sleeps 12) are the standout larger properties. Recently refurbished, yet full of original character, they showcase historic features such as exposed A‑frame beams, large inglenook fireplaces and original 15th‑century stone flooring. There’s also a small, indoor children’s pool.
You might just want to chill at Champernhayes but there’s also plenty to do nearby. The Jurassic Coast is just a stone’s throw away, and the cottages are surrounded by woodland and meadows to explore.
Foodies will appreciate the local scene: River Cottage HQ is just down the road, while local chef Mark Hix hosts foraging courses nearby.
Cove Valley, Devon
Cove Valley is the ultimate rural escape. Remote, off grid and intentionally hard to track down, it feels like a bit of a secret. On the edge of Exmoor National Park, it’s part of a mission to rewild a 300‑acre nature reserve.
Owners Yolanda and Ben Cruwys teamed up with HÁM interiors to create three snug cabins, each designed in line with the studio’s meticulous attention to detail. Expect to relax amid a Native American‑inspired aesthetic with rustic finishes and a colour palette rooted in the surrounding landscape.
The wood-clad cabins are designed for indoor–outdoor living. Scoff a pizza cooked in the Gozney oven before sinking into a wood‑fired steamy bath under the veranda.
At daybreak, immerse yourself in nature by exploring the vast Exe Valley where red deer roam, wild boar wander and beavers make their home. Disconnecting from the modern world never felt so fabulously wild.
Yeo Valley Rural Stays, Somerset
Perched above Blagdon Lake, and on the fringes of Bristol’s urban buzz, the Yeo Valley Organic farm is home to a cluster of self‑catering spots. They range from a one-bedroom barn to a five-bedroom house, but all are crafted for slow living.
Rooted in the company’s ethos of low‑impact sustainability, each has been kitted out using locally sourced and recycled materials.
The accommodation is perfect for a winter getaway. Wake to birdsong, ramble across rolling countryside and through Yeo Valley Organic’s gardens before lunching at its excellent HQ canteen or its pub. Then, as evening falls, linger over a slow supper before curling up on a corner sofa by a crackling fire, or catching a film in the cosy cinema room.
St Michaels Resort, Cornwall
Leafy gardens, two restaurants and a luxe spa make this coastal resort a mecca for those looking to feed body and soul.
Culinary delights come courtesy of talented head chef Dave Waters. As a younger chef he spent six years with Nathan Outlaw, sharpening his seafood skills to razor‑clam-edge precision.
Entertainment can be found by wandering through the subtropical gardens, testing your mettle in the outdoor cold plunge, letting jets in the hydrothermal pool ease your knotted your muscles, marinating in mud with a rhassoul treatment, or working up a sweat in the well‑equipped Health Club.
Check online for the latest curated (and keenly priced) breaks.
Timbrell’s Yard, Wiltshire
In a riverside spot in Bradford‑on‑Avon, this 17th-century Grade II‑listed gem was once a dye mill and the home of mill owner Charles Timbrell.
Fast forward a few centuries and it’s now a boutique hotel and part of the Stay Original Company’s collection of beautiful accommodation. It features a cosy bar with an ancient fireplace, an airy restaurant headed up by exec chef Tom Blake, and 17 individually styled bedrooms. While the older wing wows with ancient beams, padded silk and freestanding baths, the newer section is all mezzanine levels, window seats, picture windows and river views.
Four‑legged friends are welcome in the bar and select guest rooms, as well as on the stone‑flagged terrace – a nice spot for coffee after a riverside stroll.
Dubbed ‘Bath’s little sister’, the historical town comes minus the crowds of its big sibling and deserves a space in your little black book. File it under ‛weekend hotspots.
The Greenway Hotel and Spa, Gloucestershire
Arriving at The Greenway, with its long drive lined with neatly clipped hedges, feels like stepping into a period drama. The elegant Elizabethan manor may be just minutes from Cheltenham but, as a result of its award-winning spa and rural location, provides a bucolic wellness experience.
The former family home was turned into a hotel in 1947 and underwent a major refurb in 2023. Although now thoroughly modernised, it still retains much of its Elizabethan glory.
Highlights include a sauna, outdoor hot tub, croquet lawn and sweeping countryside views. Bedrooms are spacious – some featuring slipper tubs, plush sofas and four-poster beds.
Head chef Abhijit Dasalkar crafts seasonal dishes with bold flavours. His inventive, beautifully presented cooking can be savoured in the three-AA-rosette Garden Room Restaurant, while casual dishes and classic comfort food are served in the bar and lounge. The fish pie with saffron cream is a must-order, while indulgent afternoon teas deliver the full works.
Enjoyed discovering wintry getaways? Find more exciting places to stay in the South West.
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