On occasion you come upon a lodge that feels much less like a lodge and extra like a superbly saved secret, and Thyme within the Cotswolds is strictly that. Tucked away within the honey-stoned village of Southrop, it’s the form of place the place you arrive on a Friday afternoon, kick off your footwear and don’t take into consideration the surface world once more till Sunday. I lately checked in for a 3 night time keep at Thyme, and I can see why it’s grow to be one among England’s most talked-about nation resorts. Right here’s all the pieces it’s essential to know.
Thyme at a look
Location: Southrop, close to Lechlade, within the southern Cotswolds | Value: $$$$ | Finest for: {Couples}, meals lovers and lengthy nation weekends (over-12s solely)
Rooms: 31 rooms and cottages | Charges: From about £400–450 an evening, together with breakfast | Finest time to go: Late spring to early autumn, when the gardens and springwater pool are at their finest
Why we find it irresistible: A family-run “village inside a village” of restored Seventeenth-century buildings on a 150-acre property, with two MICHELIN Keys, a farm-to-table restaurant within the Ox Barn and rooms dressed within the founder’s personal prints.
Good to know: Over-12s solely, besides within the two-bedroom Outdated Partitions cottage. Canine are welcome within the cottage suites for £50 an evening. The closest station is Swindon, about 40 minutes by automobile.
Insider element: E-book spa remedies earlier than you arrive, as they replenish quick, and provides the lodge two days’ discover for a picnic hamper to take out into the meadows.
The Cotswolds’ most charming nation lodge, constructed for lengthy lunches and sluggish weekends.
Paid keep — opinions are at all times our personal.
My keep at Thyme
A village inside a village
Thyme started life as a cookery faculty earlier than rising into the lodge it’s at this time, and it’s nonetheless run by the household who began all of it. Founder Caryn Hibbert restored a cluster of Seventeenth-century farm buildings on a 150-acre property, her son Charlie heads up the kitchen, daughter Camilla runs the lodge and even the prints on the partitions are household designs. That private contact is in every single place, and it’s what makes the place really feel so heat. Moderately than one grand home, the lodge is unfold throughout the property: the outdated Tithe Barn, the Ox Barn, the previous lambing sheds (now the bar) and a handful of cottages, all linked by gravel paths, topiary and wildflower meadows.
The rooms
There are 31 rooms and no two are alike. Every is wearing Caryn’s personal prints and wallpapers, and lots of include rolltop baths, beamed ceilings and views over the gardens or the water meadows. If you would like extra space and privateness, ebook one of many cottages: the Gardener’s Cottage and the two-bedroom Outdated Partitions each have wood-burning stoves, good for cooler months. Every room is exclusive, including to the attraction of this lodge, and once I arrived I actually had no thought what my keep would entail!
Eating: the Ox Barn and The Swan
Meals is on the coronary heart of Thyme, which is sensible given its cookery-school roots. The Ox Barn, a restored Nineteenth-century farm constructing with hovering ceilings and uncovered beams, is the principle restaurant, the place chef Charlie Hibbert (previously of London’s Quo Vadis) cooks a contemporary British menu constructed across the property’s two-acre kitchen backyard and farm. Breakfast is included within the room fee. For one thing extra relaxed, the village pub, The Swan, is a brief stroll away and does a correct Sunday lunch (ebook forward and ask for a desk by the fireplace). I selected the Swan for the nights of my keep as I’ve an affinity for English pub meals and I need to say, it didn’t disappoint!
Baa bar, the spa and the pool
Earlier than dinner, head to Baa, the residents-only bar set within the outdated lambing sheds, for one of many botanical cocktails made with herbs from the backyard. By day, the Meadow Spa presents remedies utilizing Thyme’s personal Bertioli merchandise, and subsequent door is a heated, spring-fed out of doors pool, with drinks served poolside from the Orchid Home. Spa remedies ebook up rapidly, so reserve earlier than you arrive.
Issues to do
Actually, the perfect factor to do at Thyme could be very little in any respect, however if you wish to fill your days there’s a lot on the property. E-book a category on the cookery faculty (something from bread and pasta to afternoon tea), wander the Bunny Guinness-designed gardens, meet the rare-breed sheep, or pack a picnic for the meadows alongside the River Leach. Convey wellies for the farm walks. Additional afield, Cirencester’s weekly market is on Fridays, and the remainder of the Cotswolds is a simple drive away.
Is Thyme price it?
Thyme isn’t low-cost, but it surely delivers a Cotswolds weekend that feels genuinely particular: nice meals, beautiful rooms, a spa and pool, and the form of heat, family-run hospitality that huge luxurious resorts not often handle. It holds two MICHELIN Keys, and it’s the lodge I’d ebook for a sluggish, food-focused escape from London. Simply notice that it’s over-12s solely until you ebook Outdated Partitions, and the automobile park is a stroll from a number of the cottages, so pack mild or ask for assist together with your luggage.
I stayed at Thyme as a paying visitor, all opinions are my very own.
Thyme: continuously requested questions
The place is Thyme?
Within the village of Southrop, close to Lechlade in Gloucestershire, within the southern Cotswolds. It’s about 90 minutes’ drive from London, or an hour by practice from London Paddington to Swindon adopted by a 40-minute drive.
Is Thyme child-friendly?
The lodge is for visitors aged 12 and over. Households with youthful kids can keep within the two-bedroom Outdated Partitions cottage, and youngsters are welcome for lunch on the Ox Barn and at The Swan.
Is Thyme dog-friendly?
Sure, within the cottage suites and Outdated Partitions, for £50 per canine per night time. Canine on leads are welcome within the pub, the bar, the Tithe Barn and the grounds.
Does Thyme have a spa and pool?
Sure. The Meadow Spa presents remedies, and there’s a heated, spring-fed out of doors pool subsequent door.
