From discreet design dens along the south coast, to Great Gatsby-esque manor houses (see Estelle Manor in Oxfordshire), Blighty is brimming with staycation options. As the weather warms up to South of France levels and flight departures are ever-disrupted, staying on home turf has never been more appealing. In need of some inspiration?
Whatever your holiday personality, take heed of the A-list’s area codes of choice.
Scotland: the fashion (and fishing) set
The lowdown: A well-known ritual for the red-trousered set, Scotland in summer (bar the hordes of midges and occasional downpour) is something close to euphoric. Temperatures tend to linger pleasantly around the 20s; rivers brimming with salmon glisten in the sunshine; and safari-style lunches can be opened like origami in the meadows after long romps through the hills, all strewn with wildflowers. A whimsical tranche of the fashion set are lured north by its promise of wild, whisky-fuelled parties, escapades through wilderness with salmon fishing and selfies in equal measure — and for rhythms and rituals as old as the clans themselves.
Where to stay: A year-round haunt for the fashion set (including Alexa Chung), courtesy of Iwan and Manuela Wirth’s curator eye is the Fife Arms in the Cairngorms (thefifearms.com.). The aesthetic is eccentric Scottish laird-meets-slick, contemporary art gallery, with all the whisky, taxidermy and deep, tartan shades newcomers long for when heading north of the border.
In Perthshire, Gleneagles’ (gleneagles.com) siren call lies not simply in its dizzying roster of country pursuits, but also in a first-rate spa and celebrity spotting — possibly at the 9th hole on the golf course, in the roaring 20s-themed bar or rod–in-hand along the hotel’s own beat, swigging a dram of whisky before 11am. The less sceney sort (read Eddie Redmayne) hole away in more discreet spots, such as Skye’s Kinloch Lodge (kinloch-lodge.co.uk) whose freshwater treasures regularly feature on the menus.
Where to eat: The fashion (and fishing) set mainly keep to hotel restaurants, friends’ castles or sprawling houses in the Borders, many of which are valued as something close to a one-bed Notting Hill flat. But those with foodie pilgrimages in mind wind through the hills and along the lochs for The Three Chimneys in Skye (threechimneys.co.uk)— a Scandi-Scot legend along Loch Dunvegan with a hyper-local, life-shifting menu.
Devon: the music industry
The lowdown: Devon’s rolling green hills, farm-to-fork culture, off-beat village pubs and hidden coves have long attracted a clutch of musicians and singers — many with roots in the emerald county. One of them is Chris Martin (born in Exeter), who routinely heads back to his home county, much to the locals’ delight, as well as Rod Stewart. Rather than suave hotels or happening bars, the music scene here takes a spontaneous turn in rough-around-the-edges village drinking holes (legend has it that Kylie Minogue gave an impromptu performance in one).
Where to stay: To go fully off grid, it’s all about rentals (Sand & Stone’s characterful, pocket-sized stays are pure escapism fantasy, sandandstoneescapes.com), though laid-back boutique bolthole Gara Rock (gararock.com; near increasingly swishy Salcombe) seems a popular spot for the showbiz set, including Millie Mackintosh and Hugo Taylor. The Pig at Combe’s (thepighotel.com) 25-mile menu and rustic-luxe appeal draws in a similar set, all convening around toasty fire pits at dusk. Relative newcomer Glebe House’s (glebehousedevon.co.uk) design-ready rooms have a certain bohemian charm.
Where to eat: While most of Devon’s big ticket hotels and boutiques do a stellar job of showcasing the county’s superlative produce and coastal plunder, it’s all about the pubs. The Masons Arms in Knowstone (masonsarmsdevon.co.uk)and The Pyne Arms in East Down (pynearms.com)are two sure-fire lunch spots. The slightly scruffy Oyster Shack in Bigbury (oystershack.co.uk) is where to go for spanking fresh shellfish and crab soup.
Cornwall: the politicians and the Chelsea tractors
The lowdown: Ah, Cornwall, where parasol-studded hotel terraces are suspended above turquoise water, daisy-strewn cliffs conceal ethereal lagoons, and surfers bop like seals. It’s a popular spot with politicians, such as David Cameron and Boris Johnson (not to mention London’s second-home contingent). Once fully ensconced, svelte 40-somethings head to their daily pilates classes as Highcliffe’s brand-new studio, while surfing novices take tips from George Stoy — a Cornish chamber of celebrity secrets.
Where to stay: Adam Handling’s Ugly Butterfly restaurant (uglybutterfly.co.uk), with its superlative, seafood-focused menus, continues to lure in the Westminster set, and chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay (who has a house in Rock). Hotel-meets-rental Atlanta Trevone (atlantatrevonebay.com) is currently top of every louche London-based family’s Cornwall list — with its glossy, magazine-worthy interiors, proximity to Padstow and endless beach activities. But the well-to-do Cornwall summertimers will habitually tap one of four hotels’ postcodes into Waze having locked up in London: Olga Polizzi’s Tresanton (thepolizzicollection.com), The Idle Rocks (idlerocks.com), The Pig in Harlyn Bay (thepighotel.com) or St Enodoc (enodoc-hotel.co.uk). King Charles has the convenience of the Penzance-Scilly Isles chopper, where his Tresco-based manor house, Dolphin House, awaits (tresco.co.uk).
Where to eat: Cornwall’s salt-infused restaurant scene gives London’s a run for its money, particularly with its just-caught seafood and ancient farming traditions. Celebrity chefs such as Rick Stein, Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw have moved in on the action, with Outlaw’s two Port Isaac restaurants, Coombeshead Farm (coombesheadfarm.co.uk) and the Hidden Hut in Truro (hiddenhut.co.uk), just a few hot ticket gastronome spots. Rub shoulders with the politicians and chef royalty over brunch at Four Boys in Rock.
Bruton: the Nottinghillites
The lowdown: Alice Temperley, George Osborne and Stella McCartney all have houses here, along with a legion of arty, affluent Londoners, gradually sprucing up this medieval town. Indeed, it’s been a controversial spruce, though it’s hard to deny Bruton’s cultural and foodie appeal since Hauser & Wirth’s futuristic gallery landed in 2014. It’s this intriguing mix of bucolic, go-slow village life and cutting-edge art, artisanal boutiques and kitchen creativity, that has pulled the likes of Damien Lewis, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sam Taylor-Johnson down from the Big Smoke.
Where to stay: Somerset meets South Africa at The Newt (thenewtinsomerset.com, owned by the couple behind Babylonstoren), where acres of soft valleys, pretty orchards and kitchen gardens are overlooked by reimagined barns, Franschhoek-style wine terraces and one imposing, honey-hued Georgian pile. You’ll be hard pressed to roam its ha-ha-encircled grounds or munch on nettle-marinated quail in the Botanical Rooms without clocking a famous face. Those after a more boutique stay can drop their bags at Dursdale Farmhouse (dursladefarmhouse.co.uk), where art-clad, rough-luxe rooms lie an easy stroll from the organic spread and Somerset ciders at Roth Bar & Grill (rothbarandgrill.co.uk).
Where to eat: Ethics abound here, the vocal cosmopolitan flavour that the countryside has been quietly peddling for centuries. Restaurants such as Osip (osiprestaurant.com) — a sliver of Somerset farm-to-fork prowess helmed by a remarkably young chef — and Roth Bar and Grill (sharing a plot with Hauser & Wirth Gallery) are radically seasonal and local. At The Chapel (atthechapel.co.uk), whose owners recently sold out, is where locals and city escapees convene over wood-fired sourdough pizzas and rosé.
The Cotswolds: the media industry
The lowdown: Rolling hills, honey-hued cottages and fluffed-up Daylesford cows, The Cotswolds has long been riddled with media types. Everyone from Kate Moss to David Beckham, and Lily Allen to Richard E Grant, has flocked here to cleanse city lungs. The Chipping Norton set was coined from the showbiz-politicos residing or second-homing in or near the postcard-pretty market town — Jeremy Clarkson at Diddly Squat, David and Samantha Cameron in Dean and Elisabeth Murdoch, in the nearby village of Burford. Then there’s the Soho Farmhouse scene — a cosmopolitan gloss on rural idyll where you’ll encounter more Balmain than Barbour (and perhaps even Liv Tyler, Cara Delevingne or Harry Styles). If not here, whiling away the hours in a hotel spa or following a manicured trail through acres of woodland, celebrities can be spotted Cotswold village hopping, with Bourton-on-the-Water, Castle Combe, Blenheim’s Woodstock and Lower Slaughter typically high on the list.
Where to stay: Chic London families and media types craving a blast of fresh air without scrimping on the city luxuries all scoot to The Lakes by YOO (thelakesbyyoo.com)— ‘The Hamptons of the Cotswolds.’ Credits for the various haute riverside cabins’ design include Kate Moss, Jade Jagger and Elle Macpherson. Any sense of seclusion is softened with an on-site organic cafe and gastro pubs dotting the estate boundary.
Another Cotswoldian bolthole popular with showbiz is Foxhill Manor (foxhillmanor.com)— tucked in the sprawling 500-acre Farncombe estate with just eight bedrooms. Gary Barlow, Lady Gaga and U2 have stowed away here, with full access to nearby Dormy House’s spa and supper enjoyed home-from-home style anywhere in the manor house (or the gardens). More discreet types head to Thyme (thyme.co.uk), to stew in its spas and munch its kitchen garden grub, while the not-so-discreet Instagram the approach to Estelle Manor (estellemanor.com) in Oxfordshire, through 3,000 acres of parkland and where padel followed by laptop-side prawns are the form.
Where to eat: With Burford easily more sociable than Battersea, the restaurant scene in the Cotswolds is as much about the crowd as it is about the food. Saying this, hearty British fare still takes centre stage, with spots such as The Double Red Duke (countrycreatures.com), The Bell Inn at Langford (thebelllangford.com) and The Wild Rabbit in Kingham (thewildrabbit.co.uk) showing off the surrounding countryside’s bounty, with creative riffs and considered interiors. That’s when they’re not scoffing organic eggs-on-toast at Daylesford after a zen morning yoga session or meadow arrangement floristry class.
West Dorset: the unfussy, rather offbeat aristocrats
The lowdown: Long the preserve of seventh-generation landowners, writers and rural boheme, West Dorset’s unsullied coastline still flies gloriously under the radar. The English Riviera lot unwittingly clip its northern tip en route to Devon or Cornwall, without venturing into fossil country, while many of the Time Out London crowd make a beeline for Bournemouth or Sandbanks.
But West Dorset, as the farmers and Bridport-based artists will attest, is indescribably beautiful, where cow-grazed fields meet the beach and unpolluted, star-studded skies humble those beneath them. Anything exciting here has to tow the quietly cool Dorset-line, the sort that keeps the owners of Boden, ‘King of Rave’ James Perkins (owner of Parnham House as well as Northamptonshire’s Aynhoe Park)... really anyone not anchored down by family piles: The 11th Earl of Sandwich (Mapperton House with yogi wife, Julie Montague), the Weld Family (Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door) and Charlotte Townshend (Melbury Estate).
Where to stay: If not visiting friends’ manor houses in Thomas Hardy country, Dorset loyalists head to Seaside Boarding House in Burton Bradstock (theseasideboardinghouse.com), which overlooks a wild, shingle beach and shares the same owners as London’s Groucho Club. But recent arrival, Aller Dorset (allerdorset.com), founded by ex-Gucci PR Cat Earp and her husband Ant, has drawn in a stylish coterie (including fashion influencers Jessie Bush and Sarah Corbett-Winder) with its kitsch-chic cabins overlooking a lake.
Where to eat: On sunny days, those in-the-know head to the Seaside Boarding House for its fresh-off-the-boat lobster and crab, or to the Hive (hivebeachcafe.co.uk, just along the coast), where a slightly more unbuttoned scene unfurls over enormous seafood platters and live music. Just inland from Burton Bradstock, on gloriously scruffy Bredy Farm (worlds away from Daylesford), the Parlour (bredyfarm.com) serves superlative wood-fired pizza and pasta dishes leveraging local produce, with a curious mix of locals and those who’ve read it in a newspaper review somewhere.
In Lyme Regis, Hix’s Oyster & Fish House (theoysterandfishhouse.co.uk) shows off Dorset’s coastal plunder. However, for a suave-tasting menu, with all the seafood trappings and local vineyard pairings, head to Catch at the Old Fishmarket in Weymouth (catchattheoldfishmarket.com, where Atherton-trained Mike Naidoo works his culinary alchemy). Brassica in Beaminster (brassicarestaurant.co.uk) is where old publishers, local toffs and entrepreneurs convene for pork shoulder ragu and polenta in scruffy shirts and high spirits (the team has recently opened a deli-cum-cafe in Bridport).
