Harpsden Hall, Henley-On-Thames

Oxfordshire. Sleeps up to 20

The magnificent Harpsden Hall sits in the beautiful village of Harpsden, just outside Henley-on-Thames. Sitting in Harpsden valley, it is next to Henley Golf Course which will please the golfers amongst you! With five bedrooms in the main house and the Woodpecker Studio and the Oak Annexe, this stunning property can sleep twenty guests in total. It is incredibly stylish, absolutely immaculate and very luxurious.

Harpsden has been crowned Oxfordshire’s ‘poshest’ village by The Telegraph. The area is brimming with celebrity homes including those of Russell Brand and Mary Berry. Harpsden sits on the edge of the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Henley-on-Thames. It’s High Wood is full of beautiful bluebells in May. The village has enjoyed a few TV appearances including Agatha Christie’s Marple episodes ‘Nemesis’ and ‘By the Pricking of My Thumbs’ and Harpsden Court was used for the Bond film Quantum of Solace. It is very pretty and beautifully kept. The fabulous 13th century market town of Henley sits on a picturesque stretch of the River Thames with delightful walks and regular festivities. The Henley Royal Regatta is the most famous regatta in the world and a highlight on the English sporting calendar. Henley now even has its own special gin, Mr Hobbs Gin. The Chiltern Hills are ready of exploration, offering scenic rolling countryside and wonderful tranquility. You will discover tucked away villages, chalk-fed streams, ancient woods, superb scenery, intriguing attractions and gorgeous market towns.

The Edwardian Harpsden Hall comes with fantastic living spaces. The kitchen diner is beautiful in white and anthracite grey. It boasts a range cooker, other outstanding appliances including a wine fridge and a sociable island with stools so that the chefs in your group can have company. Just off the kitchen is a smart utilty room with a giant American style fridge freezer and a butler’s sink. The Orangery dining area is wonderful with a gorgeous table and chairs perfectly positioned to enjoy exquisite garden views. Double doors open the garden and a huge roof light sits above the table. With another complete wall of windows, this is a very and airy space. Underfloor heating will keep you warm all year round. The living area is also very special with a wooden floor as opposed to the beautiful tiles in the kitchen diner. Sumptuous contemporary chairs sit by the wood burning stove which lights up the Edwardian splendour of the room and a lavish Chesterfield styled sofa sits at the other end. In addition to this very spacious room there is a snug, a perfect spot to nestle down with a toasty fire on chilly evenings and watch a movie. A table football game is provided for some family competition.

The five bedrooms in the main house are located on the upper floor, four offering kingsize beds and the last enjoying twin beds. You will dive into deep slumber in crisp linens and wake to beautiful views of the extensive gardens. Like the living spaces, there is a lot of brilliant white and grey going on along with a few blue or pink colour splashes. The soft furnishings are exquisite. The ensuite bathrooms are equally stunning, mostly marbled and all with the very best fittings. You will find a mix of slipper baths where you can enjoy an indulgent soak and showers.

The beautiful Woodpecker studio offers a super kingsize bedroom with its own bathroom and living space. Here there is a sofa bed which can also be used for extra guests. Similarly, the Oak annexe boasts a sofa bed, a kingsize bed and two twin beds as well as a kitchen, lounge and bathroom. Interior designers have created magical spaces in both annexes that fit well with the main house.

Harpsden Hall is a brilliant pick for large family groups or groups of friends that want to explore this fabulous area and make magical holiday memories. You can even bring your pets along for the stay. The house sits in stunning landscaped gardens and a private one and a half acres of woodland, affectionately known as the Dinosaur Wood to locals. The woodland is also enjoyed by many woodland birds and deer so you will wake to the sound of birdsong. You can wander through the woodland listening to owls hooting and the wind whispering through the boughs of the oaks. Lush lawns sit ripe and ready for your furry friends to retrieve balls and join in the fun.

Harpsden Hall is located in the gorgeous Harpsden valley in the village of Harpsden. It is a wonderful area, popular with the rich and famous and labelled Oxfordshire’s ‘poshest village’ by The Telegraph. It sits just outside the gorgeous ancient market town of Henley-on-Thames. Henley-on-Thames is the international home of rowing, sitting on a picturesque stretch of the River Thames and enjoying a wonderful sprinkling of shops, restaurants and cafes. Henley is famous for its prestigious events, the Henley Royal Regatta, the Thames Traditional Boat Festival and the Festival of Music and Art. Thousands of visitors head to the town during the five day Henley Royal Regatta to watch Olympians compete in the two hundred plus races. The Thames Traditional Boat Festival first took place thirty seven years ago. It is a fun day out for the whole family with Punch and Judy puppet shows, a pop up pub, stalls offering trades and crafts from days gone by and much more. Henley enjoys beautiful riverside walks and plenty of boating opportunities. The town’s own artisan gin, Mr Hobbs Gin, stems back to 1879 when Mr Harry Hobbs, founder of Hobbs and Sons (now Hobbs of Henley) and publican of The Ship Hotel was often seen about the town with his high-spirited nature and flamboyant beard or on his punt at 11am enjoying his home-distilled gin. He held parties along the banks of the river and hired out his boasts for like-minded locals to host their own gatherings. To mark the 150th anniversary of the family business, the family started to look at local botanicals and embarked on creating their own gin in honour of the man that started it all. The town is also famous as a location used in the popular series Midsomer Murders. Fans will recognise some of the locations used such as Gabriel Machin’s butcher shop, Tudor House Antiques and the Argyll pub.

Not far away is the university city of Oxford where you can tour the hallowed halls of Britain’s oldest and most famous university and follow in the footsteps of famous poets and Prime Ministers. Several scenes from Harry Potter were filmed at various sites in the town including Oxford University’s Bodleian Library which is known to fans as Hogwarts Library. Visitors enjoy hop-on hop-off bus tours to explore the town’s architecture, its culture and its museums. The ancient Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum are all very interesting. Visitors can step back in history among the Norman ruins of Oxford Castle, wander beneath the Bridge of Sighs or simply enjoy the town’s fantastic array of eateries and bars. Oxford offers meandering waterways, lush green spaces and an outstanding shopping experience.

Thame is another very pretty, thriving market town within easy reach. It is situated at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, just 14 miles from Oxford. Thame boasts fascinating historical buildings, beautiful parks, a museum, a theatre, excellent shopping and a wonderful array of restaurants and bars. Thame grew from Anglo-Saxon roots to become a very characterful town with plenty of medieval buildings standing aside those from the Georgian and Victorian periods. Thame enjoys an iconic boat-shaped high street and a buzzy market place. It is also frequently used as a filming location for ‘Midsomer Murders’. Thame hosts regular markets and arts and crafts fairs in the town hall. The town’s programme of events includes their Easter Country Show, music festivals in May and July, a bustling carnival and fete in June, the Towersey Festival in August, the Horse and Country Show, a food festival and fun fair in, the Arts and Literature Festival in October and a fun-filled Christmas lights fair.

Within, very easy reach, the Cotswolds is a stunning area brimming with super attractive towns and villages including Chipping Norton, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, Tetbury and Chipping Campden. Many of the picturesque market towns are old wool towns with amazing architecture, much of which features the gorgeous honey coloured Cotswold stone. Bourton-on-the-Water, like most of the Cotswolds, lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is the Venice of the Cotswolds with beautiful bridges crossing the River Windrush. Gorgeous cosy cafes line the pretty streets together with attractive houses. Stow-on-the-Wold is a delightful market town, one of the highest of the Cotswold towns, exposed on the 800 feet high Stow Hill at the crossroads with the Roman Fosse Way. The town boasts a fascinating history. At the height of the Cotswolds wool industry, it held annual fairs where as many as 20000 sheep were sold at one time. The Market Square is very attractive with its ancient cross, town stocks and an elegant array of Cotswold town houses and shops. You will find many fine antique shops, art galleries, gift and craft shops. Tetbury is another historic wool town. It is an architectural gem with many of the wool merchant’s houses remaining the same as they were in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Parish Church of St Mary’s has one of the tallest and most elegant spires in the UK. Tetbury is popular for its independent shops including antique shops, vintage and interior shops, exclusive boutiques and the Highgrove shop. Tetbury holds many regular events including the May Day Wacky Races, the Spring Bank Holiday Woolsack Races when contestants carry 65lb woolsacks up and down the 1 in 4 hill, the August Summer Show, the September Food and Drink Festival, the October Tetbury Music Festival and the Christmas Lights Switch-on. Close to Chipping Norton, you can visit Soho Farmhouse. Spread across 100 acres of Oxfordshire countryside, it offers many attractions including fabulous eateries from Japanese grill dishes at Pen Yen to Hay Barn’s delicious wood oven pizzas, horse riding, tennis, a fantastic spa, the Soho Health Club, an indoor-outdoor pool, clay pigeon shooting, boating on the lake and lots more. Daylesford Organic Farm is also very popular with its clover-rich pastures and organic animals roaming freely. You can buy fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs which are picked daily from the market garden and visit the award-winning farmshop and cafe. Beyond the farmshop is the Bamford Barn, Wellness Spa, Workshop, Cookery School and several options for indoor and outdoor dining.