The Rectory, Bristol

Somerset. Sleeps up to 14

Nestled in one acre of glorious gardens in the quintessential English hamlet of Hinton Blewett, deep in Somerset’s magnificent Mendip Hills, The Rectory is just perfect for family get togethers and groups of friends having something special to celebrate. It is a sublime oasis of gracious living with an endless list of qualities and treats. This superb retreat sleeps up to fourteen adults and two children in luxurious comfort and entertains them like few others. The Rectory boasts an indoor pool, a home gym, a family room with TV, croquet on the lawn, access to Netflix and Amazon Prime, the most amazing, characterful living spaces and a beautifully planted garden. Dinner and drinks can be enjoyed in lavish style inside and out, you can sing along with the Bluetooth, you can enjoy a ‘Come Dine With Me’ experience in the kitchen with guests cooking on the gas-fired Aga, the electric Aga oven, the combi microwave oven or even in the top-floor kitchenette or even better, you can pop along to the award-winning Ring O’Bells pub for some steamed Fowey mussels.

In a land of fresh cream teas, scrumpy cider and breathtaking countryside, Hinton Blewett, is as peaceful as they come. This pretty, charming hamlet sits in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty enjoying a fabulous village pub full of oak beams, inglenook fireplaces and welcome smiles. If you want to stay in the splendour of your atmospheric, panelled dining room, the pub even offers delicious five-course, full tasting journeys as takeaways. The hamlet offers a lush, one and a half hour, three mile circular walk by Litton Reservoirs, taking in the fresh country smells, mesmerising, beautiful valley and rolling farmlands. You will quickly get lost in the bird song and country air when staying in The Rectory. Not far away is the elegant Georgian city of Bath with its traditional heritage of ancient Roman Baths, its iconic Royal Crescent, remarkable galleries, contemporary culture, year-round festivals, green spaces and some of the finest independent shops in Britain. The Cathedral City of Wells enjoys its unique moated Bishop’s Palace, its magnificent cathedral and a fine dining scene which will get your tastebuds tingling. Your holiday will be complete with trips to Stonehenge, Avebury, Longleat Safari Park, Cheddar Gorge, the phenomenal Wookey Hole Caves and Glastonbury Abbey.

Behind the ancient stone walls that ensure your total holiday privacy, the lush lawns, towering trees, well-established colourful shrubs and glorious wisteria of The Rectory, you will discover an enormous country house that exudes charm, period character and a warm, welcoming ambience. The Rectory maintains its elegance, tradition and character whilst having been brought bang up to date with the modern magic of technology and luxurious indulgence.

Its magnicent drawing room is brimming with sumptuous sofas where you can retreat with the Sunday newspapers and a cup of tea, cosy up next to the roaring fire or bring the generations together for some family board games. With heavy drapes at the period sash windows, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and glorious Mendip garden views from the windows, it takes you back to a time of Byron and Jane Austen. The warm, panelled dining room boasts Georgian splendour and another period fire offering a crackling atmosphere. There are four reception rooms in total on the ground floor which radiate from the flagstone hallway, offering beautiful spaces to mingle or slide away. The children’s lounge or family room enjoys an enormous television, the perfect spot for a lazy evening after an energetic day. The drawing room television is discreetly hidden behind a mirror. In addition to the formal dining room, the breakfast room enjoys a country kitchen table, perfect for breakfasts or alternatively guests can dine alfresco on the terrace while enjoying glorious garden views. The kitchen will impress the most discerning of chefs with its five-door gas Aga with hotplates, it electric Aga double oven, its combi microwave and oven in the pastry room, its chilling cabinet for your smooth Sancerre, its American double fridge freezer with ice-maker, its Nespresso coffee maker and other fabulous appliances. The kitchen is a beautiful, sociable space with plenty of spots where you can entertain the chef! The upper floor of the house also boasts a super kitchenette.

The Rectory enjoys a home gym, complete with treadmill and recumbent bike, where you can keep up your fitness levels and later drink as much wine and eat as much local cheddar as you like. There is a fridge in the gym for your cool bottled water. The lower floor is also home to the seven-metre indoor pool which is heated to a toasty thirty degrees and perfect for a few lengths.

Diving within crisp cottons, you will enjoy some serious shut-eye in seven beautiful bedrooms, five double rooms, one twin and one nursery room. All enjoying contemporary, natural colour palettes they are full of sumptuous vintage furnishings and sensational soft furnishings. Bedroom one comes with a romantic, super king-size, four poster bed and an en-suite bathroom, bedroom two boasts a beautifully dressed super king-size bed and a bathroom next door and bedroom three offers another super king-size four-poster and an adjacent spacious bathroom with an original decorative fireplace. The nursery for three little ones is accessed via bedroom three, so it makes an ideal family suite. Bedroom four also boasts an adjacent bathroom together with a lavish king-size bed and bedroom five also offers a king-size bed. Bedroom six is a beautiful twin, sharing a bathroom with bedroom five. Finally, if you need extra space, the family room enjoys a fold-down, wall-mounted double bed that you are welcome to use. Guests making use of this room would have access to the downstairs loo and pool shower or would need to share the upstairs bathrooms. An additional two bedroom adjoining apartment is also available for larger groups at an extra fee.

Outside, you can dine al fresco in the walled garden with a huge table seating twelve guests, or on the terrace with wonderful views. It is the place for champagne, strawberries and cream and games of croquet. During the evening, the terrace is warmed by a firepit and lit by pretty lanterns. It is just perfect, watch the twinkling stars and enjoy the tranquility. The one acre of grounds are stunning and perfect for all guests, no matter the age. Children will scramble for the swings, slide and hammock while looking for places suitable for hide and seek. Your barbecue masters can stock up on meat and vegetables from the delightful New Manor Farm Shop and start grilling on the barbecue. You almost certainly will not want to leave The Rectory at the end of your week! * Please note the last 12 photographs in the carousel are of the Apartment. This is only included in the rental of the property for an additional cost.

The Rectory enjoys an idyllic location deep in Somerset’s Mendip Hills in the quaint village of Hinton Blewett. It is a wonderful countryside location in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with numerous attractions within very easy reach. Whether you are looking for an active holiday, a cultural one, an indulgent one or a foodie one, this area has it all. You can participate in clay pigeon shooting at Mill Farm Shoot, golf at Farrington Park or Fosseway, horse riding at Hay Street Stables or you can head to the coast for some surf and seaside fun. There are luxury spa treatments to be enjoyed at Green Apple Day spa or in Bath. Those that love shopping will be in heaven in Bath and children love the lions and tigers at Longleat Safari Park, the limestone caverns at Wookey Hole Caves, the fish at Bristol Aquarium, the gorillas, penguins and pandas at Bristol Zoo and the play barn at Farrington Farm Shop.

The elegant city of Bath was built for pleasure and relaxation. It has been a wellbeing destination since the Roman times and the waters are still a big draw. The ancient Roman Baths are incredible, as is the thoroughly modern Thermae Bath Spa. If you feel you need some pampering, it is definitely the place to head to with the only natural thermal hot springs in Britain that you can bathe in. Bath’s stunning honey-coloured Georgian architecture is absolutely beautiful. It looks as though it has come straight from a Jane Austen novel. It offers much culture, fine dining, theatre, festivals, museums, galleries and brilliant shopping.

The cathedral city of Wells is compact, full of cobbled streets, medieval architecture and fabulous eateries. It is the smallest city in England and offers a magical market square and the commanding Wells Cathedral. Its name comes from the three wells within the beautiful Bishops’s Palace.

There are so many places nearby to visit and many activities. You will probably have to come back to fit it all in. You can head to Stonehenge, take a steamy trip back in time on the Mendip main line with the Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust, enjoy the thrill of bouldering at the Climbing Academy Boulder Club, head to Bath Racecourse for National Hunt racing, fish or sail on the Chew Valley Lake, catch premiership rugby at Bristol or Bath or enjoy a track day at Castle Coombe race circuit. The list is endless!

Those that love to fish are very lucky with trout, carp, roach and bream fishing at Litton Lakes and coarse-fishing and still-water trout fly-fishing at Blagdon. There are hire boats at Blagdon too but you need to look out for enormous pike. Walkers and hikers love the beauty of the Mendip Hills and the Somerset Levels.