For gathering
In the end, we’ll look back at the pictures we took beside that fire pit, in that treehouse, dancing around that kitchen island, and we’ll say: “look at us, we always filled those big houses to the rafters.”
Welcome to the family reunion: where kith and kin gather in large houses around the nation. Out on the wind-whipped balcony, an imaginative elder points out to sea and tells concocted stories of fisticuffs with sharks and trading treasures with the Pirates of Penzance. Inside, there’s fresh coffee and sweet apples from the orchard; and fair isle socks muffle the thuds of young ones testing their pillow obstacle course.
This winter is for coming together in luxury, for dogs dodging tumbling stacks of Jenga, for floating in and out of slumber as the stardust-souled play a motion picture, and the whole group gathers in the fire-warmed snug. Tables piled high with crackers and trailing grapes. Cheese boards and nut bowls and jars of fruit chutney; no space left for elbows. Carafes slosh with plummy Malbecs until the last drop is poured, well into the small hours.
Atelier Rose
This luxury riverside home in Herefordshire’s Leominster is a wonderland of charm; walk through the topiaries to find Atelier Rose, with its orangery that hides a giant tin spa tub.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests (10 adults and 2 children)
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £3,550 per week, £2,695 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Large William Holland spa bath, cinema room, pool table room
Charity
Black Mountains, Herefordshire, UK
Divinely secluded, Charity is a real wild retreat; set down a mountain road in the Black Mountains of Herefordshire, this luxury country home has a hot tub and sauna.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
From: £3,795 per week, £2,850 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Wood-fired hot tub, sauna, outdoor shower, outdoor pizza oven, table tennis, snooker room, cinema barn and badminton lawn
The Sculptor´s Gardens
For celebratory gatherings and wonderland gardens, The Sculptor's Gardens is a luxury country retreat with a hot tub, made up of two homes – Hollyhocks and Atelier Rose – in Herefordshire's Leominster.
Sleeps: Up to 18 guests (16 adults and 2 children)
From: £5,750 per week, £4,550 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: William Holland spa baths, outdoor kitchen, tree house, cinema room, games room with pool table
