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.
Mill of Arun
Billingshurst, West Sussex, UK
Occupying a tranquil spot on the River Arun, Mill of Arun is a luxury country home made up of two properties: Mulberry Mill and Figgy Court. Perfect for families, it offers a hot tub and kayaks in the beautiful West Sussex countryside, near Billingshurst.
Sleeps: Up to 8 guests
From: £3,250 per week, £2,395 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub, two kayaks for the river, table football in the games room, fishing is available year round outside of April and May
