Hot tub, gardens and grounds
The three-quarters of an acre here is a haven of peace. Explore it to find space for a kickaround or a game of rounders, croquet hoops and French boules. Take a break for lunch cooked up in the outdoor kitchen, with its Gosney gas pizza oven, bar, bar fridge and barbecue. Take a pew in the sunshine: there are chairs for everyone.
Enjoy the stunning vistas from the expansive leisure suite, soaking in the mesmerising scenery as daylight fades.. Then, as darkness drops, you’ll wear your cossie and a broad grin in the fixed, six-seat hot tub with its front-row seat on the celestial sphere.
Indoor pool and living spaces
It’s all palatially period, with Victorian cornicing, classic colours, chandeliers and sashes dotted around the living spaces. The Old Vicarage comes with spaces for entertaining and spaces for escaping. Plus your very own leisure suite, complete with 10.5-metre heated indoor pool and gym with treadmill, cross-trainer, free weights and TV.
Showered off after your workout? Head down to the drawing room to chill with books and board games. Switch on the Sonos for your personal soundtrack. Bring your Netflix and Amazon passwords for streamed TV over the fast Wi-Fi in the cinema room. Recharge in smaller, breakout living spaces by the pool and in the kitchen.
Cooking & dining
There’s sociable simmering and stirring on offer with two Chesterfield sofas sitting next to the delightful kitchen equipped with Lacanche range cooker, five gas plates and stock-pot plate. Or cook outside on the Gosney gas pizza oven in the external kitchen that also comes with bar, bar fridge and barbecue.
If you prefer your bubbling and boiling in the hot tub than on the hob, call in the pros from Horseradish Catering, Dougherty and Allen or DineIndulge, for a one-off celebration or fully catered break. Get used to taking it easy with takeaways from Forts of India. Stock up the American fridge/freezer from Waitrose and Huxley’s deli.
Like the idea of a pub you can potter to? The Pheasant Inn in Burwardsley offers views over the Peckforton Hills, plus garlic chicken bhuna or five-bean chilli. Eat out at Great British Pub of the Year, The Cholmondley Arms, on seasonal specials and old-school favourites. Or try mango and lime coconut chicken curry at The Yew Tree.
Restaurants? Head to The Fox and Barrel for a cheeky foxy theme and chalk-stream trout or duck breast. Dine out on the terrace at The Inn at Huxley on salt-aged ribeye steak or pan-seared spiced lamb rum. Or consider griddled hake or bubble and squeak at The Nags Head at Haughton.
Bedrooms
The Old Vicarage sleeps 18 in eight bedrooms, peacefully, in this quiet corner of Cheshire. Sink into deep sleep aided by Egyptian-cotton 300-thread count sheets, toppers, and mattress with quilted top and supported springs.
In the main house, the first bedroom is a superking with flatscreen TV, balcony and en-suite with walk-in shower, while en-suite bedrooms two and three offer zip-and-link superkings that split into singles. Bedrooms four and five are kingsize en-suites.
In the stable wing, bedroom six comes with a superking bed, balcony, flatscreen TV and en-suite with walk-in shower. Bedroom seven is perfect for the children providing two bunkbeds. There’s a large bathroom shared with bedroom eight, a zip-and-link superking.
What people say
Boats, apes and donkeys
Taste gin at The Cholmondley Arms or hit the taproom at Weetwood. Go Ape at Delamere, have a flutter at Chester Races, or rent a canal boat at Tattenhall Marina. Get pampered at Carden Park Hotel or play golf on the famous Nicklaus course. Ride the Llangollen Railway and meet Thomas, or navigate a zombie apocalypse at VR World Manchester.
