Wye House
Sleeps 16-18
Gloucestershire
Gardens and grounds
Anywhere with a ha-ha is going to have nice gardens. And there it is, preserving the view and extending the look of the lush lawns as far as the woods. You’ve 20 acres of garden, paddock, fields and woodland to explore here with kids and dogs, bounded by the River Wye and a nature reserve brimming with life.
Fire up the pizza oven or load up the barbecue with steaks and sausages. Play croquet, cricket or football while they sizzle. Relax in the tranquil surroundings. Swap stories around the firepit or kill the lights and watch the stars.
Indoor pool and living spaces
Wye House is the kind of place you never want to leave, and you might not need to, with all the action available on site. Exhibit A is the 15-metre indoor heated swimming pool, accessed via an enclosed link attached to the main house. Towel off and find the games room to find out who’s top dog in table tennis, table football and board games.
Next up? The cinema room looks a good option for the evening. Bring your popcorn and your passwords for the 70” smart TV and get comfy on the squishy sofas. Hit the gym for the rowing machine, cable machine, weights, balance ball, bench and resistance bands. Keep Insta updated over the ultrafast broadband.
In need of a break from the action? Sneak off to the snug with a cuppa and a good book where you can rejoice in the quiet hush. Situated away from the main drawing room, the snug offers you the perfect space for a quiet drink, intimate conversation or just a moment to yourself.
Cooking and dining
If you’re a dab hand in the kitchen, you’ll be excited about the three ovens: two fan ovens and induction hobs in the main house and the electrical oven and induction hob in the coach house. You’ve also got two big fridge-freezers and an under-counter fridge. Not excited? Call up our pro chefs instead and hit the pool. We’ll shout when it’s ready.
Eat around the 16-seat dining table or cook al-fresco on the barbecue or pizza oven and eat under the big skies with red or white from Tell Me Wine. Shop locally at Tesco, Hanley Farm Shop and the Fabulous Fish Company. Call out for takeaways from Panevino Italian, Mango House or Stonerock Pizza.
Pop out to friendly pubs such as The Rising Sun in Woodcroft for light bites or mains including wild mushroom risotto or barbary duck breast. Head to the Two Rivers in Chepstow for buttermilk-fried chicken burger or plant-based burger for vegans. Or share vegan nachos or chicken wings followed by pub classics at Piercefield in St Arvans.
Just 12 minutes away, The Globe Inn in Alvington will serve you pumpkin and sunflower seed-topped mushroom-and-leek pie, or bacon and maple sausages. Try Mango House for tandoori and balti, or The Miners’ Sling for Forest of Dean wild-boar burger or oxtail and shin suet pie.
Bedrooms
Wye House is a cocoon. It all begins with the white, 400 thread-count linen, continues into the 20-acre garden, paddock and woods and insulates you further with the tranquil Forest of Dean. Sleep tight in eight lovely bedrooms, many of which have room for a cot or zed-bed.
The en-suite master offers a superking and bedroom two a kingsize. Bedroom three gives you a superking and bedroom four is an en-suite superking or twin connecting to bedroom five, a kingsize. Bedroom six provides a superking. In the coach house, bedroom seven is a kingsize and bedroom eight is super king or a twin.
Children welcome
The back-seat calls of ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ will soon be forgotten when the magical gardens and grounds reveal themselves from within the Forest of Dean. For younger kids, this is pixies and elves territory. For kids and dogs of all ages, the four acres of gardens, plus 16 more of private paddock, fields and copse, represent freedom.
Children missing home will be thrilled at the sheer scale here: Wye House hosts up to 18. So bring home with you. Discover the rolling River Wye and a nature reserve alive with flora and fauna. Walk, cycle, canoe, then come home to a 15-metre heated indoor swimming pool. Pack your inflatables.
Next up, a huge games room offers table tennis, table football, board games and a games console. Older kids can spend the afternoon in the gym over the rowing machine, cable machine, weights, balance ball, bench and resistance bands. Maybe you’re training for the croquet, cricket or football you’ll find in the garden.
Turn your pals green with envy with your social shots over the ultrafast broadband. Use it and your passwords to stream Amazon Prime Video and Netflix on the 70” smart TV in the cinema room. Eat from the barbecue in the woodland air and wind the day up with a sing-song around the firepit.
What people say
Birds, apes and sharks
Blast clays at Keepers Lodge Clay Shoot, Go Ape at Mallards Pike, or gorge-scramble at Inspire 2 Adventure. Bring your clubs for The Bristol Golf Club and your derring-do for The Wave. Kids can meet giraffes, bears and cheetahs at Bristol Zoo Project, walk the Dyke, discover castles with bloody histories and find furry cuties at Puxton Park.
