Orchard House

Orchard House sits at the top of the slope, which is why it was built there and why it has the view it has. The verandah runs around three sides. In practice everyone ends up on the western side, in the hour before dinner, and stays there.

Four bedrooms: three queens and a double, spread across two wings with the living space between them, so a group can be in the house together without being on top of each other. Three bathrooms. Two fireplaces — one in the sitting room and one in the main bedroom, which is an extravagance we did not put in and did not have the heart to take out.

The kitchen has a butler’s pantry, which is the detail that matters when you are cooking for eight. The mess goes somewhere else.

Minimum stay

Three nights, not two. Orchard House takes most of a day to turn over properly and a two-night booking means it is being cleaned more than it is being lived in. Over Christmas, Easter and long weekends the minimum goes to four — mention your dates when you enquire and we will tell you where you stand.

The orchard

Apples, quinces and three plum trees, planted around 1950 and still producing more than we can use. Between February and May you are welcome to pick what you want, and there are baskets in the pantry for exactly that.

The rest of the year it is a good place to walk in and a better one to look at. The bottom of the orchard meets the creek, and the track along it takes about twenty minutes and is the walk we recommend to everyone.

Whole-estate bookings

If you want all four cottages — twenty guests across the estate — that is something we do, most often for family gatherings and the occasional small wedding. It needs more notice and a conversation rather than a form. Use the enquiry form below or ring us; either reaches the same place.