With the success of my past travel posts and the huge amount of dm’s about this little paradise in the countryside I thought it deserved its own write up. So without further ado… let me tell you all about our long weekend in the beautiful Knotting Hill Barn House.
It’s very rare my husband ever books anything for us as a family, and thats not a moan – he just knows I am a total control freak when it comes to holidays I like to book them myself, do the research and plan it all. But this was all him… and he did good!
We live in SW London and the drive took us just under three hours as we stopped off to give the girls a run-around and grab more car snacks. It was a super easy drive though, no traffic considering it was a bank holiday weekend too. We were given specific map details as its tricky to find using just the postcode… and when we pulled up the gate nestled in the woods we all got very excited. As a family we love weekends walking the Surrey woods so they were raring to get out the car. Driving down the winding drive we passed the ‘You are now entering a stress free zone’ sign and could feel ourselves relaxing already. The drive lead to a big clearing and a gorgeous little barn house sat proudly in the middle.
I ran in to snap it all before the girls unpacked their trunkies and toys were flung everywhere… each room was beautifully laid out and Rich and I started planning where we were all going to sleep. We decided the girls could have the downstairs rooms – Vivienne with the en-suite for her sleepy midnight bathroom visits. We took the upstairs double which worked perfectly as we could make as much noise in the living area knowing they were in their quiet rooms. There was another room in the evaves with two single beds – we didn’t need to use it but it comfortably sleeps eight adults.
Once we’d unpacked the essentials we flung open the huge bifold doors on either side of the cabin and the sunshine flooded in. It really felt like one of those ‘Grand Designs’ properties where the inside just flows into the outside. Just natural and simple – but with all the luxury you want to feel like its a real treat of a holiday. You felt totally away from everything (yet still had my precious wifi and Netflix).
The bathroom had a huge shower, marble tiles and copper piping… and a bath with a hidden TV one end. I thought it was a mirror at first then spotted the remote control. The wood on all the walls gave it that cabin feel even with the luxury touches.
Everywhere I looked I noticed the most gorgeous little interior details, it had been thought out so well. The colours, the warm wood, beautiful rugs, huge faux fur throws and cushions for around the fire inside (which we lit every night it was heaven – that smell)… and outdoor blankets, books, games.
Outside there’s a hot tub we used a lot, in the morning for a dip with the girls as Margot would be demanding ‘swimming’ from the moment she woke up. And in the evenings with a bottle of wine watching the sunset. There was also a pizza oven and a fire pit with a seating area all around, perfect marshmallow roasting area. A huge terrace runs around the house the girls loved… and there was even a private lake you can paddle the canoe on… or go swimming if you fancied it! And in the evenings the clearing outside the cabin is lit up with little fairy lights. Perfect for a little camping site if theres more of you to stay there.
To be honest we didn’t do a huge amount whilst we stayed there. We were pretty relaxed and didn’t want to leave the barn house. We visited the local farm shop shortly after we arrived, we’d very kindly been left a welcome basket of supplies – bread, biscuits, milk from the local farm… and the farm shop had everything else we needed. We popped to the local pub for lunch one day, another we drove to Rutland Water to explore. But we mainly enjoyed the quiet time all together. It was absolute bliss. A little country escape is so good for the soul… and I would highly recommend it.
wwww.knottinghillbarnhouse.com
Ashley x