Thyme Hotel

Thyme, Southrop Manor Estate, Gloucestershire

You’ll find this chic country pile just outside Oxford, in a 17th-century former farmhouse. It sits on the 61ha Southrop estate beside a 15th-century private manor house and a Norman church. The architectural ensemble gives a knowing nod to the past, while complementing its ethos of sharing the bounty of the surrounding land. An elegant collection of eight guestrooms, three spacious cottage suites and an exclusive four-bed cottage means plenty of choice – and the upmarket, yet warm, country style can be felt throughout. Each antique- scattered bedroom is unique, designed with original features in mind, and the roll-top tubs are a delight. Take breakfast in the medieval Tithe Barn, where the eggs have been laid by resident hens, the bread is homemade and the bacon, with its slight crackling edge, is local, organic and delicious. Later, saunter along the village’s somewhat precarious lanes to Thyme’s own 17th-century pub, The Swan At Southrop, where Matt Wardman’s seasonal menu celebrates produce reared in the adjacent fields and grown in the kitchen garden. Salad of globe artichoke, prosciutto, capers, parsley and parmesan precedes tender lamb loin, followed by sweet, lemony treacle tart. Back on the estate, The Baa serves up neat cocktails and sheep double as seats. BG. Doubles from £260, 013 6785 0174, http://thyme.co.uk