Evaluation: The Bush Lodge Farnham, Surrey, UK

The Bush Lodge Farnham is exclusive. This 95 key resort, courting again to no less than 1618, has a Excessive Avenue location but sits in three tranquil acres of grounds.

This web site has in all probability hosted a watering gap for the reason that eleventh century, with medieval landlords spreading straw throughout the ground for drinkers who wished to remain the night time.

These are good occasions for the ivy-clad Bush Lodge, privately owned since 2018. The vast majority of the rooms and suites have undergone a significant makeover, with a refurbishment programme beginning on the final 17 rooms. The Bush is now in all probability in higher form than it has been for the final 900 years.

Good occasions time for Farnham too, awarded the standing of World Craft City in 2020. It is only one of three such honoured cities in Europe. Additionally, Farnham has been recognized by The Sunday Occasions as probably the greatest cities to reside in England.  This thriving city has an annual craft month in October, a Literary Pageant in March and a month-to-month market hosted in The Maltings.

Down within the south-west nook of Surrey, near the Hampshire border, idyllic Farnham, with its chocolate field cobbles and timbers, is lower than an hour by prepare from London and a mere hour’s drive from the South Coast.

More and more The Bush Lodge is internet hosting friends heading to Farnham for the humanities and crafts, biking and mountain climbing within the Surrey Hills or taking in the great thing about the Downs.

The welcome

Regardless of its city centre location, The Bush has ample parking. We took the lavender-lined path by means of the lawns and striped deck-chairs to a heat welcome at reception.

The suite

Every suite and room is exclusive, designed with authentic artwork, particular person color palettes and distinctive soft-furnishings. Throughout the authentic Grade 2 listed constructing, there may be the grand Bush Suite, three different suites and classic rooms.

Our suite seems onto the Excessive Avenue however efficient double-glazing reduces passing visitors to a whisper. A small-lounge that includes a two-seater couch is the place to learn the Surrey guide-book that’s supplied.

A coffee-maker, tea tray and fridge for chilled water all add to the make-yourself-at-home consolation.

The toilet

A big bathe takes up the width of the well-lit, grey-walled, wooden-floored rest room.

The amenities

With exuberant glossy-leafed banana crops, 4 gilded chandeliers and rattan chairs there’s a Palm Courtroom really feel to The Backyard Restaurant with its slick service.

We have been there for Sunday lunch, as have been a variety of understanding locals. A superbly balanced carrot and coriander soup and a big salmon and cream cheese parcel made for promising starters. A wine pairing suggestion for every dish is a useful.

We opted for succulent beef and the peerlessly roasted cornfed half-chicken from a alternative of roasts that included pork and a vegan wellington. A collection of roast greens, a ginormous Yorkshire pudding and wealthy gravy labored properly with all of the roast choices. Past the Sunday roasts, fish and chips plus burgers have been additionally on the menu.

As with a lot at The Bush, the timbered bar, blends outdated and new. Croquet mallet heads beautify the partitions, recalling the times when croquet was performed on the resort’s lawns. But with a nod to modern sports activities bars, the extensive display screen options TNT sports activities channels.

Or you possibly can take your drinks exterior  on a serene terrace that includes outsize terracotta planters of white hydrangeas. Deckchairs on the garden look in the direction of a church which as soon as a month hosts the Spire Restore Cafe.

The placement

Farnham is house to the College of Inventive Arts. In addition to onsite exhibitions, guests will discover the work of its college students and graduates within the New Ashgate Gallery and at The Maltings.

All through Farnham makers create. With a purple scorching flame of creativity blacksmiths work on metals,  a puppet-maker brings new characters to life and weavers use an unlimited palate of colors and textures. While potters proceed and develop a convention courting again to the Roman occupation.

Farnham Sculpture Park is a six miles drive away. Take two to a few hours to meander by means of 650 fashionable and modern sculptures displayed over 10 acres of arboretum and water gardens. Each sculpture from dragons to a navy tank, made out of 20,000 items of reclaimed pallet and marine wooden, is on the market or rent (topic to negotiation).

Biking, sensory, tree-line and strolling trails at Alice Holt Forest make for an additional nice day trip from Farnham.

Different good touches

Obtainable from reception, the historical past of The Bush tells the story of the final 900 years.

Within the Oak Room, frescoes solely uncovered in 1931 are rigorously preserved. Prudish Victorians had thought the bare cherubs too cheeky for public show. Look as much as the ceiling and you will notice the rarity of an indoor sundial. The solar’s rays, arriving through the gardens, helped long-gone generations preserve monitor of the time.

All through the resort there may be an eclectic collection of artwork. Antiquarian maps, architectural plans, avant-garde portraits, Constable-like rural scenes, modern bursts of color, formal nineteenth century portraits and satirical cartoons do their finest to sum up 9 centuries of historical past.

The neighbouring Petite Patisserie, owned by the resort, is run by pastry chef Leyre Pedrazuela, featured within the 2019 Bake Off, The Professionals collection. Few friends can resist calling in for a high-end exquisitely offered dessert with a espresso.

The fee

Rooms begin with a Basic Double, inclusive of breakfast for 2, from £161.

The very best bit

Location, location, location.  From reception, you possibly can step out by means of a cobbled courtyard into the very coronary heart of Farnham. Artwork galleries, impartial outlets and even a Gin and Chocolate store, promoting 400 totally different gins, are all inside a brief stroll.

Farnham Fortress is inside strolling distance too. The constructing dates again to round 1138, typically internet hosting royalty in its early centuries. Although it shouldn’t be forgotten that Oliver Cromwell stayed at The Bush in 1648.

Alternatively, you possibly can calm down in The Bush’s spacious grounds or The Oak Room with afternoon tea.

The ultimate verdict

The Bush Lodge and Farnham are each flying approach below the radar. Go to this charming, historic resort in a uniquely arty city earlier than the crowds uncover them.

Disclosure: Our keep was sponsored by The Bush Lodge Farnham.