We can confidently say, based on extensive personal experience, that this is the sort of place to settle in for a two-coffee, three-course, whole-newspaper breakfast. Throw in a swim and maybe a massage in the upstairs therapy rooms and you have yourself a really lovely start to the weekend. It's a dangerous place to have so close to the office.
📍Lido Townhouse, Clifton, Bristol
The Peak District, surrounded by Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby, Wolverhampton and Stoke, is an oasis, a refuge from urban clamour. Take one look at a light pollution map of the UK and you'll see what we mean.
It can seem unreal that only a few miles from all those cities are places like this, The Old Granary, where a clear day shows you nothing but hills and a clear night is full of stars.
Having a hot tub to enjoy them both from just adds to the sense that you've stepped far away from stress for a while.
📍The Old Granary Matlock, Wheatcroft, Derbyshire
📸 The Old Granary Matlock
If your first thought on seeing this was something like, "that wisteria must take some stopping" then maybe you shouldn't look any further! The rapid climber is just one of many wonderful features of the gardens at The Freeth, originally designed by multi gold medal winner at Chelsea, Robert Myers.
There's a wildness to the place, a feeling that nature is always on the verge of overwhelming everything in a sea of foliage. At the centre of it all, however, is a charming, calming old farmhouse with enough space to host a milestone birthday or a memorable family escape.
Come here to relax, visit the owners' Green Michelin Star restaurant and stroll the spectacular grounds, safe in the knowledge that you're not the one that has to tend them.
📍 The Freeth, Bromyard, Herefordshire
📸 The Freeth
No wind, not too hot, not too cold. You can settle your feet into a good rhythm and not worry about stopping to frantically take off a layer, but you're not sprinting to try and warm up.
You can also have a post-walk pint in the garden before moving inside to eat by the fire and neither feels strange. If you love a baking hot day or driving snow, we salute you, but for us this is the perfect hiking weather.
Photos are from a small Devon village very dear to one of our team, but there are plenty of places across the county where you can find something similar.
Take a look at what we think are five of the best pub walks in Devon:
sawdays.co.uk/detour/inspiration/the-best-pub-walks-in-devon/
This is writer Lottie Gross and her Manchester Terrier, Arty, enjoying a bit of downtime in the garden. They're both pretty tired after researching and writing the book that's blowing in the breeze. It's called Dog Days Out, and contains 365 things to do in the UK and Ireland with your dog, along with vital local information on rules and restrictions, and a basket full of our dog-friendly places to stay.
You can get your copy by following the link below, and let it lead you to hundreds of moments like this one, with your dog bounding around while you look back on one adventure and forward to the next.
shop.sawdays.co.uk/products/dog-days-out
This is Flo, who will not stop running. Bev, behind the camera, is doing her best to keep track of her. They're on a visit to Dorset and it's hard to tell if Flo is more excited by the beach, the hills or the place they've settled for a few days, a cottage known as 53 Durweston.
From there, they had the option of tearing up to the old fort on Hod Hill, where Flo could chase butterflies among the wildflowers, charging through Blandford Forum, sprinting round Lulworth Cove and plenty more.
Wherever they went, they went at speed, thanks to Flo. There's a big sofa in the place somewhere, but we doubt that Bev ever got the chance to sit on it.
Explore our collection of dog-friendly breaks 🐾
sawdays.co.uk/collections/dog-friendly-breaks/
📍53 Durweston, Blandford Forum, Dorset
If there's a part of Italy that can be called undiscovered, it's Le Marche.
The eastern region, which runs from just south of San Marino to a little way north of Pescara, has a little of everything. Beautiful coastline, a stunning national park, a world-class dance festival and even its own variation on lasagne, although name a part of Italy that doesn't have one of those!
The lasagne, known as vincisgrassi, is made even richer than usual by the inclusion of game and other meats. The national park is Monte Sibillini, a world of deep, glacial valleys. The coastline is carefully protected, giving spots like Portonovo Bay their crystal waters. The dance festival is Civitanova Danza, which sees acts both classical and modern take over a hilltop town.
Two minutes up the road from that town, you climb to the gates of the Oliveto estate. It's a place worth visiting purely for itself, but with so much of Le Marche to discover, you'll find yourself torn between going out and staying in.
📍Oliveto Estate, Civitanova Alta, Macerata
This is classic Tuscany. Dusty stone streets bathed in warm sunlight and the feeling that everything from the terracotta rooftops to the slip-on shoes of marketgoers has been curated by a designer with an elegant hand and a love of earth tones.
What's less famous, though no less Tuscan, are the Apuan Alps. Stretching for about 50km in the north of the region, their empty paths and rocky peaks offer spectacular sea views and a startling counterpoint to the busy streets of Florence or the well-trodden wine trail.
Conditions on some of the higher, longer routes are quite challenging and only for experienced mountain walkers, but there are more accessible loops that take you past echoing karst caves and through villages clinging to the hills.
We're not saying you shouldn't find time for idling in town squares, marvelling at the iconic duomo or raising a glass in the home of Chianti, just that if you're looking to mix things up a bit when you visit Tuscany, why not throw in a stunning mountain or two?
📍Tuscany
📸 La Luna di Quarazzana
You've got to love a good Bortle.
Stargazing is about more than seeing the night sky. It's about feeling awe, getting a sense of perspective and giving yourself an excuse to drink enormous amounts of hot chocolate.
Being able to see the night sky does help though, and that's where the Bortle scale comes in. Developed as a rule of thumb by John Bortle in 2001 to help amateur astronomers assess light pollution, it runs from 9, inner city skies, to 1, the darkest skies possible on Earth.
The Northumberland National Park, the UK's only Gold Tier Dark Sky Reserve, is ranked 3 on the Bortle scale. For context, it's only places like the Pitcairn Islands and the bits of Canada only moose ever visit that get a score of 1.
So if you fancy a night of peace and contemplation, get yourself a flask and a couple of thick blankets, find a good Bortle spot nearby and settle in.
Read our full guide to stargazing here:
sawdays.co.uk/detour/inspiration/our-guide-to-stargazing-this-winter/
What links a Roman revolution and a pub in Lancashire?
In 1986, a certain clown-fronted, red and yellow fast food restaurant opened a branch near the Spanish Steps in Rome. Outraged locals, feeling their culinary heritage had been betrayed, launched The Slow Food Movement, to champion small-scale producers, local sourcing and something more - eating as a cultural and agricultural act.
The movement is now a global one and still fighting the same battle. Is there a direct line of influence from them to the tractor in this video, farming the land from which a pub in nearby Preston sources much of its menu? Perhaps only the faintest, but their passion comes from exactly the same place.
The growing commitment to food as an expression of place is something we can entirely get behind. Yes, it sounds a bit pretentious when put like that, but all we're really saying is that it's great to go somewhere for dinner and find the food miles low and the flavours high. You can even claim it as a delicious act of protest, if you like.
📍The Cartford Inn, Preston, Lancashire
The romantic era of train travel is always tempting, especially when you can pop over to Paris for breakfast on the Eurostar. Travelling to France by train is a richer and more considered sort of travel – and that is why we collaborated with the team at Byway to create an 8-day itinerary for travelling to The French Riviera by train.
And it really is breakfast in Paris, with a couple of hours train travel seeing you trade London for the beautiful boulevards of the French capital. From here watch as the countryside slides by the misty Alps in the distance as you swing through Avignon, run along the coast from Marseille and pull into Nice in the evening. Then finally your adventure takes you to Cannes, falling back into the slower rhythms of a beach town with a glamorous glow. Of course, stopping at a selection of our special hotels on route.
Going flight free isn't just the right thing to do environmentally speaking, it can also add an enormous amount to the travel experience. The team here at Sawday’s are big fans of train travel, as you get to watch the landscape change as it flows past the train window, or make stops simply because you like the look of the place you're passing through.
As B Corp travel experts, we have countless articles on sustainable travel on our website. Find our French Riviera itinerary (alongside many others) via the link below, under Flight Free as part of our 100 Holidays series.
sawdays.co.uk/100-holidays/
📍 Hôtel WindsorNice, Alpes-Maritimes
📍 Hôtel Le Cavendish, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes
📍 Hôtel Sainte Beuve, Paris
These lodges strike the perfect balance of rustic charm and modern interiors, giving the whole estate a laid-back vibe. There’s so much to do without budging: play pétanque, swim in the pool, book a massage or visit the lovely on-site shop. When we visited, a real highlight was the hot tub which is surrounded with nature including beautiful verveine and rosemary.
You could spend your whole holiday relaxing here but, if you do want to venture out, you’re near the sleepy farming village of Ligré. We highly recommend arranging a 2CV tour to a local wine producer or truffle orchard. If you are hunting for a taste of Indre-et-Loire, explore wonderful Chinon where you can buy tasty food and wine, and bring it back to your lodge for a wholesome feast. And, if you are staying a week, your hosts will greet you with a bottle of wine, homemade jam and fresh fruit.
📍 L'Ecrin de Verdure, Ligré, Indre-et-Loire
The Boconnoc estate is one of the most beautiful places our inspectors have stayed in. This grand and old estate has been tastefully restored whilst maintaining the special feeling of times gone by. You will love exploring the unique history of this gloriously rural estate.
The well-tended grounds and gardens are yours to explore, particularly beautiful in the spring when the rhododendrons and azaleas explode in colour. We recommend taking a wonder down the riverside and enjoying the deer parkland - the walks in this pastoral idyll are truly endless!
If the weather is misbehaving, spend time lounging in the games room or gaze at the views through pretty windows. Our favourite view is from Groom’s House, one of the properties on the estate, as it looks over the local church yard.
📍 Boconnoc Estate, Lostwithiel, Cornwall
This pool is luxurious at all hours of the day but our favourite time for a swim is sunset with mesmerising hues of the evening sky, views down the valley all the way to Assisi, and a bottle of chilled Orvieto by your side.
Soak in the quiet evening views over vineyards, olive groves, ancient woodlands, and the Apennine mountain range. We recommend accenting this idyllic setting with homemade wine made by your host David. If you tactically time your poolside relaxing for a Thursday night, you can experience a traditional Italian pizza evening – your chance to use an original wood-fired oven.
Still hungry for more? This gorgeously restored villa provides guests with an authentic taste of Perugia. Your hosts produce not only their own wine but olive oil too, both of which you can sample during your stay. Seasonal herbs and vegetables are growing in the garden, which you are welcome to pick and enjoy.
Follow the link below to find Casa San Gabriel and other foodie havens in Glorious Food, part of our 100 Holiday series.
sawdays.co.uk/100-holidays/glorious-food/
📍 Casa San Gabriel, Pierantonio, Perugia
Every so often, you just have to get down to your maison de plaisance and hold a salon. Communication is conducted entirely through coded eyebrow movements and under no circumstances should anyone touch the tiny pink macaroons. They are purely for display.
In all seriousness, Château de Boucéel is a fabulous place with not a hint of stuffiness about it, despite all its gilt and grandeur. Home to the family who've owned it for generations, as well as various duck and donkeys, beautifully situated in the Normandy countryside and staffed with talented chefs, it's a historic and culinary joy.
The billiard room, the grand piano and strolling down to the island in the lake for drinks might have you putting on airs, but nobody will judge you for it.
📍Château de Boucéel, Mont Saint Michel, Manche
📸 Château de Boucéel
Meet the woman who's taking on the entire 183-mile Thames Path the way it was meant to be done...
... one weekend at a time, in short sections, as an excuse to visit nice little pubs and hotels.
Trish Halpin, co-host of the Postcards from Midlife podcast, is a keen hiker, but that hasn't always been the case. Read her story of coming round to the joy of walking later in life and deciding to tackle the whole Thames Path as an exercise in both physical and mental health.
You might even decide you need a long hike/twice-baked cheddar soufflé yourself.
Read Trish's story here:
sawdays.co.uk/detour/inspiration/trish-halpin-walks-the-thames-path/
Making a splash this Bank Holiday Monday! 🥂 Wishing you all a relaxing and refreshing day wherever you are ☀️🏊♀️
Is this infinity pool calling your name? Find the perfect place to soak up the sun in our Gîtes with pools collection here:
sawdays.co.uk/collections/french-gites-with-pools/
📍Le Jas du Bœuf, Cruis, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Our team have been out on the road this week exploring North Devon, and got swept away by the charm of Appledore's quaint streets and tranquil harbourside - this is a real hidden gem!
explore our special places to stay in Devon below ⛵️🦀
sawdays.co.uk/britain/england/devon/
📍Appledore, North Devon
It is the little things you notice when travelling slowly and thoughtfully around France 🦋
Explore Vive la France to inspire your next French adventure...
https://www.sawdays.co.uk/vive-la-france/
📍La Cour de Husson, Charmé, Charente
📸 Video credit: La Cour de Husson
#SawdaysTravel
Join our team! If you love travel, the outdoors and dogs and want to work for an exciting employee-owned B Corp in Bristol, we might just have the perfect job for you...
Every member of our team receives employee benefits including flexi working time, a wellness day, a volunteering day, plus social and wellbeing events held throughout the year (to name a few perks).
We're hiring for three roles:
Senior Marketing Executive
Senior PR Executive/ PR Manager
Account Executive
Find out more and apply here:
https://sawdaysandcanopyandstars.bamboohr.com/careers
