Hotel of the Week: Pickwell Manor, Putsborough, Devon

When the sun is shining, bookings for UK holidays suddenly go through the roof, but when the weather is dull as dishwater, as it is this week, everyone wants to go abroad. However, there’s no reason you can’t book a holiday in Britain when it’s raining – you just need a weather-proof product.

Pickwell Manor on Devon’s north coast is the sort of place you can book a family holiday and not worry about whether you’re going to get a week of sunshine or a typically soggy summer. On sunny days, I reckon it’s in one of the most idyllic locations in the entire world, let alone the UK, but even in the rain, hell even in the winter, it’s a winner.

We pulled up in the gravel car park of the beautiful manor house on a blustery June evening, when the wind sweeping off the Atlantic nearly blasted us off our feet, but co-owner Tracey came hurrying down the drive to steer us safely into the house.

Parts of the manor date back to the 10^th century – it’s mentioned in the Doomsday Book –  but it was bought by two couples who have spent the past five years bringing the interior bang up to date and equipping each of the nine apartments (which sleep a total of 49) with every modern luxury.

Once through the vast oak door, I felt as though I’d stumbled into the summer edition of the Boden catalogue; it’s all white painted floorboards, pale blue walls, crisp white bed linen and squishy sofas. Inside our spacious two-bedroom apartment, Liberty – in the manor’s west wing – a bottle of red wine and the most delicious home-made brownies were laid out for us, which we greedily scoffed in un-Boden-like manner.

Liberty living room

The following morning we woke to the sound of rain pelting on the lattice window panes, but our 12 -year-old son and his mate were nowhere to be seen. We found them in the children’s games room – a lovely space with table tennis, table football and a cosy seating area with sofas, bean bags and lots of books and crafty things where mum and dad can read and draw with little ones while gazing out of the big picture window at the sheep in the field beyond.

After breakfast, cooked in our apartment’s spacious and well-equipped kitchen, the boys took advantage of a break in the clouds to play tennis on the court just outside the front door. There was also a giant chess seat, basketball hoop and an area of woodland for them to roam.

However, we had a far more exciting activity lined up. We’d booked a surf rafting expedition with Ben from local adventure sports outfit Active Escape. Never heard of surf rafting? Well, it’s like white water rafting, but on the sea, or like surfing, but in a raft, obviously.

Of course, the weather was against us, the waves were too high, the wind too strong, but Active Escapes has loads of other water-based pursuits and Ben picked us up at Pickwell Manor and took us coasteering instead. From a little cove just a short drive from Pickwell we paddled out in his inflatable dingy to a point where we could scramble up the cliff and leap from the highest rocks back into the choppy water. The boys loved it, yelling to climb higher and higher.  Even I managed a modest jump.

We had as much fun as we you could have shrink-wrapped in neoprene – and by the way, whoever invented wetsuits deserves to be a millionaire. At one point we were bombarded with hailstones, but who cared, we were already wet, but still warm.

Later we paddled the dingy along the cove a little to a spot where we watched a pod of porpoises playing just a few metres from where we were sitting. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any more magical a seal swam past.

Back at Pickwell Manor, I was glad of our vast walk-in shower and the deep tub to soothe my aching limbs and it was a treat to spend the afternoon watching a DVD, borrowed from the well-stocked cupboard in the communal hallway. You can tell Pickwell ‘s owners, who live on site, have children of their own because of thoughtful little touches like this and things like the baby-changing bags and kids’ mini-rucksacks supplied in each apartment.

From the manor, it’s a five-minute drive or a 20-minute amble across fields to the vast sandy beach at Putsborough, which is excellent for surfing or just building sandcastles. I thought the distance to the beach might be a problem, however it’s a pleasant walk and the boys loved abseiling down the rope onto the beach. There’s a more gentle descent for those who don’t fancy the rope bit.

However, I’d imagine that if you spent a week at Pickwell you probably wouldn’t want to go to the beach every day.  Each apartment has free wi-fi (great for teenagers who refuse to go anywhere they can’t play Minecraft) and in addition to the tennis courts and a nature trail there’s a sandpit, wendy house, croquet – in fact, lots of bits and bobs to keep everyone entertained.

The closest village is Georgeham, a two-minute drive away, where you’ll find a couple of great pubs and a convenience store. A five-minute drive along the coast is the surfers ‘paradise of Croyde, where there are more pubs, shops, cafes (try the Devonshire cream tea and the smoothies at the Blue Groove) and a swimming pool with water slides.

There are plenty of other activities for families and grown-ups in the area, which you can enjoy whether the sun comes out or not. However, a part of me is glad the British weather is so rubbish. If it was better, Devon would be over-run with tourists and there simply aren’t enough places like Pickwell Manor for everyone.

Linsey McNeill