within 90 minutes of London
The best country hotels near London
21 of Mr Wolfe’s 100 best British hotels are within 90 minutes of central London by fast train or a clear road. Ideal for a weekend, or a long lunch that becomes one.
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New Forest, HampshireLime WoodA Regency hunting lodge deep in the New Forest, where ponies wander past the windows and the interiors are a lesson in expensive…P
New Forest, HampshireThe Pig, BrockenhurstThe original Pig, a rambling country house with a kitchen garden that dictates the menu and a radius of 25 miles for everything else. It…H
HampshireHeckfield PlaceA pristine Georgian mansion with contemporary interiors at once ultra-chic and soothingly low-key, set in 400 acres of parkland. The farm…C
Taplow, BerkshireCliveden HouseThe Astors’ palace above the Thames, where the Profumo affair began beside the swimming pool. Cliveden has been the scene of more political…C
Ascot, BerkshireCoworth ParkA Georgian mansion in 240 acres beside Windsor Great Park, with its own polo fields and stables. Coworth Park is where to stay for Royal…B
Leatherhead, SurreyBeaverbrookLord Beaverbrook’s country house, where Churchill, Kipling and half the Cabinet came to plot over dinner. Now a hotel of great style, with…A
Arundel, West SussexAmberley CastleA 900-year-old castle with a working portcullis that is lowered each night. There is nothing quite so reassuring as being locked in with a…G
West SussexGravetye ManorAn Elizabethan manor house set within William Robinson’s celebrated garden, the birthplace of the English natural garden. In June, the…L
Colerne, WiltshireLucknam ParkA Palladian mansion at the end of a mile-long avenue of beech and lime. Arriving at Lucknam Park is one of the great English experiences…W
Malmesbury, WiltshireWhatley ManorA Cotswold stone manor with gardens divided into rooms like a very well-planned house. Whatley Manor is quietly, determinedly luxurious…R
BathThe Royal Crescent HotelBehind the honey-coloured façade of the most famous crescent in Europe lies a secret garden and a hotel of great charm. One feels compelled…B
BathThe Bath PrioryA Gothic house in four acres of gardens, a short walk from the centre of Bath yet as quiet as a country estate. It is a hotel for grown-ups…B
Cirencester, GloucestershireBarnsley HouseA dream-like manor house set in gardens designed by former owner Rosemary Verey. Relaxed and peaceful, it caters exclusively for grown-ups.…T
Southrop, GloucestershireThymeA whole Cotswold village of honeyed stone, run by one family with exquisite taste. Rooms are scattered among old farm buildings, the Ox…C
Tetbury, GloucestershireCalcotA 14th-century farmhouse and its barns, now one of the best family hotels in England. Children are entertained, adults are left in peace…W
Kingham, OxfordshireThe Wild RabbitLady Bamford’s Cotswold inn, all limewash, oak and beautiful knitwear. The Wild Rabbit is a country pub as imagined by a person of very…E
Eynsham, OxfordshireEstelle ManorAn Instagram hotel, and a very accomplished one. Estelle Manor makes up for a certain lack of soul with ample photo opportunities: the…S
Great Tew, OxfordshireSoho FarmhouseA village of cabins on a farm in Oxfordshire, populated by television executives in matching bobble hats. It ought to be dreadful. It is…L
Great Milton, OxfordshireLe Manoir aux Quat’SaisonsRaymond Blanc’s manor house, where the gardens are as celebrated as the cooking and the cooking has been celebrated since 1984. A…H
Aylesbury, BuckinghamshireHartwell House & SpaAbout as authentic as English country house hotels get, this magnificently appointed pile boasts a world-class spa.M
Castle Combe, WiltshireThe Manor HouseA 14th-century manor house in what is often called the prettiest village in England, and I see no reason to argue. A golf course, a river…
New Forest, HampshireLime WoodA Regency hunting lodge deep in the New Forest, where ponies wander past the windows and the interiors are a lesson in expensive…P
New Forest, HampshireThe Pig, BrockenhurstThe original Pig, a rambling country house with a kitchen garden that dictates the menu and a radius of 25 miles for everything else. It…H
HampshireHeckfield PlaceA pristine Georgian mansion with contemporary interiors at once ultra-chic and soothingly low-key, set in 400 acres of parkland. The farm…C
Taplow, BerkshireCliveden HouseThe Astors’ palace above the Thames, where the Profumo affair began beside the swimming pool. Cliveden has been the scene of more political…C
Ascot, BerkshireCoworth ParkA Georgian mansion in 240 acres beside Windsor Great Park, with its own polo fields and stables. Coworth Park is where to stay for Royal…B
Leatherhead, SurreyBeaverbrookLord Beaverbrook’s country house, where Churchill, Kipling and half the Cabinet came to plot over dinner. Now a hotel of great style, with…A
Arundel, West SussexAmberley CastleA 900-year-old castle with a working portcullis that is lowered each night. There is nothing quite so reassuring as being locked in with a…G
West SussexGravetye ManorAn Elizabethan manor house set within William Robinson’s celebrated garden, the birthplace of the English natural garden. In June, the…L
Colerne, WiltshireLucknam ParkA Palladian mansion at the end of a mile-long avenue of beech and lime. Arriving at Lucknam Park is one of the great English experiences…W
Malmesbury, WiltshireWhatley ManorA Cotswold stone manor with gardens divided into rooms like a very well-planned house. Whatley Manor is quietly, determinedly luxurious…R
BathThe Royal Crescent HotelBehind the honey-coloured façade of the most famous crescent in Europe lies a secret garden and a hotel of great charm. One feels compelled…B
BathThe Bath PrioryA Gothic house in four acres of gardens, a short walk from the centre of Bath yet as quiet as a country estate. It is a hotel for grown-ups…B
Cirencester, GloucestershireBarnsley HouseA dream-like manor house set in gardens designed by former owner Rosemary Verey. Relaxed and peaceful, it caters exclusively for grown-ups.…T
Southrop, GloucestershireThymeA whole Cotswold village of honeyed stone, run by one family with exquisite taste. Rooms are scattered among old farm buildings, the Ox…C
Tetbury, GloucestershireCalcotA 14th-century farmhouse and its barns, now one of the best family hotels in England. Children are entertained, adults are left in peace…W
Kingham, OxfordshireThe Wild RabbitLady Bamford’s Cotswold inn, all limewash, oak and beautiful knitwear. The Wild Rabbit is a country pub as imagined by a person of very…E
Eynsham, OxfordshireEstelle ManorAn Instagram hotel, and a very accomplished one. Estelle Manor makes up for a certain lack of soul with ample photo opportunities: the…S
Great Tew, OxfordshireSoho FarmhouseA village of cabins on a farm in Oxfordshire, populated by television executives in matching bobble hats. It ought to be dreadful. It is…L
Great Milton, OxfordshireLe Manoir aux Quat’SaisonsRaymond Blanc’s manor house, where the gardens are as celebrated as the cooking and the cooking has been celebrated since 1984. A…H
Aylesbury, BuckinghamshireHartwell House & SpaAbout as authentic as English country house hotels get, this magnificently appointed pile boasts a world-class spa.M
Castle Combe, WiltshireThe Manor HouseA 14th-century manor house in what is often called the prettiest village in England, and I see no reason to argue. A golf course, a river…