If you thought farmstays meant pre-dawn wake-up calls, mucking in with the milking and cleaning out the pig enclosures, you clearly haven’t met Louma Country Hotel yet. This farm and rustic retreat has been created by the new custodians of Spence Farm, who acquired the land in 2019 and have gradually restored it, remodelling outbuildings, tending to the 20-year-old vineyards and introducing regenerative farming practices.
I arrive on a perfect autumn day, with bright blue skies, blazing sun and the foliage starting to turn orange, seeing Louma and its surrounding arable land and vineyards in all their glory. The view from our window could be a hazy oil painting, with the green patchwork fields of the Marshwood Vale in the distance framing the still expanse of the sun-dappled horizon. Just before the distant sea, the village of Charmouth is visible; further along the Jurassic Coast is Lyme Regis, whose cobbles and cliffs are so cinematic they were borrowed for the backdrop of the 1981 adaptation of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, starring Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep.
My friend and I have a room in the main house, which has a grand curving staircase up to the rooms and a communal lounge downstairs. This is also the space where we’ll dine and breakfast later, with a terrace for the warmer months. Further up the lane that weaves through the farm is the spa area, a huge wooden structure housing the indoor pool and gym, and an outdoor pool too. Higher up still is the cowbarn, where yoga is performed to a chorus of ‘moos’ as well as ‘omms’.
For the urbanites and unsuitably dressed, there are stashes of wellies and Crocs to borrow at various points throughout the hotel. The matching dark-green footwear fosters a camaraderie among guests and makes you feel even more at home.
The all-inclusive nature of the rates at Louma means that — like us — you’ll be tempted to stay put for all your dining needs. We joined the lunch sitting soon after we arrived, tucking into a self-service array of salads, soup and two hot main dishes (Thai chicken stir-fry and lamb tagine with polenta), before wandering around the grounds for a proper explore, and a quick meet and greet with some of the farm animals we’d become better acquainted with on our tour tomorrow. These include three unusually friendly cows who receive pets gladly and might even nuzzle you on the glute if they take a liking to you. There are a handful of sheep grazing peacefully, each a strikingly different breed, with two new arrivals to the crew moving in the next day. The greenhouse is laden with pumpkins and other autumnal squash, with red cabbages ripe for picking in the kitchen garden outside.
A raised pathway leads through the woods, on a trail showcasing all kinds of foliage and fungi. We’re tempted by the two-hour round-trip walk down to Charmouth, but decide to facilitate a faster return to Louma and drive instead. I’m travelling with a wannabe Mary Anning (the famous, early 19th-century palaeontologist), who insists on going fossil-hunting on Charmouth Beach, as she has done since she was a girl, first with her grandmother and now with her own three kids. She is thrilled by the ammonites and belemnites she unearths on the shore, while I nod along, expecting dinosaur footprints, not miniscule, atrophied snails. We also stop to see the towering cliffs at West Bay, made famous by the TV series Broadchurch in the mid 2010s.
Back at the farm, we brave the outdoor pool for a swim before quickly retreating inside to the timber-framed spa area for a sauna and another swim, avoiding the ice plunge (sorry, Wim Hof). That evening, we head over to the main barn for apéritifs by the circular gas fire, selecting the obvious choice: a chilled glass of Louma English Sparkling Wine, while geeking out over the Trivial Pursuit box.
It may be a casual set-up for dining back over at the main house, but there’s nothing low-key about this food. It’s far more ambitious and elevated than you might from the homey, dining-room backdrop. The menu is clipped, with just three options in every course, but it’s all so refined and well executed, you’ll be spoilt for choice. We dine on starters of salmon gravlax and cep arancini; and mains of crispy confit duck with asparagus and poached plum, plus fregola with whipped ricotta, hen of the woods and tempura kale. There really wasn’t room, but we managed to share a decadent pudding of chocolate parfait with honeycomb, crystallised peanuts, chocolate foam and caramel ice-cream, too.
We’re up early the next morning, the warm orange light from sunrise on the English Channel helping to gently rouse us in time for yoga with instructor Pip. After breakfast, we’re taken around the 100 acres by buggy, stopping to feed apples to the pigs, be chased by the friendly chickens and wave at our old friends, the cows.
Later, we’re entrusted to the vintner for a tour of the vines, the first of which were planted in 2006. English Sparkling Wine, the official appellation, is having a moment. So much so that — sacré bleu — the great French houses of Taittinger and Pommery have bought vineyards in the UK. It’s thought that the salty sea breeze and the warmer climate in recent years conspire to produce the perfect fizz, but English pinot noir has also been causing excitement in the wine world lately. We try a flight of English Sparkling Wine, white, rosé and red, accompanied by a cheeseboard, in the cellar of the main barn.
That night, dinner consists of Orkney scallops with caramelised cauliflower and crispy potato, grilled bream with minted potatoes and a garden salad, and a doughnut dessert with caramel apples and vanilla ice-cream — all washed down with more Louma wine, of course.
This all-English agriturismo is the perfect retreat for families, with mini Land Rovers for kids to explore the acreage and sleepovers in shepherd’s huts and the old stables. The farm gets even cosier at Christmas, when a giant tree takes up residence in the stairwell of the main house, and activities for guests include gingerbread-making, festive film screenings and treasure hunts, and walks in the hopefully snowy woods.
On our final morning, we have Wildsmith Skin spa treatments in the pair of shepherd’s huts behind the indoor pool. My therapist uses a series of strokes that seem to have been intuitively created just for me; exactly what my body needs at that moment. Whether wellness for you is found in a silent spa or at the bottom of a wine glass, Louma has the uplifting experience you need, from stargazing and sound baths to wine tastings and vineyard tours. As someone who hasn’t owned a raincoat since 1996 and prefers suede to rubber when it comes to boots, this is exactly the kind of farmstay I can get on board with.
Discover more farmstay hotels in the UK, or read about another regenerative retreat