Somerset, United Kingdom

42 Acres

Price per night from$206.70

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP160.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Polished pastoral care

Setting

East side of Somerset

Leave it all behind and live off the land at 42 Acres, a here-to-heal hideaway in eastern Somerset that’s putting a spring in the weariest of steps. Days will look a little different for everyone here; if you’re on a self-catered stay and cocooned by the cosy, country trappings of the detached cottages, there may be little need to venture too far beyond your meadow-admiring gardens. Wellness warriors may prefer the retreat package, for a rotating roster of restorative pastimes and nature-filled fare: add in a session in the forest-fringed sauna and you have all the ingredients for a bucolic-themed battery recharge.

Smith Extra

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A bottle of Bramley hand wash

Facilities

Photos 42 Acres facilities

Need to know

Rooms

10, including one suite.

Check–Out

For self-catered stays, check-out is at 10am and check-in is at 4pm. If you're staying on the retreat package, both check-out and check-in are at 2pm.

More details

Cottages are self-catered stays, so rates are room-only (meals are available for £25 a person, when retreats are running and the kitchen opens). If you’re staying on a retreat package, all meals and experiences are included in rates.

Also

The downstairs bedroom and shared spaces of the Library Barn are all accessible for guests with limited mobility; but there’s no other facilities in place to support wheelchair-users.

Please note

There are only two types of stays here, and inclusions depend on whether you choose a self-catered stay (which only includes accommodation) or the retreat package (also called Wild Weekends), which also includes all meals and a selection of different activities.

At the hotel

173-acre estate, seven-acre lake, walled gardens, regenerative farm, bee garden; the Hermitage also has a library. In rooms: Free WiFi, umbrellas to borrow, hairdryer and Bramley bath products. Hermitage rooms also have art supplies, yoga mats and swimming towels to borrow.

Our favourite rooms

We’re smitten with the two-bedroom Library Barn cottage, a contemporary take on a classic country farmhouse that pairs grand vaulted ceilings with arched crittall accents and cosy fireside spots. If you’re here to find yourself, bag one of the Hermitage rooms (we’d suggest the Sumptuous Room) for a daily line-up of wellness activities.

Poolside

There’s no pool at 42 Acres but you can swim in the lake, and there’s a jetty and ladder for easy access.

Spa

There isn't a spa as such, but you’ll find a woodfired sauna among the forest’s wildlife and in-room treatments can be arranged on request.

Packing tips

An open mind, a set of green fingers and lake-friendly swimwear are all you’ll need.

Also

42 Acres often hosts wellness-focused events and activities, so be sure to keep an eye out for anything that you might fancy as tickets tend to go fast.

Pet‐friendly

One well-behaved pup is welcome to join you for free in Rettig, Deer Cottage and the Library Barn. See more pet-friendly hotels in Somerset.

Children

Welcome in all but the Hermitage rooms, which are reserved for over-18s. There’s no special facilities to keep little Smiths entertained, but the cottages all have plenty of places to play. Please note that the Wild Weekends package is for adults only.

Sustainability efforts

42 Acres is the poster child for Earth-kind ethos, with a commitment to sustainability that’s been central from its inception. Since 2014, over 5,000 native trees and more than a kilometre of hedges have been planted to help rewild the estate’s grounds, and the owners are working with Heal Somerset and Rewilding Britain to support conservation. Up to 80 per cent of produce is locally sourced (from within a 42- mile radius) or picked by in-house foragers Tasha and Molly – even the seaweed is hand-collected along the Dorset coast. Waste is also minimised and recycled, single-use plastic banned, bath products are eco-friendly and biodegradable to protect the surrounding wildlife, and cars are electric (although you’re encouraged to cycle rather than drive if you’re exploring nearby).

Food and Drink

Photos 42 Acres food and drink

Top Table

Retreat package guests should secure a seat at the shared table for story-paired suppers.

Dress Code

You might want to ditch the wellies and waders for dinner, but otherwise come as you are.

Hotel restaurant

There isn't a formal restaurant here and dining strays from tradition a little as you won't spot any servers working the crowds. There's a ‘soil-to-gut’ menu that’s available when retreats are running (free for anyone staying on the retreat package; charged, subject to availability, for self-catered stays). Meals are guided by the seasons and very much work to the whims of the land, but previous plates have included shiitake mushroom and vegetable bourguignon,and rosemary-infused cashew cheesecake. 

Last orders

When retreats are on, breakfast is dished from 9am; lunch from 1pm, and dinner from 6pm. Guests staying in the self-catered cottages are welcome to dine here for an extra charge, subject to availability.

Location

Photos 42 Acres location
Address
42 Acres
Holt Road Witham Friary Frome
Somerset
BA11 5HL
United Kingdom

42 Acres is set on a 173-acre estate in Somerset’s Witham Friary, a 15-minute drive from Bruton in south-west England.

Planes

Most European hubs have direct flights to Bristol’s airport, which is the hotel’s closest and around an hour’s drive (private transfers can be arranged on request). If you’re flying from further afield, you’ll likely be touching down at London Heathrow, where you can make the two-hour drive to Frome along the A303.

Trains

Direct trains run frequently from Heathrow, Paddington and Waterloo to Dorset’s Gillingham station, a 20-minute drive from the hotel, where you’ll also find links to Exeter. Waterloo also has a direct line to Frome, which is a similar distance from the hotel and has routes straight to Bath and Bristol. Private transfers can be arranged from both stations, for £40 each way.

Automobiles

With 172 acres to roam onsite, a car may not be necessary for everyone; but if you’re planning on exploring more of the West Country, there are rental booths at the airports and free parking onsite (Monks Hatch also has an electric-vehicle charger).

Worth getting out of bed for

Everything at 42 Acres changes with the seasons, and its schedule of healing happenings is no different, with a programme of activities hosted at set times throughout the day. Pull your socks up and don your finest wellies for a day in the gardens planting bulbs, foraging for wild teas and sowing wildflowers with the resident green fingers; there are also guided walks around the gardens if you prefer your seedlings all grown up. Invited experts host events such as miso-making classes, forest bathing, beaver-spotting walks and plant-based cooking classes – peace pilgrim and former monk Satish Kumar also holds immersive three-day retreats throughout the year (just be sure to book early, as they fill fast). If you’d rather go at your own pace, Yin and Hatha yoga classes are available and you’re more than welcome to go wild swimming, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and rowing at the hotel’s seven-acre lake.

Local restaurants

If you’re making the 15-minute drive (or 50-minute cycle) into bordering Bruton, we’d suggest a refuel at the Three Horseshoes – a quintessentially English pub with sand-stoned exteriors, the finest of on-tap ales and upmarket pub fare (the Sunday roasts are a notable favourite). Small-but-mighty Osip is helmed by the country’s youngest Michelin-starred chef, Merlin Labron-Johnson, who cooks dishes based on what locally made ingredients arrive on his kitchen’s doorstep that morning, meaning menus are redundant and farm-to-fork food is as fresh as it gets. Housed in an 18th century Grade II-listed building, At the Chapel plates up West Country classics with a light, Mediterranean twist (their sourdough pizzas are legendary around town).

Reviews

Photos 42 Acres reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this nurturing retreat in Frome and unpacked their sketchbooks and wellies, a full account of their bucolic break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside 42 Acres in Somerset…

If the sound of days-long detoxes, stints of silence and chakra-aligning all sounds a little too overwhelming then allow us to introduce you to 42 Acres, a woodland wonder just beyond Bruton. Healing takes more of a gentle, natural approach here and days are dedicated to sowing seeds, foraging for wild herbs, swimming in the lakes and general beavering about the forest – finished with a stint in the wood-fired sauna and a stargazing session at the treehouse. Cosy cottages lend themselves to more secluded stays, with rustic West Country interiors and Shaker-like kitchens that feel more home than hotel; and the Hermitage (a lovingly converted 13th-century monastery) invites guests to take part in their ‘self-guided retreat’, where you’re welcome to dip in and out of sybaritic pleasures, and dine among fellow peaceseekers over seasonal dishes that are as healthy as they are hearty.

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Price per night from $206.70