Number One Bruton

As a certified sucker for old Georgian properties, quaint countryside high streets, and — let’s be honest — a decent roll-top bath tub, Number One Bruton already had my seal of approval before my sister and I had even checked in. So it was a great pleasure to arrive and still get that feeling of being totally and utterly enveloped in beauty. 

A small, 12-bedroom Georgian townhouse with a cottage-y feel, Number One Bruton feels like an incredibly well-decorated home away from home. If I was enamoured with the exterior — the great big wooden door! The cornflower-blue window frames! The stone façade! — then you can imagine my delight when we opened the door to our room.

Antique rugs, an impossibly plush linen sofa you could sink into, ornate cornicing and architraves for days (I love the details), a humungous mushy bed, and — yes — a roll-top bath: this was a place that ticked every single one of my boxes.

It's a superb destination for a cosy weekend break or a few nights escaping the city — the beauty of Number One Bruton goes far beyond its stellar interiors. It’s also a great base for exploring the area, and in just two days, my sister and I made the most of it. 

Bruton’s high street, where the hotel is situated, is full of charming independent shops that are perfect for mooching around. Highlights include Philo & Philo, an antiques shop (owned by fashion designer Phoebe Philo’s mum and sister, Celia and Frankie) full of excellent furniture finds, alongside a handful of great gift stores that are dangerously easy to lose time in.

The food on offer is great too. You’ll find Briar attached to Number One Bruton, which is where breakfast is served. Warm, hard-boiled eggs and the fluffiest, most delicious bread I’ve tasted in years made for the simplest yet most satisfying start to the day. The evening menu is supposed to be equally delightful. At The Chapel is also a two-minute walk away, ideal for cocktails and a bite to eat — it’s also home to an excellent bakery, should you feel compelled to take something sweet back to your room, something I highly recommend.

Hauser & Wirth Somerset is also within walking distance, and it’s far from being just for art aficionados. Set within beautifully landscaped grounds, it’s another great place to potter about. Alongside the galleries — where artwork is dotted both indoors and out — you’ll find an outstanding farm shop and gift shop. As someone who considers herself expert level in both of these retail experiences, I’d confidently give them a solid 10 out of 10. From homemade jam and local cheeses to pottery and eye-wateringly expensive artisan chocolate, you’ll almost certainly spend far more than intended in the farm shop (as we did) — but trust me when I say it was worth it. 

In summer, the surrounding meadows — created by the renowned Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf — come alive with perennial flowers: salvia, echinacea and swathes of softly moving grasses, all glorious in rich, painterly colours.

As big foodies (can you tell?), we also booked two standout local dining experiences: Osip and The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe. Osip is a farm-to-table, Michelin-starred restaurant that manages to feel like a real treat without a hint of the stuffiness or over-formality that similar institutions often hold. There’s no traditional menu; instead, you’re served a series of dishes built around seasonal Somerset produce, each more inventive than the last — beetroot tacos, root-vegetable tea and the most incredible beef imaginable. It’s very much an experience (and an investment), but an essential one if you’re in the area. The hotel team will happily arrange a taxi (it’s around a 15-minute drive away).

For something more relaxed, The Three Horseshoes — a 17th-century pub transformed by Margot Henderson, of Rochelle Canteen fame — hits exactly the right note. Rustic yet chic, it’s the sort of place where lamb chops and a glass of red wine feel like the only sensible order. We loved it.

You can fit a lot into two days — and we certainly tried. With a new baby at home, my sister was keen to squeeze in some serious relaxation, so we booked a day at The Newt's spa, around 20 minutes' drive away. A combination of swimming, sauna sessions, massages and cold plunges later, we emerged feeling impressively serene. A treat, yes — but a very worthwhile one.

Number One Bruton is the perfect place to reset — and proof that you don’t need to leave the country to feel genuinely restored. And honestly? Even if we hadn’t done anything at all, that bath tub, that bed and a TV with Chromecast would have been more than enough.