Atherstone Farmhouse
All six bedrooms are en-suite, all but two can be setup with superking doubles or twin single beds (the other two are both doubles) and one room also has a kids bunk bed, allowing a total occupancy of up to twelve adults and two children (plus any infants in cots). Each end of the house also has its own modern eat-in kitchen, a large living room (both have big fireplaces with a wood-burning stove and a 55 inch TV) a separate utility room and a downstairs loo. Guests can now also benefit from a new wooden hot-tub in the garden and really enjoy the beauty of the surrounding courtyard!
Both ends of the house retain their original period features and farmhouse charm, with their exposed beams, huge fireplaces, stone floors and stone mullioned windows, but both have also recently been refurbished with the aim of providing guests with beautifully designed interiors, indulgently luxurious bedding and home furnishings and modern cooking and entertainment appliances.
Bedrooms
There are six comfortable bedrooms, all are en-suites and have deep mattresses, 400 thread count cotton bedding, indulgent mattress toppers and fluffy bathrobes, so you can truly settle into the cosiness of the house.
In the Farmhouse there is a ground floor bedroom with king-sized four poster bed and a rolltop bath and wood burning stove in the bedroom, it also has an en-suite loo. The second bedroom can be setup with a superking sized double or twin single beds, it also has a kids bunk bed, and a bathroom with a bath and shower above. The other two bedrooms at that end of the house can be setup with superking-sized double beds, or twin single beds, both have walk-in showers and tiled floors with underfloor heating, but no bath.
At the other end of the house, the Cottage has two en-suite bedrooms, one with a kingsize bed and a bathroom with a cast-iron rolltop bath plus walk-in shower, and the other with beds that can be combined into a superking size double or separated as twin singles. The second room's en-suite bathroom is a shower wetroom.
Living areas
The house has two modern and well equipped eat-in kitchens that are well equipped for cooking, with electric ovens, a large induction hob, large fridge-freezer (including ice-machine) and dishwasher. There are two tables, both can seat 10 comfortably. There are utility rooms at either end of the house with a washer-dryer in each. The two sitting rooms have comfortable sofas, a wood-burning stove set into a large old stone fireplace and, to make the most of any rainy days, there are a few board games as well as a 55'' flatscreen internet-connected TV with a Bluetooth soundbar in each. There is also a DAB radio / CD player that can also be used to play music / radio from a Bluetooth device.
There is also good-sized private lawn, a charcoal bbq and teak outdoor table and chairs for the summer (or the hardy!) and a wooden hot-tub complete with lights and an air-bubble system.
Setting & local area
Atherstone Farmhouse is part of an old grade II listed farm that has been part of the Dillington Estate since at least 1725.
The farm is in the tiny hamlet of Atherstone, which is surrounded by fields and woods that are accessible on foot and bicycle through the myriad of local country lanes and footpaths.
Nearby there are several pubs, some within walking distance – like the Barrington Boar – others a little further, but worth cycling or driving to, such as the Dinnington Docks or Lord Poulett Arms.
Barrington House, a National Trust house with gardens open to the public, is nearby, as is Dillington House. The Dennis Chinaworks in Shepton Beauchamp are also very close and worth a visit, for the tea rooms as much as anything else.
There are several local cider producers whose orchards and presses are worth seeing, Perry's Cider in Dowlish Wake being one, and Julian Temperley's cider and cider brandy distillery over at Burrow Hill another.
A little further away the beach at Lyme Regis and walks along the Jurassic coastline are 40mins or so to the South, and the Hauser and Wirth gallery near Bruton is 40 mins or so to the East.
Guest access
The house is accessed just off the A303 and has parking for 6 cars, or by train from Crewkerne (15min drive) or Castle Cary/ Taunton (30min drive each). Keys can be left for you and, in office hours, the staff at the Dillington Estate are also available to help.
