With the sun shining, Oliver and Rose drove up the long estate drive (with the pop-up cart in tow) and met up with their guests, Paul Sculfor and his wife Federica Amati Sculfor, Alicia Rountree and her fiancé Arnaud Zannier and Eve Delf and her boyfriend Tom Greenlees for a sunny staycation in the Cotswolds. A place that gives you a "moment to pause for thought, to notice the small things and bring you closer to the wonders of the wild."
The Boutique
Poolside Sundowners
For drinks, we were joined by the owner of the hotel, Karen and her daughter Milly and we enjoyed a wonderful evening full of laughter before having dinner at their hot dining spot, The Ox Barn. Around the fire pits under a starry sky, we discussed more about the incredible conservation projects taking place at Thyme in the water meadows on the hotel grounds and the commitment the hotel makes to sustainability and preserving its surrounding natural heritage.
A Walk in the Water Meadows
The next morning, after some more swimming and cycling we walked across the fields towards the hotel’s famous kitchen gardens and water meadows. Through a field with a rare breed of black highland sheep grazing and onwards through a gate, like something from The Secret Garden, lies the working grounds of Thyme Hotel and a kitchen garden for picking rows upon rows of glorious herbs, fruit and veg. There really isn’t a smell like it in the world!
Beyond the kitchen garden lie the water meadows. Submerged underwater through the winter months and a maze of long grasses and wildflowers in the summer, the place is home to an abundance of wildlife and plant species. Once farmed and cut for cattle grazing the hotel decided to make the land wild again for the natural plants and birdlife to thrive. One animal in particular, The Reed Warbler, stood out. Migrating from Sub-Saharan Africa, reed warblers form monogamous pairs building their nests like hammocks amongst the reeds on the banks of the river. They’re easy to miss being so small and sadly on the day we didn’t see any. We learnt of the incredibly long journey these beautiful birds make to these breeding grounds each year, right on the hotel on our doorstep. There are others too in the meadows… the hobby, martins, swallows, swifts as well as cuckoos all join them on this incredible flight from Africa each year.
An Alfresco Summer Lunch
After a jam-packed morning, we finally sat down for an alfresco lunch. A vegetarian menu including all the home-grown produce we had explored in the kitchen garden. We raised up some cold rosé to the sun and toasted to Thyme, our favourite escape in the Cotswolds. The lunch was the perfect end to the perfect weekend.
