Absolutely disgusting behaviour – hail the French Revolution and reintroduce the guillotine I hear you cry. Well as you know, I’ve always been a little conflicted by the Warners concept, as indeed I have by the poor relation that is Center Parcs. As I’ve probably mentioned before (I can’t be arsed to actually check), Warners specialise in large historic properties that have been upgraded and, significantly, added to with a swathe of more modern accommodation.
After our last ‘experience’, and with the help of a Secret Escapes offer, this third Warners break was built around the comfort of a modern room in the recently built wing of Heythrop House and was more akin to a standard hotel room – and very fine it was as well. As before this was a four night break in the company of friends and the site’s accessibility for the disabled was one of the reasons for choosing the Warner rationale. As before, we broke the journey in both directions with overnight stays in the Wyboston Lakes Hotel & Spa, which just happened to be about halfway to the Heythrop Park which is itself set in 440 acres of glorious parkland in the Cotswolds, a few miles from Chipping Norton. Previous stays at Wyboston had centred around the heart ablation hospital visits of 2018, on which I shall not dwell.
All the usual stuff was on offer, although on this occasion, we all largely avoided the Market Kitchen and ate in Brasserie 32 or the Travelling Duke, the on-site pub and a new venue for all of us. I thought that overall, the food was of reasonably high quality, although the absence of beef and the inexplicable demise (ran out) of vanilla ice cream was a little perplexing – all not too well in the supply chain we presume. All other activities were present and correct and the original Heythrop Hall building was typically imposing…we did the following activities but even those in which we had engaged before (I’m talking to you Archery) didn’t see any real, noticeable improvement 🥉
- Walking the Grounds (a lot of land, a lot of walks but I just did the 4km river walk)
- Table Shuffleboard (harder than it sounds)
- Chess (I won, but as my opponent hadn’t played for nigh on 50 years, not that great an achievement)
- Cribbage
- Archery (outdoors)
- Rifle Shooting (indoor arena)
- Varied Quizzing
Overall, I enjoyed our time there and as before would best describe it as an upmarket Center Parcs but with lovely historic house accommodation and without the kids (for the sake of all doubt, quite clearly a good thing) – I may have mentioned the advantage of this once or twice in other posts 🤣. Like Thoresby (and unlike Studley) the eateries were in the grand rooms of the old house and much the better for it. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that we had a bottle of wine at dinner included and as we aren’t huge drinkers, this was enough for the four of us as accompaniment to each evening meal. We then only had to put our hand in our pocket for the odd beverage or three throughout the day and even that was offset by a £75 voucher credit that mysteriously ‘appeared’ on the invoice. Obviously, I should have been cognisant of the bonuses but I was less than fastidious in overviewing the Secret Escapes deal. Needless to say, the wine and voucher credit, along with early check-in / late check-out (very useful) turned out to be a great deal, which is always particularly pleasing to an upstanding Yorkshiremen! On the last morning, we gladly engaged in our portering / luggage duties for our two friends, said our goodbyes and went back inside for our last breakfast (our only meal in the Market Kitchen). We then packed up and departed, still before the late check-out of 12.00pm.
But we didn’t set off home. Oh No!!! We had another day of activities planned, beginning with a quick stopover to check out Chipping Norton to discover what was so beloved of the Chipping Norton Set – so much a thing that the group of media, political and show-business acquaintances even have a Wikipedia entry written about them (although given the number of media journalists, broadcasters and production company executives in “The Set”, it was probably written by them)! Actually I’ve since read the entry and I stand corrected. One journalist in particular reports that the Set is “an incestuous collection of louche, affluent, power-hungry and amoral Londoners“. No love lost there then. As it went, we didn’t get that long in the market town itself, but we did get the opportunity for a much needed coffee break, as a solid cup of proper coffee was not one of Warner’s strongest features. The picture from inside Caffè Nero (other coffee shops are available) at least manages to showcase the 1842 Town Hall.
We had decided before we left for Heythrop last week that as we had added the overnighter on the way back, we would take the opportunity to visit the National Trust property that is Chastleton House. As we weren’t massively familiar with the area, the house was unknown to us but it proved to be an illuminating visit for a couple of reasons. But first as ever a little contextual background……
A rare gem of a Jacobean country house, Chastleton House was built between 1607 and 1612 by the prosperous wool merchant, Walter Jones, as an impressive statement of his wealth and power. Owned by the same increasingly impoverished family until 1991, the house remained essentially unchanged for nearly 400 years as the interiors and contents gradually succumbed to the ravages of time. With virtually no intrusion from the 21st century, this fascinating place exudes an informal and timeless atmosphere in a gloriously unspoilt setting. There was no shop or tea-room, so you can truly imagine you have stepped back in time. This context was important for the visitor because, crucially for us, this was a conservation (‘controlled decay’) rather than a restoration, which is not the norm for the National Trust. All the items (furniture, carpets, decoration etc.) was as it was found on its takeover in 1991. We may be perversely odd or even neuro diverse, but we prefer these environments and feel much closer to both the history and to the living arrangements in the house over its lifetime.
For example, that might be the episode in the Civil War when the wife of Arthur Jones (a Royalist) hid her husband from the pursuing Cromwellian soldiers (drugged with laudanum) after the Battle of Worcester (and then used one of their horses to enable his escape). The secret room in which he hid is still there but viewed from the bedroom and protected by rope. Or it might be the life of the last of the owners, Alan Clutton-Brock and second wife Barbara (née Foy-Mitchell), who inherited in 1955. You can read about the one room living with just the heat of the two bar electric radiator but it brings it vividly to life when you can step into the room and see it as it was left, complete with the heating contraption. Alternatively, maybe I’m just a simple soul with no active imagination. We couldn’t go into the more formal grounds as they were still preparing the gardens for reopening but we did notice the croquet lawns through the house window. It was only subsequently that I discovered that the two croquet lawns were originally laid out by Walter Whitmore-Jones in the 1860s. His version of the rules of croquet published in The Field in 1865 became definitive, and Chastleton is considered the birthplace of croquet as a competitive sport. Apparently, when the gardens are open in the summer, visitors can still indulge in a game or two.
Hopefully the collages (such as they are) can give a flavour of the house and the wider acreage beyond it. The second of the two also includes the Chastleton Church – The Church of St Mary the Virgin was built in about AD 1100 and enlarged in 1320. The present bell-tower was added in 1689. The church was restored in 1878–80 to designs by CE Powell and is a Grade II* listed building. Obviously I don’t know all this – I looked it up for the delectation of my esteemed readers. Well worth a visit on its own and situated right next to the house. The grounds were lovely but we had to forego the longer woodland walk, conscious that we would like to get to Wyboston before dark and aware that we had to deal with the Milton Keynes roundabouts (although I am reliably informed that “they, along with the absence of traffic lights, make for free and efficient movement of traffic“).
Good to report that we completed the above task successfully and, after a good night’s sleep and solid breakfast, we made a stress free journey back home – and no, we didn’t spare the horses 🐎🐴🏇