Please Sir, Can I Have Some Moor?

Travelling with my mother through the English countryside generally means a trip into her knowledge of great literature, and our recent trip to Dartmoor was no exception. There lies wet and wild landscape that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles, where one can be “banked in with rolling clouds, which rise now and then to show the dreary curves of the moor, with thin, silver veins upon the sides of the hills”…as Dr Watson penned in his diaries.

Our destination was Bovey Castle, a majestic estate built in 1906 by Viscount Hambledon, heir to the WH Smith empire, as a private sporting manor. Recently transformed by Hilwood into an award winning golfing resort, sport continues to be central to Bovey’s attraction and there are many leisurely activities on the daily menu.

Thankfully great care has been taken in the restoration of the original building and Bovey’s old-fashioned elegance finds a refreshing facelift through a charming selection of silk hand painted wallpapers and furnishings, giving it a modern 1920s feel.

This gracious mansion overlooks a valley framed by the barren moorlands. One steps outside onto the terrace and before you is a magnificent panorama of Edwardian gardens and golfing greens that run down to Bovey river and the woodlands below. It is the sort of setting that could have inspired an Agatha Christie novel, which is hardly surprising since Christie grew up in Devon. And it is no accident that Hound of the Baskervilles comes to mind. This imposing country house starred as Baskerville Hall in the 1939 movie which features Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes.

Our stay included a gathering of the usual suspects, small parties of men enjoying golfing retreats and young couples desperate to wind down whilst keeping their small children entertained with activities like fishing, mountain biking, archery and even hot air ballooning. The children in particular seem to enjoy the morning falconry demonstration on the terrace where Martin displays a brusque affection for his beautiful owl.

The mix works well, and there is a relaxed, friendly atmosphere to the place as you pass familiar faces in the corridor or share a spot by the log fire in the stunning Cathedral room. You can even bring “well-behaved” hounds, who have a fabulous time roaming the grounds and meeting one another behind reception while their owners dine. Our renegade Airedale Terrier, left behind in Sydney, might have proved to be more of a handful than the polite pedigrees they are used to. A wedding had been planned for the weekend but someone sadly got cold feet; a shame as it’s the perfect place to make believe it’s part of your heritage and completely take over with friends and family.

Mother/daughter bonding trips are probably not Bovey’s target market, but the bespoke spa did provide us with appropriate pampering for the occasion. A deluxe pedicure seemed the perfect fix for my mother after treading the unforgiving pavements of London, whilst I forgot about work entirely with a full body scrub and hot stone massage.

Rooms are pleasantly comfortable and elegantly furnished, varying in size and view. We enjoyed a stunning outlook across the garden and out to the moors. I was excited to wake to a misty dawn much like the one Doyle describes – this is what the moody moors are all about and the Hunter wellies and waxed green coats that had been left in our room came to good use as we set off for a hillside amble through the woods to the nearby village. The local pub, The Ring of Bells, serves some hearty fare where locals and castle dwellers looking for a change of scenery can sit side by side with pints in hand.

After a walk back up the hill it’s hard not to indulge in a Bovey afternoon tea, best enjoyed in my opinion in the more intimate and feminine drawing room next to the Cathedral room, with its creams and pastels lit up by selection of beautifully decorative lamps. Dining too is a treat, especially for those who enjoy an extensive wine list with interesting choices from regions old and new.

From snatches of conversation, I learnt that the Bovey golf course is a demanding one, where streams and ponds are frequent threats and the odd blind tee and difficult approach will challenge the most skilled and sophisticated of players.

The back nine are played on top of the hill overlooking the moor, and one guest remarked that the stunning scenery almost justified the large number of balls lost! Bovey’s motto is “do as much or as little as you want” and as I opted for the latter, I’ll have to take this sportsman at his word.

- Felicity Harrison is FQR’s managing editor

This entry was posted on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 4:13 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.