Red deer, owls and star-filled skies at this Exmoor retreat

Nutsford House is a peaceful B&B with two guest bedrooms on the southern edge of Exmoor. The property has been lovingly restored to enhance its period charm with 21st century comforts, all cushioned by ten private landscaped acres of woodland and gardens.

The two guest bedrooms are both south-facing, with views over the gardens and the Brockey Valley. The Siskin Room can be configured with either twin single beds or a super-king double and has a private bathroom with thermostatic shower, while the Chapman Room is a double where the private bathroom has a bath as well. Bathrobes are provided, along with complementary toiletries, and tea and coffee-making facilities. The rooms don’t have televisions but few guests seem to mind, and there is fast wifi throughout.

Downstairs guests are free to use the dining room as well as the library, warmed in cooler months by a log-burning stove. Breakfast can be either a Nutsford House full English with variations for vegetarian or vegan options, or a choice of lighter dishes. All tastes are catered for, and ingredients are either home-grown or locally sourced. Eggs are courtesy of Nutsford House’s own rescue chickens, the toast and porridge is made on the Aga and the coffee is bottomless.

The grounds at Nutsford House are very much part of its appeal. Covering ten acres of landscaped gardens and unspoilt woodlands, they’re a haven for wildlife, a paradise of babbling streams and flitting birds. The gardens have a number of specimen trees, while the woodland is transformed by swathes of snowdrops in spring, orchids in summer and fungi in autumn. Best of all it’s totally private: you’re more likely to see a red deer or a great spotted woodpecker than another person, and you can drift off to sleep serenaded by owls.

Nutsford House B&B suggests:

While it really feels Nutsford House is in the middle of nowhere, it’s a short walk across the fields (or an even shorter drive) to Dulverton, the southern Gateway to Exmoor, where you’ll find shops, restaurants, pubs and the National Park Centre. Whether you’re a walker, a fisherman or a cyclist, you have the rest of Exmoor National Park literally on your doorstep.