Manor-house comforts and south-coast charm

Willowbank is a manor house B&B in Titchfield, a medieval village on Hampshire’s south coast. In Napoleonic times it was the residence of the Lord Admiral of the Fleet, and it stayed in the navy, most recently being home to master of the Royal Yacht, Britannia. The property dates back 400 years, with later Georgian additions: it is Grade II listed, flooded with light and retains all its original features and period character.

Willowbank is not a hotel: it is a family home now run as a B&B. Accommodation is in seven guest bedrooms: all individual, and each with its own charm. Two have grand carved antique four poster beds, one has a wood-burning stove and another a wig room. Some overlook the gardens and the river Meon, some have high ceilings and antique family oil paintings. There is no central heating – even electricity had to be retrofitted here – so each room is kept cosy by ceramic core eco heaters. All rooms have Egyptian cotton linens, organic toiletries and cosy dressing gowns and slippers.

What they don’t all have is ensuite bathrooms. One room does, four more have private bathrooms while some – and brace yourself here – share bathrooms. This is fine for families or when on a residential course, but if private bathrooms are important you’ll want to make this clear when you book.

Breakfast and supper are served in the dining room overlooking the gardens. Alongside a garden design business for 20 years Helen ran cafes in historic buildings and is a baker and cook. Breakfast is delicious, comprising home baked breads and muffins, homemade jams and preserves, the village butcher’s sausages, porridge, stacks of pancakes and local honey. Light lunches, home cooked rustic suppers and afternoon teas can be arranged and special diets catered for with notice.

The atmosphere is very much that of a classic English country house. There’s an extensive library where you can settle in to read a book, and an elegant drawing room with a grand piano for the musically inclined. There’s a terrace, Orangerie and a secret garden shaded by quince trees and extensive lawns for games of croquet or badminton. They lead down to a stream, frequently visited by ducks and swans, which feeds in to the Meon River, and on summer evenings bats flit around a stately magnolia tree.

Willowbank B&B suggests:

Willowbank also plays host to residential artistic or musical courses and occasional themed retreats. Long-weekend landscape painting courses are especially popular, informal gatherings for sketching, painting, learning new approaches and techniques or just the chance to talk, reflect, share fine cuisine and new ideas. Call to see what plans are in the diary.