We first saw the house on walks into the Blackdown Hills from my parents’ and thought it looked so beautiful tucked into the side of a hill. When it came up for sale we couldn’t believe our luck. It needed modernising but everything about it was charming, from the enormous views over the Yarty Valley to the little stream running through the garden and the untouched meadows.
It’s now been fully restored and is available to book for family holidays around East Devon, West Dorset and South Somerset.
The house and surroundings
The house is approached via a private lane through gates into the original farmyard. There is plenty of space for let off steam in our gardens, orchard and meadows, which have paths mowed through them. We have equipped our games barn with table tennis and table football and have a football goal in the garden plus a badminton net. Behind the house is a terrace with outdoor dining table and barbecue and there are benches around the garden to enjoy the view.
the farmyard
the approach
games barn
into the meadows
paths through the meadows
view from the orchard
a table on the terrace
the surroundings
House tour
The interiors are designed to reflect the landscape: calm yet joyful. There’s a large hallway with a bar and piano and our farmhouse kitchen has two ovens, a Quooker tap and a table for 12. There’s extra fridge space in a separate pantry. The drawing room is the perfect spot to relax with a book after a long walk and there’s also a study and cinema/ playroom with cupboards filled with toys. Upstairs are seven bedrooms and three bathrooms.
drawing room
kitchen
dining table
study
cinema/ playroom
spacious bedrooms
three bathrooms
hall with piano
The bedrooms
The house has two staircases and can be loosely divided into three separate zones, perfect for, say, two families with children and a set of grandparents. There’s a very comfortable single room, not photographed below, with a wardrobe and Toni box.
Green
A double room with views over the farmyard and hills with separate dressing room through to a bathroom with bath and shower.
Alfred’s
A cheerful double with views over the garden and plenty of storage, sharing a landing with a large bathroom.
Yellow
The best view in the house. A kingsize bed. It shares a corridor with Hector’s and a bathroom with bath and shower.
Isadora’s
A pretty twin room with a window overlooking the garden and meadow.
Hector’s
Sweet twin room with a wardrobe. It’s on a private corridor with Yellow and a bathroom.
Horatio’s
The bunk room. There is a large wardrobe, views over the orchard and a trundle bed for emergencies.
Edgar’s
A single room with cot. We have everything you need for a stay with a baby or young child from off road buggy to Tonie box, bottle warmer, changing mat, bath chair and sleeping bags.
Blackdowns Farmhouse 