The PIG has farrowed and the latest addition in the litter is The PIG-in the Cotswolds. Self professed PIG fan and Country Life’s Editor-in-Chief went to check it out.
There are now nine PIG hotels stretched across southern England and I have been to almost half of them. They suit me. They are predominantly country house hotels that have been created out of a manor house in an appealing part of the country such as the South Downs, Harlyn Bay near Padstow, the Mendips and the New Forest.
They make much of their own kitchen gardens, which are frequently walled and filled with mouth-watering produce — visits in summer and autumn are particularly rewarding — and sourcing the remainder of the food for the menu from within a 25-mile radius of the hotel. It is a formula that has proved hugely successful.
The latest PIG to farrow is in the Cotswolds at Barnsley just four miles from Cirencester, with the much-photographed Arlington Row at Bibury a very short drive away. The Row, built in 1380, was originally a wool store before being converted into weavers’ cottages in the 17th century. It was the failure of the Cotswold wool trade that left the area suddenly poor where it had once been so wealthy. This transformation left the area untouched by development and it remained, as if in aspic, beautiful.
Today, house prices in the area are amongst the highest outside London. Barnsley House, built in the local vernacular style of mullioned windows and stone slate roof, had been the home of Rosemary Verey, the world famous garden designer and writer, who counted not only this magical garden (above), but also some of the borders at Highgrove among her many creations.
Our huge room, together with a truly splendid bathroom, overlooked the great garden. It did feel as if you were staying in someone’s home complete with noisy floorboards that kept us awake (remedy this by booking one of the external rooms, snuggled deep inside the historic gardens; above). The bar area is disappointing, but the restaurant with the familiar PIG-style shabby-chic interior of herb-filled terracotta pots and mismatched china was as heartwarming as ever.
The food held the perfect spot, somewhere above a gastropub, but without the fussiness of a Michelin restaurant taking itself too seriously. I could have breakfast there everyday for the rest of my life.
Better still, this PIG has its own pub just past the neighbouring farm and across the street. They have thought of everything, the swines.
Rooms from £250 a night for an Extremely Small room and from £775 a night for Rosemary’s Hideaway or a Secret Garden room. Visit www.thepighotel.com/in-the-cotswolds for more information and to book.
