Cholderton Estate

Situated on the Hampshire-Wiltshire border, Cholderton Estate has been in the same family since the 1880s, and is nowadays an organic 2500-acre working farm grazed by around a 1000 cattle and 100 horses. It's carefully managed and has been organically farmed for 30 years so is also abuzz with birds, bees and butterflies. There's a Victorian walled kitchen garden and maze and the landscape is an extension of the nearby Salisbury Plain, with ancient earthworks, age-old footpaths and Roman roads. And the great thing is, you can stay on the estate in a choice of accommodation, including a shepherd’s hut, a cabin and a quirky self-catering cottage – each with its own hot tub!

The cabin, which sleeps 4, and the hut, which sleeps 2 and is dog-friendly, are entirely self-contained, with simple cooking facilities and en-suite bathrooms, and their own outside spaces ,with room for their own hot tubs and a firepit. The cottage, known as the Coach House, has been converted from the groom’s quarters next door to the stables. and it comfortably sleeps 4 people in two bedrooms (one double, one twin). It's very cosy, with bare floorboards, rugs and a kitchen-sitting room with an electric log burner – plus a large garden and barbecue area with its own wood-fired hot tub.  In all the estate can sleep 18, and makes a perfect rustic  (and dog-friendly!) wedding venue, with a Grad-II-listed barn and the Victorian garden providing an ideal space for ceremonies.

The beauty of the estate – the farm animals, the gardens, the grounds and the proximity to lots of lovely countryside and the ancient site of Stonehenge – make Cholderton estate a great choice for couples and young families, whether as a bucolic stopover en-route to the South West or as a destination in its own right. Arrive here and slow down to the pace of Cholderton life – you'll be glad you didn't drive any further.