OVERVIEW
Orchard Cottage is beautiful grade II listed house on the private drive to Dillington House.
Inside it has been recently renovated to a high standard. There are three main bedrooms, one loft bedroom, and three bathrooms. One of the bedrooms is on the ground floor, allowing easy access for those less able to cope with stairs (however there are one or two steps on the ground floor).
The cottage has an open plan kitchen / dining room that is well equipped for those who enjoy cooking, and the dining table seats 8. There is a separate utility with washing facilities next door. to the kitchen and a separate library / study area off the dining area. Next door is a spacious living room with a wood-burning stove, large flatscreen TV and comfy sofas.
The house also has a garden, with a protected and well-lit outdoor dining area (right outside the kitchen), and a wood-fired hot-tub in the garden. There is private parking for three cars.
The house's rural location makes it a great escape for those looking to spend some time in the countryside, with plenty of pubs to walk / cycle to and things to see and do nearby, and convenient shopping in Ilminster is not far away.
BEDROOMS
There are three main bedrooms and one loft room, all with deep mattresses, 400 thread count cotton bedding, indulgent mattress toppers and indulgent fluffy bathrobes.
The ground floor bedroom has a superking-sized bed that can be separated into two singles and its own wet-room shower room. This room is a lovely room for anyone, but is especially well suited to those less able to navigate stairs, although there are two internal stairs on the ground floor so access is not entirely step-free.
In the two main bedrooms upstairs, the first has a superking-sized double turned leg four-poster, and a bathroom with a beautiful freestanding nickel bath (as well as walk-in shower), the second can be arranged as superking-sized double or with twin singles and has a walk-in shower only.
The fourth bedroom is a twin and is accessed only through the four-poster bedroom mentioned above, with which it also shares a bathroom, and so together these two rooms are ideally suited to a family with children.
LIVING AREAS
The kitchen / dining room is well equipped with an induction hob, oven, and there is a large fridge freezer with ice-machine in the nearby utility / larder. The dining table can seat 10 comfortably. The house also has a washer-dryer for any laundry that can't wait until you get home.
The sitting room has a wood-burning stove set into a large stone fireplace and is equipped with a 55'' flatscreen internet-connected TV with Bluetooth soundbar and a Bluetooth DAB radio sound system. There is also a little library / study area for reading – or anyone who really must work!
And there is a good-sized lawn with a wood-fired hot-tub, a charcoal bbq and a teak outdoor table with chairs in a sheltered sunken patio area directly outside the kitchen.
SETTING & LOCAL AREA
Orchard Cottage is situated on the private drive to Dillington House, which is 100 metres or so further along the drive.
As well as being a quiet road, the drive to Dillington House is a bridleway and footpath. It leads into Dillington Park, which is a large area of parkland ideal for walks and dogs, and onto a myriad of other walking and cycling routes.
Nearby there are several pubs, such as the Dinnington Docks, Lord Poulett Arms, or Five Dials. We also recommend the micro-brewery at Stocklinch – Stocklinch Ales – which is open for visitors on Friday evenings after 7pm and Sunday lunchtimes.
Barrington House, a National Trust house with gardens open to the public, is nearby, as is Dillington House. The Dennis Chinaworks in Shepton Beauchamp are also very close and worth a visit, for the tea rooms as much as anything else.
There are several local cider producers whose orchards and presses are worth seeing, Perry's Cider in Dowlish Wake being one, and Julian Temperley's cider and cider brandy distillery over at Burrow Hill another.
A little further away the beach at Lyme Regis and walks along the Jurassic coastline are 40mins or so to the South, and the Hauser and Wirth gallery near Bruton is 40 mins or so to the East.
ACCESS
The Dillington Estate is very easily accessed by car just off the A303, and the cottage has private car parking space for two cars.
The train stations of Crewkerne (15 min drive), Castle Cary and Taunton (30 mins each) are all nearby..
Keys can be left at the house, so you can check-in at your convenience and the staff at the Dillington Estate are available to help with anything unexpected.
