Rural Relaxation at Hurst Farm

There’s something about the term staycation that makes me cringe, but it’s a phrase increasingly being used to describe holidays or breaks on home soil and is something we’re likely to continue hearing even more often during these still uncertain times.

As travelling abroad isn’t always advisable or even possible to certain places at the moment, earlier this month I went for a mini break in the UK for the first time in years. I have a slight obsession with outdoor swimming pools (only when the weather permits so usually abroad) so I chose Hurst Farm in Kent, close to the Surrey border, which boasts a sizeable outdoor pool for our staycation destination. As someone who grew up in London and now lives by the coast its not often that I’m surrounded by fields and country lanes but theres something quite grounding and relaxing about that kind of scenery.

The grounds are so pretty and feature a pond, garden full of flowers and fields galore, some of which are home to animals such as cows and sheep as it is a working farm. Victoria who runs the bed and breakfast was such a friendly, helpful and accommodating host and the breakfast was very tasty. The room was generous in size, cosy and comfortable and we had use of a kitchen area for making tea/coffee, snacks and a fridge which housed bottles of tap water.

For dinner both nights we chose restaurants in Oxted, which was around a 10-15 minute drive away. The first night we chose Cucina Italian Restaurant and the second we went for Thai Pad, both of which I’d recommend but I think Thai Pad was my favourite for the food, cocktails and atmosphere. On our full day there we relaxed by the pool and when the sun made a brief appearance it almost felt like being abroad. I even managed to get sunburnt! The pool was cold but very refreshing and it felt good to have a swim, even if it was a very quick one. I’d love to go back there on a scorching day to make full use of the pool.