Edells - Escape to the countryside - sleeps 20+1

Offers for long stays of 1 or 2 households - please message us to enquire. Edells is a Victorian arts & crafts style country estate with William Morris wallpapers and huge mature garden with ha-ha. Family and dog friendly with large rooms - cool in summer, warm and cosy in winter. On the edge of a small village with pub and train station (45min direct to London) both 5-10mins walk. Farm shop/deli 15mins walk. Play on the croquet lawn/ping pong table/piano. A private family home since 1840. Whilst Edells remains within our family's care we see it as our duty, in simple terms, to reduce the negative environmental impacts of the building and boost the positive environmental impacts of the grounds. Only recently opened up having been a private family home since 1849, Edells is a warm, inviting and relaxed home rather than a contrived holiday house. In its own grounds with sweeping views across the High Weald towards Ashdown Forest. Just the place to relax and celebrate with friends and family. Edells is found at the end of a private drive lined with oak trees and laurel hedges. The garden has been developed over recent times under the guidance and supervision of Christopher Masson, a pupil of Lanning Roper who designed the gardens at Highgrove. The Victorian ha-ha has been restored and it is possible to eyeball the cows! The farmland that surrounds Edells has been organic for 20 years and counting. A footpath runs through Edells Paddock connecting the house to a network of countryside walks through ancient woods across rolling pastures to nearby pubs and castles. The William Morris wallpapers found in many rooms of the house are hand-made. The designs were produced using the original Morris wallpaper blocks and using historically authentic colours which were hand-mixed. According to previous Airbnbers the kitchen "has all the equipment you could need". As for devices/appliances there is: a 4 oven aga, Neff double electric oven with grill, 4 ring induction hob, microwave, kettle, blender, scales, fridges, fridge freezer, a dishwasher and a washing machine. Bedroom configuration: ground floor - x1 superking/twin; 1st floor - x1 superking/twin, x1 twin , x2 single, x1 superking/twin with pull out single trundle bed, x1 double, x1 king; 2nd floor - x1 superking/twin, x1 room with four singles. This gets you to our total capacity of 20+1. Also see the photos and accompanying caption. Loo & bathroom configuration: ground floor - en suite wet room with loo and sink + loo beneath main stairs; 1st floor - Seaweed Bathroom with long Victorian bath with hand held shower attachment, loo and sink + Family Bathroom with claw foot bath with hand held shower attachment, generous walk in shower, loo, sink and bidet; 2nd floor - Nursery Bathroom with slipper bath with hand held shower attachment, loo and sink. Guests have use of the entire house and garden. The Gardener's Cottage is adjacent and has a very small enclosed private garden courtyard Plenty of parking available, say up to 7 cars, immediately beside the house and further parking adjacent (only 20 metres away) for about 4-5 if needed. Help is never far away throughout your stay should you need anything. We have a full time gardener, Mr Whittaker, who potters around during the week and as such may also become a source of useful information during your stay. We would be pleased to provide further information and costs for: - Chef / Cook hire, catering and waiting services (from prepared dishes that you put in the oven to help take some of the pressure off, to a special multiple course meal with canapés and waiting staff) - Yoga classes (from local instructors both indoors and in the gardens of Edells) - Bicycle hire (for lots of great cycling in the area - hilly or not depending on your route) - Private car pick-up / drop-off (from Heathrow, Gatwick, Ebbsfleet Eurostar train station amongst others) Edells is located in a designated AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) - the High Weald - in the heart of organic farmland, on the edge of a village - Markbeech - which is a designated conservation area. A short walk (5-10 minutes) from Edells is the centre of the village with the country pub The Kentish Horse. Proudly unpretentious serving local ales and good pub grub. Walking further along through the village (5-10 minutes) you'll reach the closest shop to Edells, Falconhurst Farm Shop. This farm shop/deli/café is new and you can tell that real care and thought has gone into it. Lots of local produce and things of interest. You may even get to meet their (Dan & Charlie's) Pygmy goats and Kunekune pigs. This is a must visit! Longer walks allow guests to reach many other places including Hever Castle (40 minutes) with the Henry VIII Inn beside it, Chiddingstone Castle (60 minutes) with The Rock Inn on the way (40 minutes) and the Castle Inn and Tulip Tree Tea Rooms beside it, The Kingdom Penshurst - an exciting event space with cafe, yoga and cycling (70 minutes), Penshurst Place (80 minutes) with the Leicester Arms beside it. Many walks can combine various pubs together including: Kentish Horse, Rock Inn, Castle Inn, Henry VIII Inn, Kingdom Penshurst, Bottle House Inn, Spotted Dog... With large groups we strongly recommend getting in touch with these pubs directly especially if you're hoping for food - breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea and/or dinner. Though it's not all about pubs and castles. Other activities within walking distance include tennis, cricket, horse riding, golf,... Beyond walking distance opens you up to lots of other activities such as climbing, fishing, go-karting, swimming, tenpin bowling, steam railways, sailing, cinemas, theatres, etc. (and many of these can be reached via train) See the Edells guidebook and map for further recommendations. There are many interesting houses and gardens to visit with 21 National Trust properties a short drive away including Chartwell as well as Hever Castle, Penshurst Place. Hole Cottage, the surviving cross-wing of a late medieval hall house now managed by the Landmark Trust, is only 5 minutes walk. The opportunity for walking and riding in 'Pooh Bear country' on Ashdown Forest is conveniently close by. Cycling is a big thing in this part of the country and has grown increasingly popular in recent years due to the popularity of the triathlons at Hever Castle. We also have a detailed PDF guide for the house that we can share with you once you have booked for further context on the house and area. In addition to Falconhurst Farm Shop, there are a scattering of farm shops and independent delis within easy reach of Edells. In the direction of Ashdown Forest these include Plawhatch and Tablehurst farm shops. If you'd like to purchase your food from independent local suppliers, please ask us for recommendations - we'd love to help in this way to support our community here. The nearest town is Edenbridge which has a Waitrose supermarket along with restaurants to eat in and takeaway from: - English - Tom Bell Fish & Chips - Indian - Quality Tandoori - Chinese - The Magic Wok - Turkish - Istanbul kebab - Italian - Domino's Pizza Given the proximity of the train station it is more than possible to have a car free stay. Travel by train to Cowden (direct 45 minute service from London Bridge, 50 minute service from London Victoria with one change) and do the short walk (6/7 minutes) to Edells - you can then source all your food from Falconhurst Farm Shop in the village and/or have your food delivered to you and/or combine country walks with meals at the many pubs within walking distance and/or hire a chef to come in and cook something special for you... A car, of course, gives more options and flexibility. But certainly not essential to have a full and activity rich stay. Enjoying the tranquillity of the setting and exploration of its surroundings. Also worth noting that we have an Electric Vehicle charging point at Edells. Recycling - for large groups getting away together we like to make it as straightforward as possible to recycle. There is an ample supply of clear recycling bags in the Boot Room beside the Kitchen which has details written on them of what can and can't be placed in them. These clear recycling bags are collected from the roadside each week. Noteworthy items not allowed to be placed in them are black plastic (this goes in the 'normal' black bin liners) and glass bottles go in the dedicated bins for the differently coloured glass. We will then collect them at the end of your stay and take them to the local recycling centre. Food waste - knowing how hard it is to judge food quantities for large groups and also that it may not be possible to take excess food away with you at the end of your stay we want to give you the opportunity to save it from the bins. As such, we encourage you to leave any excess food whether prepared or not, perishable or not. We will then take as much of it as possible to our local food bank (The Trussells Trust). Allergies - we've had one guest stay who is allergic to cats and was quite affected during their stay. We don't believe that a cat has ever lived at Edells, but think it is worth mentioning in case future guests are similarly allergic. The Gardener's Cottage adjoining does have a friendly cat and dog (yorkie/dachshund cross) in residence.