Dairy House

The Dairy House is a charming, grade II listed ham-stone cottage. Nestled in a beautiful and secluded garden in the private parkland around Dillington House, it is the perfect place for a calming, restorative escape

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SLEEPS: 16
BEDROOMS: 7
BATHROOMS: 5

OVERVIEW

The Dairy House is a detached, grade II listed ham-stone cottage tucked away in in the private parkland around Dillington House.

The house has many historic features that add to its charm, with mullioned windows, old oak beams and a wood-burning stove set into a huge fireplace.

The open-plan kitchen / dining / living room feels warm and homely, despite it’s spaciousness. The dining table seats 16 and there is a wood-burning stove set into a large old fireplace surrounded by two sofas. There is also a large garden room conservatory overlooking the garden accessed directly from the kitchen.

A separate sitting room offers privacy or space to relax on the sofa in front of the large TV, and there is a utility room with washing facilities.

The Dairy House is full of character, but is modern and comfortable. Its private rural location makes it a great escape for those looking for a fix of space and countryside air, with plenty of pubs to walk / cycle to and things to see and do nearby. The convenient shopping in Ilminster is also not far away.

BEDROOMS

The house has seven bedrooms, four in the main house and three in the “cowshed”, which is a converted barn a few yards from the main house, these can be setup differently depending on how many doubles / singles are required. And there are deep mattresses, 400 thread count cotton bedding, indulgent mattress toppers and fluffy bathrobes.

In the main house, the master ensuite has a superking sized wooden sleigh bed. Two of the other three bedrooms have zip & link beds that can be arranged as superking doubles or as twin singles, one of these is an en-suite and the other shares a bath / shower room with a bunk room also in the main house. The bunk room can accommodate three if needed, with one on a pull-out trundle bed kept under the bunk. The bunks are adult-sized beds, but do have slightly thinner mattresses.

The three bedrooms in the cowshed include two zip & link doubles that can also be setup as twins, one has an en-suite shower room, the other shares a bath / shower room with the third bedroom in the cowshed, which is another bunk accommodating two or three in the same way as the bunk in the main house.

LIVING AREAS

The house has a large open plan kitchen / dining / living room which combines modern designed furnishings with its traditional fixings, including stone mullioned windows, old oak beams and a beautiful old fireplace with a wood-burning stove.

The kitchen is modern and well equipped with two electric ovens, a large induction hob and kitchen island for prepping and serving, so cooks can indulge their passion. There is also a dishwasher and a separate utility room with washing facilities.

Just off the kitchen is a garden room / conservatory overlooking the garden, which is a great place to enjoy a morning coffee, but the dining table, which seats 16, is a better place to enjoy meals together – or while entertaining guests.

At the end of the kitchen / dining room there is also a living space, with comfortable sofas and a wood-burning stove set into a large stone fireplace, and next door there is a separate sitting room for those looking to relax with a little more privacy or in front of the TV.

The sitting room is equipped with a 55’’ flatscreen internet-connected TV with a Bluetooth soundbar that can be used to play music / radio through the TV or from a Bluetooth device, or just envelop those who want to relax with a movie.

To the East the garden room looks out over, and opens out into, the spacious lawn and a beautiful garden, which is one of the highlights of the house. The garden is mature, with native and exotic trees that screen it from the surrounding parkland and create an incredibly calming cocoon around the house. For nature lovers and little explorers, there is also a private wild wooded area to the back of the garden, and there is a wood-fired hot-tub looking out over the nearby parkland.

To the South, accessed directly off the dining space, there is also a stone terrace complete with a teak outdoor dining table and chairs for enjoying outdoor meals in the warmer months.

GARDEN

A secluded garden cocoons the house and is one of its highlights, with bursting flowerbeds, interesting trees, a spacious lawn, a stone terrace and a wild woodland area, and there is a large garden room, so you can enjoy being surrounded by nature, whatever the weather. The garden also has a wood-fired hot-tub with views out over the nearby parkland.

You are welcome to pick the fruit from our apple, pear and plum trees in the garnde when they’re in season (you’ll also find basketloads of blackberries in the nearby hedges if they’re in season, which you’re welcome to pick). We also have a good sized climbing frame which kids are welcome to use (at your own risk). The orchard garden is fenced and dog-proof.

SETTING & LOCAL AREA

The Dairy House is set in the parklands around Dillington House and offers guests total privacy and the benefit of being able to enjoy access to the park as well as the House’s garden itself.

Nearby there are several pubs, some within walking distance – like the Barrington Boar – others a little further, but worth cycling or driving to, such as the Dinnington Docks or Lord Poulett Arms.

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 house has private car parking space for four 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.


RECENT REVIEWS

“Beautiful location, nice and quiet with easy access to everything. The gardens were stunning and the house beautifully decorated. More than enough space, two refrigerators, one large one small, two ovens and a Nespresso machine. Three large bedrooms and three decent size bathrooms” – Julie

“We had such a fantastic family trip away to the Dairy House. It’s tucked away in peaceful scenic surroundings, however, it is also in close proximity to the local shops. Our dog absolutely loved the fields surrounding the property. The property is spacious and the garden is a great size for playing games & exploring. We would thoroughly recommend Ewen’s hospitality and this property for a nice get away” – Charlotte)

“The Dairy House is situated in the most idyllic parkland setting and was the perfect place for our family birthday celebration. The house is wonderfully well appointed and the garden full of beautiful shrubs and trees. We were just sorry the weather wasn’t quite as warm as it has been so we especially enjoyed the underfloor heating in the kitchen and bathroom! It was a weekend to remember and we could not recommend the property more highly” – Les

“The place was amazing,plenty of space around the gardens for the grandchildren to play would highly recommend it to anyone else who is looking to book it Wendy met us when we all arrived, very helpful nothing was to much trouble would book again” – Lee

“Fabulous stay! Beautiful house in a beautiful setting” – Paul

“Wonderful property in a stunning location” – Duncan

“Just Fantastic!” – Rjakamal

“Absolutely fabulous property in a great location, near many Somerset attractions. Ewen is a very helpful host. Highly recommend” – Charlotte

“Beautiful and charming little cottage in the grounds of Dillington surrounded by stunning countryside. The open plan kitchen/diner/loving room with log burner was just fantastic. Great attention to detail having a Christmas tree up and a welcome hamper along with bathrobes for each guest. A wonderful experience. Would highly recommend” – Matt

“My friends and I booked this house for a long weekend to celebrate Christmas and it was the perfect place to do so! The house is beautiful and set within a quiet, picturesque landscape which is just what we were after.

The interiors are stunning – everything from the sofas and kitchen units to the artwork on the walls. It was very clean upon arrival and well equipped (we made a huge Xmas dinner and there was more than enough pots, pans and utensils – and dishwasher) and the beds were extremely comfortable, with fantastic feather pillows.

We received a welcome basket of food which was a lovely touch, along with essentials of milk, tea, coffee, fresh bread etc! For a big house, it stayed warm and the heating was efficient, plus we made the most of the log burner when in that part of the house!

Can’t recommend it enough – would definitely stay again, we’re already missing mornings by the fire with those views! Thank you Ewen for your hospitality” – Bethany

“Really beautiful house – comfortable and stylish inside and in a great location within parkland. We had a problem with the boiler when we first arrived but help was at hand immediately and sorted it out with no fuss and communication was immediate and really easy. Lovely welcome basket as well!” – Alice

“Fantastic house, beautifully refurbished. Absolutely stunning location. Host was incredibly accommodating and made every effort to make sure our stay was as comfortable as possible. With the help of several great recommendations as well (Bonners Butchers is certainly worth a visit) we certainly made the most of our weekend away! A wonderful stay – thank you!” – Katie

“Had a really lovely few days. House is wonderful – really well laid out, great amenities and very comfortable. It’s in the grounds of Dillington House so wonderful for little walks. It’s quite close to the main road and you can hear the traffic noise from the garden, but not in the house. Ewen was a great host – on hand and very responsive for any questions/issues. We would definitely recommend” – Sarah

“What a lovely house, perfect setting, in a gorgeous estate. Would highly recommend for families after Quality time together” – Rob

“The Dairy House is an absolute joy. The location was glorious, genuinely in the middle of a beautiful Country Park. The house combines historic elegance with every mod con and was spotless when we visited. The gardens are spectacular, with even a small wood for children to explore and play hide and seek in. The host couldn’t help us enough, and Ilminster is 5 minutes by car with a supermarket and take aways I couldn’t recommend the home enough” – Craig