A WEEKEND IN: SOMERSET
Feeling pretty inspired from our stay last year in South Somerset, we knew we had more to uncover this way of the world. Rolling hills, pockets of boutique shops, a vibrant creative scene and destination restaurants. It has all the hallmarks of a quintessentially British staycation (even that familiar sea of stone) and none of it looks down on you or feels done to death. Somerset had been popping up on our radar over the last year a bit with a flurry of foodie openings like a siren, making us the gawking sailors!
Now that it's our new favourite corner of the UK, we've curated a guide to Bruton and South Petherton including where we ate, where we stayed and what we got up to for the ultimate Somerset staycation.
SOUTH PETHERTON
HOLM is one of those places that draws you back year after year. It has already brought us to the quaint village of South Petherton twice in 365 days so in fact we're underselling it. HOLM is the brainchild of co-founder and chef director Nicholas Balfe, starting out life as a restaurant in 2021, it then opened seven bedrooms in late 2023.
The property marries the restaurant and rooms with swathes of natural textures of solid oak furniture, lime plaster walls and linen throws, and a blur of muted tones. While a far cry from its former bank residency, some of the original features can still be found throughout the building such as the bank vault that now identifies as the wine cellar, holding a wealth of quaffable wines. We were loving the sparkling and whites from English vineyards in Musbury and Kent, respectively.
Entering through the front door we were met with a roaring fire and the welcome aromas of the open kitchen. “Curry, staff dinner!” Nick replied almost sheepishly behind the worktop to our instant enthusiasm, as though letting us down gently that we’ll be having none of it. But that didn't matter - it all added to that feeling that this is a homely space.
The menu is ever-changing, driven by the seasons and the fresh produce that is as local as the herb and kitchen gardens out back. Book the kitchen counter. order the chef's tasting menu and thank us later.
NB: This is also not the place you're going to want to skip breakfast so build your own and definitely order the homemade hash brown.
To satisfy our love of a pub with rooms we have two on our radar for next time. The Lord Poulette Arms in Beckford and The Three Horseshoes is a recent opening in Batcombe from Rochelle Canteen's Margot Henderson; her first out of London post.
BRUTON
It may be one of the UK smallest towns, but it packs a lot in for its 3,000 residents. The high street sandwiches independent shops and galleries between two boutique hotels - At The Chapel and Number One Bruton - and kids you into believing this is all you need. You are all about the simple life.
We stayed at Number One Bruton, a twelve-bed eccentric Georgian townhouse with a lovingly restored medieval forge at the rear of the courtyard. The original features of the property are enlivened with vivid colour palettes and clashing upholstery which not only make it cosy but always spark something in us to embrace this fun side in our own homes! No boutique hotel is complete without a freestanding tub in the room and ours accompanied a delicious king size bed with a crittal framed view of said courtyard and uninterrupted sun all day long.
On arrival we were gassed to learn that our hotel is actually in partnership with the illustrious New in Somerset - a bucket-list stay of ours - which means guests at Number One can explore the acres of otherwise-members-only grounds and also pay a visit to a reimagined Roman Villa (set aside around 2 hours for this).
A few doors down Bruton high street is At The Chapel which takes the space of, you’ve guessed it, the old town chapel. Just beyond the Grade-II listed arched doors, the roaring wood-fire oven and freshly-baked goods alert you to the in-house bakery. Follow through to the relaxed gallery restaurant where two lancet windows stand tall and welcome in the natural light. We had a mooch around the rooms which were light and airy with minimalist decor and tinted views of the folding landscapes outside through the original stained glass. We left with a coffee and pastry to go.
For lunch we secured a table at The Old Pharmacy next door to Number One Bruton, a neighbourhood wine bar and bistro where we interrupted what felt like an artisanal pasta workshop, with the chef rolling out fresh sheets on the central workbench. Through to the main dining room, the decor is cosy personified. Stripped wooden floorboards, an eclectic choice of wooden chairs and steamy bay windows which, despite their size, keep the room low-lit and moody enough that the crisp white tablecloths appear to float around you. We ordered the rabbit ragu pappardelle and a chilli-broccoli gnocchi which took us right back to warmer times in Puglia.
A quick exploration around the town and its shops was next on the agenda so we had a nosey around New Romantic which was brimming with mid-century modern pieces that sadly we couldn't carry home. Caitlin’s unhealthy obsession with egg cups took us into Rose & Lyons which had many a trinket and gift, including the egg cups from Number One Bruton which happen to be made down the road so naturally she wasn’t leaving without one.
Briar is the latest residency at Number One Bruton and took over from Osip - a Michelin starred farm-to-table restaurant with rooms that has now relocated to a 300-year old country inn nearby - just this summer. It is a warm and inviting space with delicate half-curtains protecting your modesty from the street and a window into the kitchen projecting a promising energy into the room. The menu changes daily with this too taking produce from its local farm; we ordered the croquettes and mortadella on toast with chilli, crispy sage and pickled quince which was a delicious few mouthfuls.
It really is an art lover’s playground. We stumbled across so many creative spaces for such a compact town. A buzzing art scene, little quirks and rich history are synonymous with a budding hotspot. You only have to look at Brighton or more recently Margate and Deal as a British seaside comparison. Further afield, it was the flocking of artists and creatives to Madera in northern Italy that put the ruined village back on the map.
World-class art gallery conglomerates Hauser & Wirth have taken over what was a farmstead at Durslade Farm on the edge of Bruton - roughly 15 minutes’ walk from the town centre - and have an extensive program of exhibitions, workshops and artists’ residencies, all free to the public. H&W also own a smaller gallery on the main high street if you don’t fancy the walk through the town, past the peaceful cemetery, up the hill via the allotments to their main location. But if you do, there is the Farm Shop that makes Barley & Sage look like Lidl, Roth Bar whose central bar is rigged with reclamation yard finds, and the latest addition from H&W, Da Costa Restaurant.
Da Costa wraps itself around the courtyard garden in a south-facing L-shape, gathering as much sunshine as it can inside. Eponymously named after Wirth’s Italian grandfather, this rustic alpine lodge is a nod to his northern Italian roots, from the array of antipasti and homemade pastas to the familiar signs accessorising the bare brick walls. Exposed beams frame the central open-fire grill, offering a limb for the draping herbs and aromatics, the copper pans and wooden chairs adding to the theatre of it all. The food was every bit as warming and nostalgic as your surroundings. We haven’t stopped thinking about their gnocco fritto with mortadella on a bed of stracciatella, we’d describe them as dough balls with a satisfying deep-fried chew but we’d feel Da Costa rolling in his grave...
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