Ian Waller and his family enjoy a great break away that’s just an hour from Bath
Sometimes you just need a break, a family trip somewhere different, away from the painting that needs doing in the bathroom and the never changing view out of the window, and a chance just to recharge your batteries.
And the great thing is that this doesn’t have to mean travelling for hours and even swapping your pounds for Euros. Very recently we enjoyed a family weekend away near Marlborough, barely an hour’s drive from Bath and yet somewhere we could relax and recover.
Manton is one of those pretty Wiltshire villages that you might have driven past a hundred times before without really noticing it. It’s got a sweet little primary school, a decent pub and not a lot else – apart from, that is, The Old Chapel Manton, a gorgeous three bed airbnb that has just about everything a family needs.
We arrived early Friday evening and immediately knew that we had struck gold. The tiny entrance hides a beautifully designed three bedroomed cottage that’s both perfectly designed and equipped with all of the luxuries of home, plus a few more on top. Within no time the boys, aged 12 and 16, had chosen between the single and twin bedrooms, while my wife and I were very happy with the spacious double.
Elsewhere there were two bathrooms, both with quality toiletries and fluffy towels, a fully-equipped kitchen diner and a relaxing sitting room. Owner Rachel has even left a few choice goodies to ease us into our weekend away (I managed to snaffle the chocolates before the boys got a look in!). To be honest, we would have been happy just to chill out here for the weekend, feasting on pizzas and Netflix, and leaving the neighbours back in Bath to feed the cats.
And that was pretty much how Friday panned out – posh pizzas from Waitrose barely 10 minutes away on Marlborough High Street, a bottle of decent red for the grown-ups, sweets for the kids and a film. No stress, no emails (in fact, the wifi was very good, I’d just left my laptop at home – which was a first) and no plans.
For those looking for activities to enjoy, The Old Chapel is perfectly placed for any number of days out, from a trip to Devizes, the ancient wonders of Stonehenge, Cotswold Water Park and more all within an hour’s drive. However, sticking to our taking it easy mantra, we stayed close to our temporary home.
While my wife and youngest decided on a mooch around Marlborough, our 16 year old and I enjoyed the short trip to Avebury, home of the amazing stone circles, for an explore. With the sun out, this is a gorgeous place, full of history, myths and families enjoying picnics. My son and I loved it, just wandering along the pathways, keeping an eye open for rabbits, avoiding the sheep and chatting about stuff. It was at the same time nothing special and absolutely precious, with all thoughts of school and work left back in Bath, and just spending time together.
Later that afternoon, we all met up back at the Old Chapel before trying out the local Manton pub, The Oddfellows, for an evening meal out, challenging each other to Trivial Pursuits questions while the locals whooped at Ireland beating South Africa in the rugby.
Really Sunday came too quickly. We just didn’t want to leave. The Old Chapel had proved itself to be just the perfect weekend escape and we were already planning a return. After all, apparently there’s tapas restaurant on the Marlborough high street which is superb, and probably explains why it was booked up and we couldn’t get a table.
Leaving our midday checkout time to the last minute and enjoying a stop off on the way home to check out the local skatepark, we all agreed that this has been a great weekend away, and without the worry of a long journey home. Perfect.
To book a stay at The Old Chapel, click here