Did you know that people once used the ink from the ink cap mushroom for writing? During our morning tour of the Newt estate, Arthur Cole, Head of Experiences, tells us that the guiding philosophy here is one of slow and sustainable living.
Our first encounter with this philosophy comes in the form of a weekend stay at The Newt in Somerset — a countryside estate and working farm unlike any other. In 2013, Koos Bekker, and his wife Karen Roos, the former Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Decoration South Africa, decided to transform their historic estate in the heart of Somerset into a small luxury countryside hotel, which opened its doors in 2019. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that they have created a working farm, surrounded by the extraordinary gardens for which the estate was once celebrated, and simply added rooms so that guests might stay a while longer.
The The Newt in Somerset traces its origins to the Georgian manor house of Hadspen House, whose grounds were shaped over centuries by a succession of passionate horticulturalists. The estate’s celebrated walled garden, first planted in the early nineteenth century, became a place of botanical pilgrimage long before the hotel ever opened its doors.
The moment you arrive and catch the scent of the soil, you will understand why. The beautiful, antique-filled rooms are not the only reason to visit. It is the outdoors, the land and the experience that will stay with you.
You will be closer to nature here than almost anywhere else, and you will learn how the cycle of botanics and agriculture functions in perfect harmony. When you leave, you will know so much more than when you arrived.
Learning and experiencing are the greatest gifts a weekend at The Newt has to offer. You might learn about agriculture and farming, botanics, cheesemaking, or the estate and its long history. Of course, you can enjoy the spa with its sauna, the gym equipped with Technogym equipment and the wooden-panelled yoga room — but you will most likely spend the majority of your time outdoors. Long walks around the estate beckon, or you might simply find yourself sitting at the croquet lawn, sipping the apple wine produced right here on the grounds.
Almost everything is made in-house. Should you arrive by train from London — a journey of two hours — you can visit the creamery at the station. The bread is baked on the premises, and the meat comes largely from the white cattle for which this part of Somerset is known.
It is something of a paradise for mushroom enthusiasts, as the damp soil provides ideal conditions for cultivation. There is much to discover on a walk through the estate: deer passing by at dawn or dusk, hundred-year-old chestnut trees, and the most fascinating spot on the farm — where the soil itself is made. This is where the agricultural and botanical magic begins, or rather, is carefully created, because nothing here happens by chance. There are reasons why certain materials are combined, and why the waste of one process becomes the foundation for the next stage of growth.
The approach to meat production is exemplary: the animals live without stress, and the stables are fitted with machines that offer them massages. Many common ailments are prevented thanks to the newly designed open, circular stables, where air circulates freely and calves can rest on padded straw for comfort and warmth.
A positive atmosphere pervades The Newt. The staff are warm and genuinely appear to love what they do. The canteen is open to all employees at no cost, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the working environment feels as considered as the guest experience itself.
There are also numerous workshops and seminars available across the farm, depending on your interests and curiosity.
If you are not staying at The Newt itself, the neighbouring farmhouse — also under the same ownership — offers a wonderful alternative, with an atmosphere that lends itself particularly well to younger families.
When you return in the evening from your explorations, you can round off the quintessential countryside experience with a game of badminton on the garden’s natural grass court, enclosed by a sculptural Danish hedge that feels more like a work of art than a boundary.
Room No. 4 deserves a particular mention: its bathroom features a freestanding tub and doubles as a small sitting room, complete with two armchairs and a fireplace. One could easily settle in here with a drink and feel entirely disinclined to leave.
Each room has been individually furnished, and the palette of colours, textures, artworks and furniture has been thoughtfully curated to evoke the feeling of staying at a dear friend’s country house — which, in many ways, is precisely what The Newt feels like.
