There’s a minor blemish on one of the Cotswolds’ prettiest villages, a designated conservation area. Stuck to gates and doors on Castle Combe’s honey-coloured limestone houses are laminated “No Drone Zone” signs.
Spin around on The Street that runs through it, and tourists posing in doorways at every turn explain why the five dozen villagers need to spell out their right to privacy.
It’s a similar scene outside the 17th-century Manor House, which has has long played an integral role to the village, initially as a home to the lords of the manor, and later as a hotel. There’s a super car parked outside as I arrive, with a couple of men setting up a tripod to frame it in front of the ivy-clad baronial pile.
The Manor House replaced the Norman castle that gave the Wiltshire village its name. It was rebuilt in the mid-19th century and sold after the Second World War, shortly after most of the village cottages were auctioned off.
Set in acres of manicured gardens with Italianate terraces, the hotel makes a statement with its turrets and Tudor arched doorway, and it’s not hard to see the attraction for guests and daytrippers, as well as filmmakers (the village has served as a set for productions including Doctor Dolittle and War Horse).
The mews cottages are part of the hotel (Photo Angela Ward Brown)I’m accompanied out of the main house and down a honey-hued mews (outside which pose more selfie-snappers) connecting its grounds to the heart of the village. I’m given the keys to Upper Park Lane, a 14th-century cottage next door to one of Castle Combe’s two inns.
This, I discover, is the beauty of a stay at The Manor House – an opportunity to step behind those desirable doorways and enjoy the village after all the daytrippers, selfie-sticks and tour buses have disappeared.
The bedrooms
Bedrooms in The Manor House come with the baronial flourishes you’d expect – timber beams, wood paneled walls, heavy curtains with pelmets and in some rooms, four poster beds. The decor is more contemporary, with subtle corporate undertones.
Mews rooms are rich with character, from stone walls, leaded widows and antique four-posters to names such as Little Grubbins. I loved the log burner in the sitting room of Upper Park Lane, and the deep bathtub in which I wallowed after flicking a switch to turn on a row of LED candles in glass lanterns beside it.
One of the heritage bedrooms in The Manor House (Photo: Angela Ward Brown)There was a TV in the wall, but it was enough to close my eyes and inhale the heavenly scent of Molton Brown bath salts for half an hour.
The self-catering cottages are modern and similarly luxurious, with log burners, baths and some with patio gardens. There’s something deeply satisfying about having your own front door and windows onto the village.
There are several dog-friendly rooms, family suites, inter-connecting options, and wheelchair-accessible rooms.
The food and drink
The wood paneled bar (Photo: Angela Ward Brown)Just behind the village’s stone, medieval Market Cross – where traders once sold wool on which Castle Combe thrived – The Castle Inn is an extension of The Manor House. The 12th-century pub – which was at one time joined by seven more in the village – has a cosy, fire-warmed bar and a few bedrooms upstairs.
The two AA Rosette menu includes pub classics, but I enjoyed excellent oxtail croquettes followed by a rich bowl of venison ragu pappardelle with gremolata.
At The Manor House, Bybrook restaurant is Michelin-starred, with a fine dining menu that might include chalk stream trout with Porthilly oyster-wasabi or native lobster with Isle of Wight tomatoes and herbs. It’s served in the main dining room where an extensive breakfast is offered in the mornings.
Elsewhere in the main hotel there are history-rich lounge areas where you can enjoy afternoon tea, lunch and a more relaxed dinner in wood-panelled splendour, by the fire, or overlooking the manicured grounds.
In the heart of the village you’ll also find a coffee shop in some former stables, a tea room, an honesty cake shed and a shop selling pre-ordered picnic boxes, as well as The White Hart pub.
The Castle Inn and historic market cross (Photo: Alla Tsyganova/Getty Images)Things to do nearby
The village once hosted one of the biggest sheep fairs in southern England, thanks to the wool trade fed by the By Brook that runs through it (and the grounds of The Manor House). Tourists also congregate for photos on the pretty bridge at the bottom of the village, but I carried on for a peaceful walk through the valley – a Site of Special Scientific Interest for the limestone grassland and woodland habitats that host rare flora and fauna.
Following the brook, I turned off onto a small Roman bridge then joined the Macmillan Way path alongside a field of Shetland ponies, diverting into the Bybrook beech woods for a circular walk back into Castle Combe (soundtracked by the drone of the nearby Castle Combe Race Circuit).
I also explored the hotel’s grounds, walking around the Italianate terraced gardens and vegetable plot, and into its own woodland walk.
The village is surrounded by woodland walks (Photo: Andy Sage/Getty Images)The village hall hosts occasional markets, and locals make use of services at the 13th-century St Andrew’s Church, which stands on the site of an early Celtic tribe’s pagan temple.
Coats of arms and gravestones belonging to centuries of lords of the manor can be found here, including a carved stone monument of Norman Knight, Sir Walter de Dunstanville, who died in 1270. The stained glass window displays the coats of arms of the Scrope family, who were Lords of the Manor for almost 500 years.
And if golf is your thing, The Manor House has a popular 18-hole course set across magnificent grounds.
The details
Doubles and mews cottage rooms start at £295 including breakfast, self-catering cottages sleeping four from £200 per night. Rooms at The Castle inn from £145 B&B, booked through exclusive.co.uk/the-manor-house
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