The Dairy, Worcestershire
THE DAIRY: ECKINGTON, WORCESTERSHIRE
24-31/08/20
Why you should visit:
To enjoy a picturesque and stylish cottage
Get looked after by the friendliest hosts, James & Mike
Rest and relax in the most beautiful gardens
It’s a great base for exploring The Cotswolds and the Malvern Hills
DESTINATION:
We visited The Dairy in August last year and it’s been our only holiday since the start of the Pandemic, although I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to write up a review. It was one of the nicest cottages we’ve ever stayed in, and I sort of think I wanted to keep it to ourselves and not give away the secret of the wonderful place it is! But it deserves to be shared and it’s given me very fond memories writing about it and thinking back to our stay.
We’ve been to The Cotswolds lots of times but have never stayed on the outskirts in Worcestershire and it was a great base for exploring the Malvern Hills, Gloucester, and The Cotswolds themselves.
The Dairy is situated in the small village of Eckington, and it is a picturesque place with some lovely walks, a village shop and a few local pubs. The property itself is adjacent to the owners own cottage, Willow Pond, which is also a B&B and has two lovely rooms available to stay in (we got a guided tour and they’re very cosy and comfortable). The Dairy itself is actually a former cheese press that has been converted into a spacious and relaxing private cottage with its own garden space alongside having free reign to explore and sit in the main gardens.
DECOR:
I am really fussy when I am booking a holiday cottage and I only ever want to go somewhere where the interiors are as nice or nicer than my own home. I have written two guides on stylish holiday cottages, which you can read here and here, and the former featured The Dairy before we’d visited.
The Dairy has a really fresh and clean interior, with a modern Scandi feel and stylish furniture mixed with vintage accessories and lots of cosy cushions, blankets and soft lighting. There were fresh flowers from the garden dotted about everywhere and it was such a lovely and thoughtful touch, which immediately made you feel at home.
The bed was huge and very comfortable (we honestly slept like logs) and the sofa is squidgy and comfortable with more than enough room for two. You’d think rain on holiday would make it depressing, but sitting in front of the log burner in the lounge on a wet day reading the paper was pretty lovely.
There is an epic bath just at the top of the stairs in between the bedroom and bathroom and it was properly relaxing enjoying an hour in there with my book. I actually think it could have been the biggest bath I’ve ever had a soak in!
The kitchen was very well equipped and you even get a breakdown of all the utensils and crockery available during your stay in your holiday guide, which was very impressive attention to detail. Gazing out of the window making breakfast and looking out into the beautiful gardens definitely made every morning special.
I honestly can’t speak highly enough of the gardens for both The Dairy and the main the gardens – you are free to roam and use them as much as you please and there are so many little nooks and pretty seating areas, they really were some of the nicest I’ve ever seen. I’ve actually developed a new found love of growing flowers since our visit and taking tips from owner James’ greenfingers.
DINING:
Whilst we were visiting a self-catering holiday cottage, you can also request meals in advance, which James can prepare for you to enjoy in The Dairy. We joined Mike and James for a drink one evening, which turned into dinner as we all got on so well and we had the pleasure of eating in the main house, which is also used for their B&B, and was just as stylish and well thought out as The Dairy.
We were also provided with a generous welcome hamper, which included lots of treats alongside veg from the garden and a nice bottle of wine.
We largely enjoyed the cottage and stayed in most nights whilst we were there, but we did visit one of the local pubs, The Swan Inn in Birlingham. It’s a short 5-minute drive or you can walk there across the fields, which I’d definitely recommend on a nice day. The pub serves nice homemade pub grub and we particularly liked sitting in the newly built outdoor wooden seating space, which was very cute sat under festoon lights in our own little area.
DEBRIEF:
We had a wonderful stay at The Dairy. It is such a special cottage with the most picturesque gardens and attentive hosts who very much leave you to your holiday, but also make you feel incredibly welcome and like they can’t do enough for you. We were genuinely sad to leave after our week there last August and are planning our return one day soon. They also have some exciting additions to The Dairy and Willow Pond planned one day and I know they’ll be just as good.
The Dairy, Eckington, Worcestershire.
