We take the previous few turns faster than we must always on the best way to the Seaside Boarding Home, perched atop the Jurassic coast close to Bridport.
That’s as a result of I wish to catch the final 20 minutes of the England v France rugby recreation, however, sod’s regulation, not one of the rooms right here has a TV.
Fortunately, a small moveable set has been left within the library the place I be part of a fellow visitor and we put the world to rights throughout any lulls in play.
Solar-bleached: The Seaside Boarding Home is a sublime retreat on the quiet Dorset coast
My goodness, it is a pleasant, down-to-earth, elegant bolthole and I guess it’s unimaginable to bag one of many eight rooms in summer season, not least as a result of it occupies such a major place with direct entry to mile upon mile of pebbly seaside.
Mary-Lou Sturridge, a former managing director of the Groucho Membership in London, opened for enterprise right here 18 months in the past, providing a pared-back nautical fashion with a touch of kitsch, a whiff of Cape Cod, a splash of Shoreditch and large measures of simplicity.
It really works brilliantly. And if you happen to’re in room 402, as we’re, you’ll be able to see Chesil Seashore from the beautiful rest room, with its roll-top bathtub and tongue-and-groove wooden panelling.
The massive mattress is piled with luxurious pillows; a couple of books sit on the dresser subsequent to a silver tray the place bottles of water stand to consideration.
This should be the one so-called ‘boarding home’ that has a complete cocktail menu within the slinky bar simply throughout the hall from the eating room, which stretches throughout the whole entrance of the constructing, with doorways that open on to the terrace. It’s all deliciously fairly.
Picture-friendly: The curve of Chesil Seashore is seen from among the rooms on the lodge
Nice care has gone into selecting the glasses, the little flower vases, the French butter, the paper tablecloths, the linen napkins. We take for ever to resolve what to eat as a result of we wish to eat all the pieces.
I persist with fish (haddock scotch egg adopted by cod), whereas my spouse has the fish soup, which is great, and the steak, which isn’t. It’s gristly and flavourless.
We stroll for nearly an hour earlier than breakfast, working up an urge for food for a feast, full with vintage silver teapot, home-made marmalade and fantastic sourdough toast.
Earlier than leaving, I pop again into the library, the place a portrait of Mary-Lou’s grandfather in army costume hangs above the fireplace.
On the mantle, there’s a word that claims: ‘Not fairly completed the guide and determined to know what occurs? Please ask for a self-addressed envelope for £5 and return when completed.’
It’s that kind of place.
