The Place
Is it an upscale B&B? Or is it a small hotel? We like places which occupy the grey area between these types, especially when run by dedicated on-the-spot owner-managers. Mary Sullivan and Hugh Davie are just that – she mainly in the kitchen, and he front of house. They are just as happy with guests who treat the place as a B&B, keeping themselves to themselves, as with those who eat Mary’s dinners (good, daily changing menu with choices) in the intimate dining room and engage with other guests and the hosts. Which is only a start.
The thing here is the building: mainly Tudor, with some medieval elements and as quirkily charming as they come. We rarely see such low ceilings (one door way is 5 foot 5 in height) or so many blackened old beams. The country cottage interior decoration is in keeping. Bathrooms tend to be smallish, carved out of corners, as you’d expect in a building of this age. To appreciate Strand House you need to be happy stooping for the low ceilings, and to ‘get’ what Mary and Hugh do (essentially, to provide a home from home). Three contemporary bedrooms (with normal-height ceilings) are available in a cottage in the garden.