I’m the first to admit that I spend far too much time on my phone. I check it when I wake up, reach for it whenever there’s a lull and can apparently no longer watch television without simultaneously scrolling through something else. So, arriving at The Bradley Hare in Wiltshire and realising I’d forgotten my charger felt less like a minor packing oversight and more like a small-scale emergency.
My battery was already running perilously low. I turned down the brightness, closed every app and started mentally rationing my remaining percentage points. What if someone needed me? What if I needed Google Maps tomorrow? More importantly, how was I going to photograph everything?
And then my phone died.
Initially, I felt slightly bereft. I’m not proud of that, but there it is. Yet, once it became clear that there was absolutely nothing I could do about it, something rather lovely happened: I stopped thinking about my phone altogether.
It helped that I was at The Bradley Hare, a handsome village pub with rooms in Maiden Bradley, on the Wiltshire-Somerset border. My room was tucked away across the courtyard, giving it the feeling of a private retreat. Inside, a welcome pack was waiting, including bespoke chocolate and the most delicious crumbly shortbread – both much needed after a slightly hair-raising cab ride through the countryside.
The interiors are by former Soho House design director James Thurstan Waterworth, and this is very much a place where staying in your room doesn’t feel like wasting a trip.
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Without a screen to distract me, I started properly noticing everything: the extraordinary art on the walls, the rich colours and tactile fabrics, and the freestanding bath sitting invitingly in the bedroom. Instead of photographing it, posting it or messaging someone to tell them about it, I ran it.
And stayed there.
There’s something wonderfully indulgent about a deep bubble bath when you have nowhere else to be, particularly when it comes with Bramley products, made in the West Country using essential oils and botanical ingredients. I sank into bubbles scented with geranium, lavender and sweet orange, with Radio 3 drifting in the background. With no notifications arriving and no temptation to “just quickly” check anything, I could just lie back and enjoy the uplifting scents and sensations. And breathe...
That evening, we headed across the courtyard for dinner. The dining room has the faded grandeur of a much-loved country house: solid antique tables, majestic leather chairs and tapered candles casting pools of soft light.
The staff were warm, attentive and knowledgeable – while also knowing exactly when to leave us alone – and the menu was closer to what you might expect from a high-end restaurant than a village pub. Ingredients are sourced locally wherever possible and treated with care.
We devoured Portland crab pâté with still-warm homemade bread, smoked Chalk Stream trout with horseradish yoghurt and watercress, and delicate Brixham sole with capers and wild garlic. Slow-roasted strawberries with tarragon cream made an unusual and delightful end to a perfect dinner.
Back in my room, there was no final scroll through Instagram, no checking emails in bed and no “quick” look at tomorrow’s news that somehow became half an hour. I simply went to sleep.
The real treat came the following morning.
I woke early and, out of habit, reached towards the bedside table. Nothing. So instead, I lay there and watched the light change outside. From my window, I could see across the courtyard to the handsome old pub, its stone walls softened by wisteria and roses. Beyond it, the surrounding fields rolled towards the West Wiltshire Downs beneath an enormous, slowly brightening sky.
It sounds ridiculously simple. It was. And that was rather the point. By breakfast (which was as delicious as dinner), I felt as though I’d been away for considerably longer than one night.
Of course, if your idea of a Wiltshire weekend involves rather more activity, The Bradley Hare is brilliantly placed for walks across the West Wiltshire Downs, a wander around Stourhead or Longleat, or a trip to Bruton and Frome for galleries, independent shops and very good food.
I’m sure it’s all lovely.
But give me that bath, those views and a room I actually have time to properly enjoy and I’m perfectly happy staying put.
Next time I go, I’m definitely leaving the charger at home.
