Challow Farm House was a delight to stay in. Kate, the friendly hostess, greeted us with an offer of tea and homemade cake, and bid us farewell with a gift of locally made artisan chocolates. In between was a relaxed stay in a beautiful setting tucked away, but near the village of Corfe Castle.
We stayed in the West Room, one of two rooms in a converted barn near the main house. The room is spacious, comfortable, tastefully furnished and full of generous touches. More homemade goodies too – ginger shortbread in the room, and elderflower cordial in the little fridge in the barn hallway.
Kate explained the breakfast routine: you write your requests the night before in a notebook in the hallway. It was great fun choosing from an amazing menu. The first morning I had French toast with bacon and maple syrup. While my other half ate beautifully fresh fruit, I sipped a latte made on Kate's super coffee machine. As it was a lovely morning, we elected to eat on the tables on the terrace, and it was just breakfast heaven! Day 2 brought an equally wonderful breakfast – another latte, and smoked haddock, poached egg, and slow-roasted tomatoes with thyme.
The garden is gorgeous – a mixture of formal and informal areas, and you are free to wander as you will. There is an easy, short walk to the Castle Inn along a footpath from the house – good for pub grub. Part of the walk goes on the footbridge over the Swanage Steam Railway – it's well lit at night, and looks like a movie set!
Kate is very flexible about parking – you can arrive early and leave your car until you are ready to check in. Similarly on the day of departure, we were able to leave our car for a couple of hours, and had a lovely walk up to the ridge opposite the house.
There is no ground floor bedroom yet for guests, but Kate hopes to provide one in the future.
So glad we chose to spend a couple of nights here – a superb B&B.
