Cross Tree has all the ancient credentials, being a beautiful 17th century Grade 2 listed thatched stone farmhouse. It's well-proportioned and friendly, with spacious, cared-for rooms, flagstone floors, beamed ceilings, Turkish rugs, robust antique furniture and lots of room for joint family holidays, group house parties, courses or reunions. The cottage is named after the cross outside, where Cardinal Wolsey was put in the stocks for getting drunk at the village fair.
Beyond the entrance hall with its Georgian staircase are two sitting rooms, one with an open fire. The kitchen is homely with whitewashed walls, beams and a big inglenook fireplace. On the first floor are five double bedrooms, up on the second floor another two double rooms. Several bedrooms contain one or two additional single beds. The house has two bathroom/WC/shower rooms, and one shower/WC room, with a further WC downstairs. Two cots and a crib are also available.
The kitchen is large, cottagey and very well equipped with a gas Aga in the inglenook. Here, two lovely oak refectory tables can easily seat a big group up to 24. The scullery just off it contains a gas cooker, microwave, two fridges, a freezer, a dishwasher and a large Belfast sink. Guests can relax with a TV, video, hi-fi and piano, and there's a croquet set for the garden. The back hall has a pay phone, while the pantry has a tumble dryer and washing machine. Prices include linen, services and logs etc. Children are very welcome but sorry, no pets.
The house stands in a walled garden with its own croquet lawn and paddock, surrounded by charming cider country. To the south lie the rolling hills of Dorset; to the north the fascinating Somerset levels and moors.
The local area is inundated with historic houses, abbeys and gardens to visit. There's the National Trust's Montacute House, for example; Barrington Court, Lytes Cary, Forde Abbey, Muchelney Abbey, numerous cider farms, Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park and various willow industry workshops. More active guests can fill their days with riding, golf, fishing, cycling (bicycle hire and well known trails nearby), tennis, squash, ballooning, paragliding and birdwatching, even llama trekking. The coast is half an hour away.
Weekends (3 nights) £1320
Bank holiday weekends (4 nights) £1800
Weeks (7 nights) £2100
Easter Week £2400
Christmas and New Year weeks £3600
Mid week breaks (4 nights) £1200
Easter, Whitsun, October Half Term, Christmas and New Year can only be booked as full weeks.M