This little piggy went to Essex

So much more than a bed a breakfast, but not as impersonal as a hotel, Ella Foote heads to Piglets Boutique Country Stay to dip into their special offer

Award winning places to stay usually come with an unappealing price tag or soulless experience, but at Piglets Boutique Country Stay you are welcomed like an old friend and provided an exceptional level of personal service. Hidden in a beautiful forgotten corner of the Essex countryside, just an hour from London and a short distance from medieval town, Saffron Walden, the boutique bed and breakfast offers a perfect weekend escape.

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“Look out for the blue house,” I whisper to myself as I drive down winding lanes towards my destination. It appears suddenly, brilliant, and bold with the late afternoon sun just dipping behind. The property from the roadside is impressive. An old farmhouse painted in bright blue with a timber panelled extension and glass corridor connecting the two.

After a warm welcome from owners Chrissie and Max Parker, they take me through a gate into their outdoor space, wooden decking surrounding an emerald green, natural swimming pool. Immediately I am immersed in their special place.

Once part of Hodges Farm, Piglets was a tithe barn that was converted into a piggery by Max’s parents after the war. It was converted into the blue house and became Max’s home in 1994 before being extended in 2019 to create the bed and breakfast accommodation. Max and Chrissie’s home is in the centre, the heart of the overall accommodation and guest spaces. They sleep and live alongside their guests, working across the kitchen, housekeeping and guest services to ensure all who stay are well cared for.

There are just five rooms sleeping up to 10 people, which means it is both manageable for the couple to host guests and ensures a peaceful, personable stay.

This year Piglets Boutique Country Stay won ‘B&B and Guest House of the Year’ at the Visit England Excellence Awards and has won numerous other awards in the travel industry. You can read reviews and look at photos online but until you stay yourself, you don’t really appreciate how hard the couple work to make the place award-winning.

A massive appeal for me, and of course, any swimmer is the stunning natural swimming pool. Designed for a decent swim but built into the landscape the pool is a reasonable length for proper swimming and a lovely depth at one end for diving into. Open year-round it offers cool dips to winter swimmers and balmy water in summer for fair-weather bathers. Plants naturally filter the freshwater and wildlife is in abundance.

The pool took over a year to complete, once built and ready the pandemic was at its worst and the country was locked down. It offered a great place for the couple to enjoy while they eagerly waited for things to improve and finally open to guests.

“It gives us a USP (unique selling point),” says Max. “If you talk about Essex, it has a reputation made famous by television but with no direct route off the M11 our location is kind of in the middle of nowhere surrounded by beautiful countryside. As well as an escape, we wanted to offer guests a reason to come here and spend time here, not just sleep.”

As well as the beautiful pool and surrounding decking for relaxing, reading or just watching the pond come alive with wildlife there are lots of other spaces across the site that offer space to unwind.

Unlike traditional bed and breakfast accommodation, Max and Chrissie also offer an evening meal and have a licensed bar, which has the most impressive selection of gins – including their own!

You can arrive and spend a whole weekend between your room, poolside, the Mediterranean terrace, and lounge rooms without needing to leave for anything else. The breakfast menu is extensive, with local produce expertly curated by Max himself. In the afternoon you can enjoy bar snacks or homemade cake and tea before enjoying delicious wood-fired pizzas, pastas and deli boards.

There are plenty of lovely towns, villages and Cambridge city close by, but if you want to escape and switch-off, it is ideal! The rooms have been thoughtfully put together with super-king beds, comfortable bedding and amazing showers. It isn’t an accident either, everything that is offered is well thought out and considered to make the stay as special as possible. Some rooms face the pool, which is enticing in the morning before breakfast, all rooms are quiet and peaceful. A games room with snooker, darts, table tennis as well as outdoor games means you will never be bored. It was fun to enjoy a drink and be playfulaway from the usual TV habit at home.

There is a two-night minimum stay at weekends, which is ideal for a short break, or single-night stays during the week. The pool and accommodation will be available over weekends this winter for those wanting a cool escape.

For more info visit piglets.co.uk

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