Weekend swim retreat: Combe Head House, Somerset

A homely smallholding with a Victorian swimming pond – we’re in! Rowan Clarkes reports…

Although well-known for its farmhouse cider, cheddar cheese and Glastonbury festival, outdoor swimmers still might overlook Somerset in favour of Devon and Cornwall. It may not have miles of glorious sandy beaches like its Westcountry cousins, but beautiful Somerset is home to bucolic landscapes, ancient woodlands, and prehistoric sites rich in myth and magic.

Staying at Combe Head House, near Chard and close to the Devon and Dorset borders, places you perfectly to explore the best of Somerset, and scoot down to the coast for a day on the beach. And if you’re short on time, or you don’t fancy travelling, you’ll have Combe Head House’s newly restored spring-fed Victorian swimming pond at your disposal.

Combe Head House was the perfect location for the Outdoor Swimmer team to get together: to test out Zone3’s new swimwear range, have a team meeting, and swim together.

The accommodation

Combe Head House is a glorious manor house dating from around 1570 set in eight acres of gardens, fields and woodland. You can stay in The Gatehouse, which was the former groundskeeper’s lodge, The Stables, or, in spring or summer, the charming Gypsy Caravan, which is painted canary yellow Wind in the Willows style.

Bought by her father in 1973, Combe Head House is now run by Lara. Having grown up here and come back to live with her husband, Benedict, and their two young sons, Luther and Abraham, her love for the place and her background in art history brings a homeliness and creativity that would be impossible to replicate.

For a start, the interiors are beautiful and fascinating. Lara’s clever use of colour and eye for design brings warmth and comfort to each accommodation. Think squishy sofas, woodburning stoves with an ample supply of wood, inviting bedrooms, huge rainfall showers, and shelves full of books from ancient Victorian tomes to contemporary novels. The Lodge sleeps up to ten in four large bedrooms, while The Stables sleep six in three bedrooms. You can rent them individually, or, as we did, both to accommodate your group size.

Lara’s family lives in the Manor House with her mother, Gilda. Here, you can hire the incredible hall to enjoy a meal in a historical setting around the vast Elizabethan inglenook fireplace that Lara’s father uncovered in the 1980s. This is just one of the creative ways in which her flair for hosting guests manifests in this wonderful setting, and it really does make Combe House a unique and special place to stay.

While the fireplace might be the heart of the Manor House, the spring-fed Victorian swimming pond is the heartbeat for us outdoor swimmers. Recently cleared and renovated, this is what drew us to stay here. It’s fed by a spring that originates on the hill behind that house and trickles down through the roots of a tree and into the pond. This means the water is always clear, clean and cool. With a small jetty and ladder for easy access, it’s perfect for a bracing dip, swimming sedate lengths, or floating on your back and staring at the canopy of trees above your head– a real treat whatever the season.

When you’re not swimming, you can visit the menagerie of sheep, goats and chickens, or walk in the woodland.

The swimming

There’s nothing like having a swimming pond all to yourself. Starting the day with a dip, the only limit to how often or how long you swim is your comfort in the seasonal temperature of the water. For the cooler months, Lara will be welcoming Driftwood Sauna, a beautiful horsebox sauna, for an October residency, and she’s got plenty more wild and wellness events, retreats and workshops coming up besides.

You can also choose a wellness experience to go with your swim and enjoy in the your accommodation or the peaceful woodlands. You can choose from a variety of treatments, rituals and guided meditation sessions, or tailor your own treatments as you wish. If you want to explore further afield for longer swims, the coast is little more than half-an-hour away. Visit Lyme Regis, Seatown or Burton Bradstock for excellent swimming off steeply-shelving shingle beaches. Also 30 minutes away is Muchelney for beautiful river swimming near the National Trust Abbey. Cross the border into Devon, and you’ll find Higher Westwater Weir with its pretty pools just twenty minutes away. If you fancy visiting a lido, Greenbank in nearby Street is a heated Art Deco outdoor pool gifted to the town by the shoemakers, Clarks, which is open from May to October.

The food

With kitchens well-equipped for selfcatering, a vast dining table by the wood burner and catering options from local chefs and Lara herself, there is no reason to leave Combe Head House to find food. You can even choose where to feast – in the woodland, on the lawn, or in the Tudor hall, either catered or by experiencing cooking over the fire yourself.

If you do choose to eat out, there are various options for restaurants and country pubs nearby – although you have to be prepared to drive as taxis are scarce. We ate at La Campagna, a short drive away, and enjoyed excellent Italian food in a lovely setting. We also recommend Pip’s Railway Carriage, a quirky café where you can sit in a train carriage and enjoy a delicious lunch and outstanding cakes from its on-site bakeshop.

Best of the rest

Somerset was shaped by water. From the wealthy Roman landowners who settled on the rich agricultural land to be close to the religious and cultural hub of Bath with its thermal spring baths, to the often flooded Somerset Levels, and the caves and aquifers of the Mendips.

It’s still a very rural county full of pretty, historically interesting (and often amusingly named villages like Nempnett Thrubwell, Catsgore, Queen Camel), and there’s plenty to do and see.

If you love history, Forde Abbey and the National Trust’s Barrington Court are worth visiting. If cider is more your thing, go to the Perry Cider Mill near Ilminster. If you’re interested in myth and magic, you can’t miss a trip to the town of Glastonbury less than an hour’s drive away.

Our favourite thing

Waking up in a huge bed and a bracing dip in the swimming pond before breakfast.

With thanks to Lara and Benedict for their warmth and generosity in hosting the Outdoor Swimmer team and lending their photography skills. combeheadhouse.com