Explore
The retreat lies in the northern half of The Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is situated at Grants Farm, which once had its own dairy herd.
The traditional farmhouse has been thoughtfully extended and modernised to provide very welcoming and comfortable living for our guests. Sitting on the wooded southern flank of Brimley Hill, near the headwaters of the River Culm, the house is surrounded by beautiful woodland and meadows and is incredibly peaceful.
This part of the Blackdowns is very rich in fauna and flora, which includes Otters and even England’s first resident wild Beavers. Very close by is Brimley Nature Reserve, home to nationally important rare plants and butterflies, while Roe deer are often spotted wandering through our meadows.
Although a world away we’re very conveniently located, just 7 miles south of Taunton and just 4 from Wellington, both of which are on the M5, while the A303 is just 15 minutes away.
The Camden Town Group
This group of English post-impressionist artists, working in the early 20th century, became well known for their paintings of the Blackdown Hills countryside.
Named after the area in North London where the artists lived and worked, the group, which included Walter Sickert, Augustus John and Lucien Pissaro, were influenced by French impressionist and post-impressionist painters. Initially they portrayed contemporary urban life, but some of the Camden Town Artists were drawn to the countryside. Harold Harrison, who was educated at the Slade School of Art, bought the nearby Applehayes estate at Clayhidon in 1909 and began hosting visits by several members of the group.
Of the original members, Robert Bevan, Charles Ginner and Spencer Gore painted most prolifically in the Blackdown Hills. Their delightfully colourful rural scenes capture a pastoral idyll shortly before the first world war changed English society forever. Taking inspiration from artists such as Paul Gaugin and Vincent van Gogh, the works use blocks of bold colour. They are a tribute to the area’s bucolic beauty, much of which is unchanged to this day.
Brimley Hill, Robert Bevan
Clayhidon Church, Robert Bevan