COOL IN THE COUNTRY

How better to escape from the city bustle than with a break in the English countryside? Three charming and easily accessible hotels offer a memorable sojourn beyond luxurious comfort, divine food and beautiful surrounds.

- MAVIS TEO

The English countryside has inspired scores of poets and writers, and drawn many tourists - both from within the country and far beyond. The changing colours, sounds and sights of the wildlife in rural England through the seasons have enthralled many of us from the tropics. With hundreds, if not thousands, of establishments in the UK laying claim to being country estate hotels, choosing the right one for your needs may be tough.

To make things simple, we recommend keeping to the south of England if proximity to London and balmy weather are your top priorities. Narrow your choices to the ones that marry beautiful interiors with a breathtaking landscape, serve posh nosh featuring local produce, and feature quintessential English activities at their doorstep. Here are our top picks.

THE NEWT IN SOMERSET

Bruton, Somerset Here's a country property that offers something wholly different from the rest. The Newt in Somerset is actually a working estate with a hotel - not the other way round. Yet, a stay here is anything but rural, although the hotel does lay claim to having the nation's biggest herd of the indigenous British White cows, some of which guests will see grazing on the 300ha estate. In fact, refined is the more apt description for this property. This is despite the fact that it is located in Bruton, a 20min drive from Pilton, home to the famous Glastonbury Festival that typically draws a more casual and free-spirited music-loving crowd.

The owners are Koos Bekker and Karen Roos, the South African husband and wife pair behind Babylonstoren, a former Cape Dutch farmyard in South Africa that has been transformed into a renowned hotel with a working farm, vineyards and over 250 people in its employment on a 500ha estate. And they have repeated the same feat halfway across the world in Somerset.