From the time our three kids were little, our family has always prioritized low-cost travel. We’ve visited the free museums of New York City, hiked in Yosemite, and enjoyed several lay-on-the-beach vacations in Mexico.
So when our oldest child graduated from high school last year, we felt a “last hurrah” family trip was in order, this time with a larger budget that was a little bit more celebratory.
Our plan? A three-week trip to England.
As the family travel planner, I set out to give us a UK experience we’d never forget. For Anglophiles like us, who love British books, TV, and movies, what could be more unforgettable than a stay at an English country estate?
Courtesy of Sarah Garone.
Looking online, I found what looked like an absolutely lavish option: Severn End, a 15th-century manor house in Worcestershire.
Though the nearly $500-per-night cost was way outside our family’s norm (we usually try for the $200-per-night range), my husband and I decided it was worth the splurge. We bit the bullet and booked a five-night stay.
The house was jaw-dropping
Months later, rounding a bend near the little town of Upton, we came upon Severn End in all its Tudor glory. My jaw literally dropped as I took in the three stories of timber-beamed, lattice-windowed, multiple-chimneyed eminence looming over us. Our host, Sir Nicholas, the 8th baronet of Lechmere (whose family still occupies one wing of the house), showed us how to work the ancient front door, and we were soon inside.
Courtesy of Sarah Garone.
The five of us swirled through the property like in a dream, each marveling at a different room. There was the entry hall with its king-sized brick fireplace and taxidermized animal heads, bedrooms with stately wardrobes and wood paneling, a drawing room equipped for anything from ballroom dancing to a Netflix binge, and — unheard of for most UK vacation rentals — two and a half luxurious bathrooms.
Extensive grounds behind the house welcomed us with walking paths perfect for “taking a turn,” as they say in British novels. We settled in to enjoy our little slice of Jane Austen-style heaven.
Our stay was exactly what I wanted it to be
Over the next five days, we wandered the nearby Malvern Hills and poked around in the Cotswolds. But really, we didn’t have to stray from Severn End to have a magical, memorable time. The house itself was the vacation.
Courtesy of Sarah Garone,
Staying in a place so unlike anywhere we’d ever been gave us plenty to do. I perused a Lechmere family book detailing the home’s 500-year history. My kids played croquet on the back lawn. Each evening in the summer twilight, we enjoyed family walks to the river Severn, where I imagined the characters from “The Wind in the Willows“ might sail serenely by. And, of course, we took plenty of selfies with the animal heads.
Courtesy of Sarah Garone.
Our stay gave us something unexpected
Though we had no shortage of activities at our fingertips, our stay at the manor was also a chance to just breathe, something we don’t often do in our everyday school-and-work lives.
Since we knew we had paid good money to stay in such luxurious digs, we allowed ourselves to lounge in the house and its grounds, enjoying outdoor meals and sleeping late in our massive mahogany beds. One day, I sat in the bathroom window seat (yes, there was a window seat in the bathroom) and birdwatched. That’s not something I get to do much of back at home.
Courtesy of Sarah Garone.
If anyone asks me whether our manor house splurge was worth the cost, I say absolutely. I can’t put a price on time with my family that’s both tranquil and novel, especially in an environment that turns fantasy into reality. After all, isn’t that the point of travel?