Stonehill just outside Abingdon in Oxfordshire comprises a large family home, an adjoining cottage and a beautifully restored Grade II listed barn. The rooms, all uniquely decorated and with their own bathrooms, vary in size from the master suite to singles and sleep up to 13.
Guests can enjoy the surrounding 23 acres of gardens, fields and woodland that belong to Stonehill. In the summer guests also have use of the natural swimming pool.
Stonehill House aims to be environmentally neutral in terms of low energy consumption and promotes self-sustainability in its use of the land and resources.
Only minutes from Oxford and Didcot Parkway stations, it is the perfect venue for a special family holiday – to celebrate a birthday perhaps, or wedding anniversary – or for weekend retreats and courses, the barn lending itself perfectly to receptions, parties or classes.
RUSSIAN DAYS 2014
Stonehill's owner, Anthea Norman-Taylor, has been travelling to Russia on a regular basis for over 25 years. In a bid to spread the word about this fascinating country, she organises Russian Days: an opportunity to learn something new in a peaceful and beautiful environment, with good food and comfortable rooms. Inviting eminent speakers to talk on a range of cultural topics with a Russian theme, she has successfully run events on Boris Pasternak, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.
"Sadly many people have a blinkered view of Russia" she says. "It's so rich in history, art and culture, but Russia struggles against other European cultures to gain attention and it's still the negatives, the mafia and the oligarchs, who steal the headlines."
Guests can come for the day or make a weekend of it, staying in one of Stonehill's generously-sized rooms, in the house or adjoining cottage. After the talks, guests can gather in the large living-room, retreat to the comfort of their bedroom or wander the grounds where scatterings of tables and chairs offer little pockets of tranquillity among the trees. Dinner, prepared on the premises by Stonehill's in-house chef, is served around the large sociable dining-table in the company of the guest speaker.
"People don't realise how close Russia is," says Anthea, "less than 3 hours by plane – and that there is this amazingly vast, rich and varied country right on Europe's doorstep. I'd like more people to know."
Guests can enjoy the surrounding 23 acres of gardens, fields and woodland that belong to Stonehill. In the summer guests also have use of the natural swimming pool.
Stonehill House aims to be environmentally neutral in terms of low energy consumption and promotes self-sustainability in its use of the land and resources.
Only minutes from Oxford and Didcot Parkway stations, it is the perfect venue for a special family holiday – to celebrate a birthday perhaps, or wedding anniversary – or for weekend retreats and courses, the barn lending itself perfectly to receptions, parties or classes.
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| The Cottage | The Barn |
RUSSIAN DAYS 2014
Stonehill's owner, Anthea Norman-Taylor, has been travelling to Russia on a regular basis for over 25 years. In a bid to spread the word about this fascinating country, she organises Russian Days: an opportunity to learn something new in a peaceful and beautiful environment, with good food and comfortable rooms. Inviting eminent speakers to talk on a range of cultural topics with a Russian theme, she has successfully run events on Boris Pasternak, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.
"Sadly many people have a blinkered view of Russia" she says. "It's so rich in history, art and culture, but Russia struggles against other European cultures to gain attention and it's still the negatives, the mafia and the oligarchs, who steal the headlines."
Guests can come for the day or make a weekend of it, staying in one of Stonehill's generously-sized rooms, in the house or adjoining cottage. After the talks, guests can gather in the large living-room, retreat to the comfort of their bedroom or wander the grounds where scatterings of tables and chairs offer little pockets of tranquillity among the trees. Dinner, prepared on the premises by Stonehill's in-house chef, is served around the large sociable dining-table in the company of the guest speaker.
"People don't realise how close Russia is," says Anthea, "less than 3 hours by plane – and that there is this amazingly vast, rich and varied country right on Europe's doorstep. I'd like more people to know."
