Stylish B&B has poetic license in Exmoor

The Old House at Nether Stowey, West Somerset, where romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once resided, has recently been upgraded by its new owners and is now a stylish B&B with self-catering cottages in an acre of walled garden.

Coleridge lodged at the Old House in the early 1800s when he came to visit his great friend Thomas Poole who owned the property. He spent many hours in what was then the Book Room and where records suggest he wrote the famous Recollections of Love in 1807. Poole even placed a bed in the corner for Coleridge to sleep.

The poet’s wife, Sara, and children grew to be very fond of the beautiful garden but later, it was also here that Coleridge sought both solitude and inspiration following the sad break down of his marriage.

Today B&B guests can sleep in the spacious Book Room which has been renamed the Coleridge Suite with its sitting area, huge sleigh bed and private bathroom; breakfast can be served at the dining table overlooking the garden.

For those preferring to self-cater there are three holiday homes; a cottage sleeping four has been converted from the former stables while another smaller one-bedroom cottage, the Garden Wing, has a working inglenook fireplace and beamed sitting room. The third self-catering unit is the House Keeper’s Quarters which occupies the entire top floor of the Old House with space for four guests.

Among the other distinguished visitors to the house were the Wordsworths, Robert Southey, Thomas de Quincey, Humphrey Davy, Thomas and Josiah Wedgwood and many other influential figures of the era.

Only four miles from the sea, the charming village of Nether Stowey is on the edge of the Quantocks; it was from here that Coleridge enjoyed long walks over the hills. Today a relatively new trail, the Coleridge Way, follows in his footsteps leading visitors on a 36-mile route from Nether Stowey across the Brendons to finish on the coast at Porlock in Exmoor National Park.

Prices for B&B at The Old House start from £75 per room per night for two sharing and the cottages are priced from £295 per week for two guests in the Garden Wing. Small dogs are welcome in the Garden Wing and Stable Cottage.

For details visit Theoldhouse-quantocks.co.uk. Further details about things to see and do on Exmoor can be found on Visit-exmoor.co.uk.