The Pig at Bridge Place, Kent - review

Lucy Hunter Johnston discovers affordable luxury in a country house
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As lovely as rambling country piles must be when they are owned by a single family, along with the rest of London I both lust after the idea of a remote bolthole and am well aware that it’s a particular kind of key-owning, Hunter-welly-clad joy that is a laughably alien prospect this side of a winning lottery ticket.

Instead we are blessed with The Pig hotel group, which picks up struggling estates and converts them into exceptional escapes for we less-well-endowed plebs to enjoy. Few things beat the magic of playing landed gentry for the weekend, and The Pig has the formula perfected.

With legions of devotees (4,000 booked into the newest offering before it had even opened), it’s no wonder the Pig’s march of the free-standing baths tubs is gathering pace. The latest, the sixth, lies in the village of Bridge in Kent, three miles south of Canterbury, which thanks to the fast line into St Pancras is under an hour from the capital. It’s a beautiful, often overlooked part of the UK, with significance for the Pig’s owners, Judy and Robin: they were married in a church that can be glimpsed across the fields from the five-acre property.

The Jacobean house was built by Arnold Braemes around 1638, but its most recent incarnation was as a party pad. With a nightclub in the basement, during its Sixties and Seventies heyday Bridge Place was at the heart of the rock’n’roll scene, playing host to gigs by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Kinks — the posters in the ladies loos are proof to its past life. At one point, Brian May was in the frame as a potential buyer.

Thankfully, history had other ideas. The Pig group are masters at converting old ramshackle properties into super-luxe hotels while losing none of the original charm. Here, it’s quite simply exquisite. In the main house, where we stayed, a vast central staircase leads to seven bedrooms of varying sizes, with original wood panelling, ornate ceilings, deep jewel tones and vast, enticing beds.

However, it’s the small, intimate sitting rooms hidden on various landings that are the real treat, home to roaring fires and mountains of newspapers. The hidden corners are where the fantasy that this might, in fact, be yours feels tantalisingly close. Outside, a new, sensitively built coach house offers another 12 rooms, while a two-story suite has been made from the old stables, and two family “lodges” are nearby. On a return visit I’d be tempted by the uber-romantic Hop Picker’s huts, seven of which are by a river. Made with reclaimed timber, each stilted cabin has a wood-burning stove and a bath in the bedroom.

Home from home: The Pig at Bridge Place has an intimate feel — and all food is sourced from a 25-mile radius, like this slow-braised organic lamb neck (The Pig)

Like all Pig Hotels, the emphasis is on the food. Everything is sourced from a 25-mile radius, and much taken straight from the heaving garden outside, where an oven serves up pizzas and flatbreads. The area is a culinary paradise: Whitstable oysters, Romney Marsh lamb, and exceptional Kentish wine and cider feature heavily on the menu. There is also a chef’s table — long trestles overlooking the bustling kitchen where small plates of smoked fish, croquetas and sorbets are served between courses.

All this is fairly priced; a double room starts from £109. In short, it’s a brilliant new addition, but you may struggle to get a room. So, hurrah for number seven: Harlyn Bay, in Cornwall, is set to open its doors next year. Race you there.

Details

Rooms start from £109 per night; South Eastern trains run from St Pancras International to Canterbury.

The Pig, Bourne Park Rd, Bridge, Canterbury, CT4 5BH. thepighotel.com

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