On a still evening in Easthorpe, the heated lap pool catches the last light on the stone terrace while the two-seater hot tub steams quietly beside it. Country Escape at The Granary is a two-bedroom barn for four, with a double-height glass front that frames both from the living space above.
Upstairs, under a vaulted ceiling with exposed oak trusses, floor-to-ceiling windows pull the countryside straight into the room. A wood burner, red leather armchairs, and a breakfast bar divide the open-plan kitchen, dining, and living area into zones that feel distinct without walls. A balcony runs along the front of the building, catching the sun for most of the day, and the morning coffee decision is whether to take it inside by the windows or outside above the terrace. Both bedrooms are on the ground floor, each with a double bed and its own walk-in shower room.
The lap pool is eleven metres long, heated, and open from May through September, set on the stone terrace with a firepit beside it for the evenings when swimming gives way to sitting. The hot tub is a two-seater Canadian Spa, available year-round, and positioned so that a soak on a cold evening comes with open fields ahead and the lit barn above. Few properties in Essex combine the two.
The garden is enclosed and private, with a sitting-out area and a barbecue. The countryside around Easthorpe is quiet enough that buzzards and red kites circle overhead during the day, hares cross the fields at dusk, and red-legged partridges pick through the hedgerow.
John, the owner, is quick with replies and specific with local tips. The Alma, the pub half a mile down the lane, is usually the first one he mentions. A welcome pack waits on arrival. The hot tub carries a small additional charge, starting from £20 per night, and the staircase between the ground-floor bedrooms and the first-floor living space is open and steep. No children under twelve are accepted, so this is a property for couples or adults travelling together.
Easthorpe is a small village seven miles south-west of Colchester, sitting on what was once a Roman road. It is rural and quiet, in the stretch of mid-Essex where the landscape opens out toward the coast without quite reaching it. Colchester is close enough for a day out at the castle or a morning at the museum, no advance planning needed.
Layer Marney Tower, four miles away, is the tallest Tudor gatehouse in the country, with ninety-nine steps to the roof and views down to the Blackwater estuary. Abberton Reservoir sits nearby with a nature reserve, three bird hides, and a circular footpath through the wetland. The Tiptree jam museum and tearoom are a short drive south for a gentler afternoon. Mersea Island, twelve miles away, is the bigger day trip, with oyster sheds along the coast road, seafood restaurants, and a beach that works in every season.
After September, the pool goes quiet, the fields turn gold, and the firepit takes over the evenings.
