Wolford Lodge
During the early summer of 2021, the whole family decided to take a trip out to the English countryside. We ended up at the Wolford Lodge in Devon. What a fantastic period house with immaculately maintained gardens, flower paths, and tennis courts and do not miss the zip line!
We did book this through AirBnB but you can book direct with Caroline and Rupert here or something similar here.
The house is located in Blackdown Hills, Honiton, East Devon, and is situated on a massive 158 acres of gardens and woodland. When you walk out to the rear of the property you are treated to one of the most beautiful distant sea views towards Budleigh Salterton on the Jurassic Coast.
The house itself is incredible! We went with 9 adults and 5 children. Every bedroom was spacious with blackout curtains to help keep out the early morning sun. There is a grand piano and a set of drums in the ground floor sitting room that makes for some noisy children. There is also a TV in the snug to keep the kids entertained at night.
The Grounds
The grounds are impressive, to say the least. Within the 158 acres, you will find a few garages up the drive that holds wood for the fire. There are quite a lot of other bits there but that’s not for us visitors so it’s all blocked off. There is a small garden shed that is just at the top of the drive past the garages that are accessed from the front of the property.
If you turn back the way you came past the house you will see a large field with a tree. There you will find a simple tree swing but the kids had one heck of a time playing with it!
Towards the rear, you are blessed with a gorgeous view of the forest below. The view spans seeming forever into the distance toward the coast. Luckily there is not much city lighting in the distance to ruin the view during the sunset.
When you start exploring I recommend heading away from the entrance and more toward the garages. There is a water fountain there full of tadpoles and other creepy crawlies I’m sure! Further up just to the right is a small shed where we found some cool stuff. The best was a big metal gocart with pedals. Impossible for the kids to pedal so I ended up pushing them all around the garden.
When you start exploring I recommend heading away from the entrance and more toward the garages. There is a water fountain there full of tadpoles and other creepy crawlies I’m sure! Further up just to the right is a small shed where we found some cool stuff. The best was a big metal gocart with pedals. Impossible for the kids to pedal so I ended up pushing them all around the garden.
Further on you will find a great little place to seek refuge from your fellow holidaymakers. It is a little bench tucked into a covered hut. I sat here quite a few times trying to take a break from the family.
I highly recommend that you sneak away with your other half and watch the sunset. A large glass of wine or a coffee will make it all the better of a time
Flower Gardens
If you continue on down past the bench you will come to a small wooden gate. This leads to the flower gardens where you will be treated to a superb array of beautifully maintained flowering plants. I am no expert on these types of things but it is just breathtaking when walking through. There is a well-laid lawn path to keep you on track so don’t worry about getting lost. This is where the small garden shed connects to the path just up to the right. You will also find another tranquil garden, with a bench, to ponder your thoughts.
Abandoned Building
Walking further down the path you will come to a more traditional woodland path. This takes you straight on by an abandoned building hidden in the overgrowth. I don’t know what once stood here but it has been eroded down to its foundations. If I ever do get the chance to come back I will explore this area in more detail.
Zipline
Keep on trucking down the path and you come to a split in the road. They lead to the same place in the end but the top path is the long way around.
These paths lead you to the family favorite, the zipline! What a find in the middle of the woods. Every member of the family took part in the fun, even the eldest of the group who was in her late 70s at the time. My son went on my lap but everyone else was able to do it on their own. You can see some of us in the youtube video at the top of the page. There was only one little fall off the zipline but luckily he was all right in the end. Just remember to hold on tight and don’t mess around. The only other incident was with me.
At the top of the zip line at the very back is the border fence of the neighboring property. At the bottom near the ground is a barb wire fence. It’s not very obvious so be careful! I stabbed my ankle right in the vein at the ankle bone. It swelled up but didn’t bleed that much. My daughter, Ruby, played doctor and helped me ice it up. All was fine in the end and I continued the weekend without issue. There is a very small scar left over but it is hardly noticeable. There is also a small clip of this in the YouTube video at the top of the page.
Forest
The rest of our forest trip led through vast swaths of bluebell flower beds and hilltop paths. If you continue past the zipline you will come to a bench that overlooks the Wolford Lodge Estate. Here we took a great family picture and Monty took a nap in the long grass.
I have drawn up a little map of where everything is that we visited and the path we took. We went the opposite way I have described as I don’t recommend taking the path we took. It was a very long path down huge hills and then up huge hills. We had to hike up along a downhill stream and everyone feet got wet. I needed to do practically the whole thing with my son on my shoulders. We also never went up to the chapel as we wanted to keep the kids on the property. I did have quite a lot of fun chopping wood and building a small fire in the provided firepit. We made great use of the terrace area for lunch and dinner too.
