Advertisement

The trials and triumphs of a 'bubble' family holiday

Harebells on Habitat Escape’s Lower Mill Estate in the Cotswolds
Harebells on Habitat Escape’s Lower Mill Estate in the Cotswolds

I have to admit, the idea of a ‘bubble holiday’ troubled me. Lockdown involved months of seeing the same four walls and the same (in my case) three people – albeit my favorite people. Would a bubble holiday not mean simply swapping our four walls for four different walls, and extending our bubble to include more of my favourite people, who presumably, once the novelty had worn off, would become just as irritating as the other three?

The answer, I found, was no. At least, not at Harebells on Habitat Escape’s Lower Mill Estate in the Cotswolds, a gated nature reserve of some 550 acres featuring eight lakes, two rivers, award winning luxury sustainable lodging, a newly refurbished spa and a charming Cotswolds restaurant.

Here your four walls involve picturesque floor-to-ceiling lake views, Egg-chair decorated balconies and a spacious roof terrace, while your bubble moves around on holiday bikes – all thoroughly sanitized. There are lake-based watersports, beautiful meadows, socially distanced food vans and even (scheduled) swimming pools. You – and every other separate house rental there – move around the resort in pre-booked bubble slots. It’s a very life-affirming way of combining Covid care with a sense of freedom. Because who needs the new normal, when you’ve got the old normal, but with benefits?

And boy did we test the concept. Our party consisted of teenagers, pre teens and boisterous eight year old boys, one furloughed adult to corral them and one frazzled adult attempting to work ten-hours days whilst also relax (that was me, by the way, repeating the ‘change is as good as a rest’ mantra all the way, there).

Once we had arrived, parked (not as easy as it sounds – parking was the one point of contention of the trip. Park in someone’s else’s plot at your peril!) and unpacked, the relaxing bit seemed to take care of itself. The teenagers beetled off on their bikes to the park with the boys in tow and the preteens primped and preened together as they unpacked in their beautifully contemporary twin boudoirs, joined by a jack ‘n’ jill bathroom. Really, the only thing for the grown ups to do was to crack open a bottle of fizz and enjoy the sunset over the lake – this one, a sheltered nature reserve, the still water only broken by the silhouette of a long line of cygnet siblings following their mum who, we learned, made the twilight pilgrimage every evening. Who needs Greece or Italy?

Harebells
Harebells

My 5am Zoom call to Australia the following morning was made somewhat more bearable by the same view at dawn. And by the time the rest of the rabble had roused, I’d got through enough work to enjoy a guilt-free morning swim in the Mill Village pool, one of two outdoor pools (the main pool is bigger, but busier, and we found this one an easier and more charming option).

Which brings me to a bubble bugbear: pre-booking. Much has been made of the lack of spontaneity the post-Covid requirement to restrict numbers now brings to every holiday destination. I beg to differ! As the designated organizer of any family trips, the need to have nearly every activity scheduled is a faff, but really takes away from the on-the-spot planning/indecision/arguments (delete as appropriate).

Having kayaks booked for the full week, however, reintroduced an element of footloose and fancy free, and meant that we could literally launch ourselves onto one of the lakes whenever the fancy took us. I say ‘we’. I made it once, but having checked that our kayaking skillset matched the rigorous safety standards set by the estate, I reluctantly left the teens in charge in favour of my laptop and left the rest to explore a different lake every day.

Harebells
Harebells

With a state of the art kitchen and windows that offered up some addictive people watching, even cooking was quite fun, but we ventured out a few times – to the excellent estate outdoor version of Ballihoo for takeout sourdough pizzas and BBQ burgers (verdict, best ever burgers), and to the Potting Shed, where both its willow shaded garden and airy indoor spaces felt uncrowded and corona-comfortable. The Village Pub, a good half hour’s drive away in bucolic Barnsley, felt like a mission until we arrived. It’s owned by the exceptional Barnsley House and Spa and is as quintessential an English setting as you’ll ever find. (Verdict, best ever burgers… Oh).

As the week went on, our confidence around the estate grew and we even allowed the little ones an increasing (and, unfortunately, addictive) amount of independence – to bike ride here, wander there – a feeling of guarded freedom that had been missing since March. Our secret garden became a favourite setting for peaceful morning coffees, afternoon ice creams and evening BBQs, with the roof terrace playing host to belated lockdown birthday celebrations, hard fought card games and lively conversations late into the night.

It’s a pretty fine place to holiday at any time. But those, like me, having trouble with the bubble concept, might well find it pretty close to perfect right now.

Essentials

Seven nights in Harebells costs from £2,215 in September. The five-bedroom property sleeps up to 10 guests and is offered on a self-catering basis (habitatescapes.com).