Spacious and Secluded Modern Farmhouse - for families and groups of friends

Higher Holcombe is the main house for this small (30 acres) country estate that is easy to access (5 minutes from the A30 and 15 minutes from the M5/J29) but surprisingly secluded, being located up a little-used lane tucked under the slopes if the East Hill Strips.
You will approach the house (which, in summer, is hidden by the trees from the lane) via the drive which leads to a large parking and turning area in front of the house. There are 2 shallow steps that lead to the covered porch with an impressive oak door - and from there you will be through to the wide hallway. The floors downstairs are paved with limestone slabs, apart from in the kitchen. From the hall, you can see through to the huge kitchen (complete with a cosy breakfast snug) (with seating for about 8 people).
The kitchen is 2 steps down, so there are lovely high ceilings and it is, of course, fully equipped with a double oven range-style cooker, a dish washer and a fridge-freezer. There's an open-shelved pantry and plenty of cupboards and lovely watercolour art work on the walls. From the kitchen you can see right through to the dining area and from there, to the garden room - one of the sitting rooms in the house. From the garden room, there are doors to the gardens.
On the other side of the hallway, there's a TV room, which overlooks one of the courtyards at the rear of the house, with a couple of sofas as well as a double bedroom and a useful downstairs loo. The wide oak staircase leads you up the stairs to the first floor bedrooms - 3 more double bedrooms - one of which has a full sized ensuite bathroom including a lion's pay hip bath and a corner shower There is also a twin room which has its own balcony with south facing views over the garden lawn and the fields beyond. There is also a lovely roomy family bathroom upstairs which faces onto the drive and orchards. It has a shower, bath, loo and a sink and waterproof flooring in case there are splashing toddlers in the bath!
The farmhouse has a slightly funky feel to it - it looks fairly traditional from the outside but the internal layout is modern and styled with textiles, art and sculptures from around the world.
As you would expect, the beds are all made up. There are spare pillows in the cupboards and we have moved onto using a range of colourful towels so that guests don't get mixed up!

This is a great house for a week-long holiday or for a weekend getaway. We have hosted families having special occasion parties as well as groups of friends who want a reunion or to celebrate a stag or hen weekend . It is a great house for cooking, eating, relaxing and chatting!
There are lots of ideas for days out for a wide range of ages groups. You might want to hunt for fossils at Charmouth; visit the Cobb at Lyme Regis; eat fish and chips on the beach at Sidmouth or pack a picnic or sundowners for any of the lovely local beauty spots on hill tops, valleys or beaches. Eat crab sarnies at Beer (where you can also have an all day beach breakfast); sample cream teas in between visiting the antique shops in Honiton or get in the car for a day out at nearby Escot, Crealy Adventure Park or Bicton Botanical Gardens.
There really is no shortage of what you might want to do - and that doesn't include the growing number of eateries roumd and about! The Rusty Pig in Ottery, The Pig at Gittisham (just over the hill), River Cafe in Axminster or the Jack in the Green at Rockbeare. And that's before you get to Exeter!