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F&D
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FOOD & DRINK The Swan
“The interior of the pub is entirely inspired
by the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire
herself,” explains Nicola. “She was very
involved in choosing the decor and actual
feel of the pub and specifically wanted the
pictures we have in the conservatory.”
“The bedrooms however were all done
by me. I used to be a milliner and so that
whole aesthetic thing is key. The market is
so competitive now, the design is becoming
so important. Everybody wants a nice room
and so we have to make sure we have ticked
every box. The overall vision of a hotel can get
so lost in the day to day running of a business
like this and it does take time to put out the
beautiful flowers and make sure the room
looks lovely. But those sorts of things matter
so much so we make sure they are done.”
This is so apparent in every aspect.
Eclectic, but with an underlying calm
throughout, Nicola has managed to stamp
her sophisticated yet chintzy chic ??? style
on each room. “Everything is bought from
antiques fairs and such places, so all of the
pieces are individual. Nothing is uniform in
any way.”
“Our new riverside bedrooms have definitely
been inspired by the 1930’s Arts and Crafts
movement . I wanted to bring that feeling of
the beautiful countryside and nature into the
rooms. I wanted them to feel very natural.
Meanwhile, the downstairs rooms have
simple colours, greens, blues and pinks.
Everybody who has stayed in the rooms has
been very complimentary. “
Nicola has looked at every detail. The
bathrooms contain the luxurious Bantam
Jill Rayner went along to meet Nicola Orr-Ewing who runs the pub with her
husband Archie and is the style guru behind the breathtakingly simple but quite
beautiful style that is present in the five new riverside rooms.
bath products created by Nicola working with
an apothecarist in Oxfordshire. The bottles
are designed to stand beautifully together
and contain natural ingredients
“It is such a lovely setting with the river
outside the rooms, which you can swim in. It is
this that has inspired the rooms the most, and
it was brilliant to have such a blank canvas at
The Swan, I mean we literally had blank walls
to do what we liked with. That was quite a
luxury for such an historic venue.”
The Swan has been made famous again
recently as the setting for Lady Sybil’s
elopement in the un-missable Downton
Abbey, but the Mitford girls continue to
be a source of intrigue, “It’s great seeing
the customers come in and look at all the
pictures on our walls and want to know more
information about the place and the Mitford
Sisters and Asthall Manor, which is in fact
just a stone’s throw away and of course
three of the sisters, Nancy, Diana and Unity,
are buried at the local church. So there is
amazing history in the small village which
visitors very much enjoy finding out about.”
The rooms at the Swan are simply delightful.
If you are get the impression that I may be
gushing in my enthusiasm somewhat, that is
because I am.
For me this is the ideal place to spend
a weekend or even an evening away. It is
simply gorgeous. And if, décor and design
feature high on your must haves, read on.
Forget the motorway jams, airport hassle
and the need to eat into precious holiday
entitlement: just to spend a couple of days
with a partner or friend.
This is the place to meet up and meander by
the river or pop into Burford Garden Centre,
wander down the High Street and have lunch
a deux, or a dix, if the fancy takes you. Then
back to The Swan to gaze at photographs
from a bygone age and speculate what
happened when and where in the tales of
those daringly dashing Mitford lovelies Enjoy
dinner from the kitchen of Head Chef Matt
Laughton and finally, spend the evening
cocooned in fabulous fabrics and sleep
in crisp linens, and dream the dreams of
angels waking to sunshine and green fields,
breakfast, a stroll and home. No hassle, no
stress and no returning back more exhausted
then before you left.
A stylish Swinbrook staycation at The Swan
will definitely be on my bucket list for this
year. Make sure it’s also on yours.
To find out more about The Swan, visit
www.theswanswinbrook.co.uk
The Swan has recently won two
prestigious and must sought-after
awards - a County Dining Pub of the
Year award from The Good Pub Guide
and an Alastair Sawday’s Pub Award
for best ‘Pub With Rooms’ for 2013/14
who added it was “…everyone’s idea
of the perfect country pub”.