This light and spacious sustainable and eco friendly new barn conversion is the perfect place to relax and “re-connect”. Three of the four bedrooms are on the ground floor; all have private en-suites with shower or bath. It has a large well equipped open plan kitchen, dining room and lounge areas, a games room and extensive outside patios/gardens. There’s lots of room to socialise and enjoy the comfort of the amenities, the beauty of the surroundings and the stunning views over the Severn Vale.
The space
Within only a few minutes of leaving the M5 you arrive at the peaceful oasis which is the Barn at Sundayshill. This beautiful, deceptively large, modern, eco-friendly conversion of an originally 18th century barn is designed to offer comfort and relaxation in a welcoming space.
One of the main features is the open-plan living area (its high ceiling supported by English oak beams) which faces due West. Two sets of double patio doors allow the light to flood in and provide step-free access to the large, entirely private, west terrace with spectacular country views over the Severn Vale. This large terrace has a table and eight chairs for al fresco dining; a charcoal BBQ and a separate fire pit. (Some charcoal and wood is provided with additional supplies available to buy from the hosts if required.) Beyond the garden/patio area is a flat lawn area for informal games. There are spectacular rural views over the River Severn and beyond into Wales whilst closer to home you see one of King Henry VIII’s hunting lodges and the ancient trees along the ridge of the Berkeley Castle deer park.
Inside, the lounge area provides ample space for your whole group to enjoy a relaxing evening together. There is a smart TV here and full very fast WiFi internet access is available throughout the Barn. Adjacent to the lounge is the open-plan dining room with a large table comfortably seating eight (again with those wonderful views to the West through a large picture window) and a fully-equipped kitchen with induction hob, full-size oven, microwave, fridge-freezer and dishwasher. There is also a washer-dryer and separate utility sink in the “boiler room”.
There are four bedrooms, all of a large size and each with its own private en-suite (one upstairs with a bath and three downstairs with showers). The one bedroom upstairs (double bed) has a Juliet balcony from which you can admire the views to the West and (hopefully!) glorious sunsets and night skies. At the top of the stairs there is a seating area with a desk. Downstairs, one bedroom (superking bed which can be converted to two singles) looks onto the East courtyard and the two others (one with double bed; one with two single beds) face west with large patio doors onto the terrace. Please note these three bedrooms are on the same level as the entrance, lounge/dining/kitchen areas and the outside terraces - there are no steps to negotiate.
A wide corridor leads from the lounge past two bedrooms and down four wide steps to a spacious games room with full-sized foldaway table tennis table, kitchenette and w.c. The room has TV and ethernet access points and huge glass doors leading onto a patio from which, in summer, you can enjoy both sunrise and sunset. In addition there are bi-fold doors to the South opening onto a beautifully landscaped patio area with a wooden bench and stone seating.
The Barn at Sundayshill is very carefully designed to sit unobtrusively within its beautiful country setting and attention has been paid to protecting the environment. There is underfloor heating throughout all areas of the ground floor which, along with all water heating, is powered by an ultra-efficient air-source heat pump. Much of the building work has used reclaimed materials and all the English oak was sourced locally and hand crafted. With the intention of offsetting some of the carbon footprint of the building the owners have planted over 150 hedging trees using native species from a tree nursery less than two miles away!
David & Louise, who live in the adjacent farm house, adopt an organic approach to their smallholding. Eggs (children are welcome to feed the hens and search for eggs!), vegetables in due season; organic apple juice from the surrounding trees and honey from hives kept on the neighbouring farm are all available to buy. Delicious cakes can also be pre-ordered from an exceptionally talented baker in the village!
There are many options for cycling from the door with beautiful country lanes to explore - ranging from gentle, shorter rides taking in the market towns of Thornbury and Berkeley to more ambitious outings over the River Severn to the Forest of Dean or up into the Cotswolds. If you bring bikes they can be safely stored in a secure building on the farm. There is lots of space for guests to park up to 6 cars. A public footpath passes through our property so you can literally walk into the surrounding countryside - real freedom!
This part of the South West is amazingly accessible, wonderfully quiet, largely unknown, unspoilt and unexplored!
David & Louise were delighted that The Guardian featured The Barn at Sundayshill in its online publication - an extract is available in the photo gallery.
Overall there is a very large amount of space both inside and out to enjoy being with family / friends.
There is the opportunity to charge an electric vehicle (via an external 13 amp socket) - this is subject to a separate payment on checkout dependent on use during your stay.
