Mum Travel Moments

Where? The Pig at Combe, Gittisham, Devon 

When? February

Who? My husband and two daughters (4 months old and 2 years old)

Arriving back at The Pig at Combe, driving up the long and winding driveway, we immediately remembered why we love this hotel. It really is a country idyll. While it’s a little further from London than we might sometimes go for a weekend, the cute villages with honey-coloured brickwork and thatched cottages galore, the rolling hills and views over sheep fields and woodland, really do make you feel like you’ve properly got away from it all.

It’s been seven years since our last visit and how time flies. Back then we were pre-marriage and pre-babies, and our weekend at The Pig at Combe was indulgent and cocktail-filled. We arrived hoping that even with children in tow, we might still be able to achieve some of this – albeit with a little more running around and a little less time to relax.

Room & Building

The Pig at Combe is a beautiful old country manor, with impressive panelled rooms and roaring fires throughout. Decorated in the Pig’s signature style, old-school artwork, quirky lamps and comfy antique sofas abound throughout. The main bar is particularly impressive, with glorious latticed windows and a huge array of beautiful glassware and bottles on the shelves behind.

We were staying in a family room which was ideal for a family of four – and could easily have accommodated a third child if needed. Two well proportioned bedrooms, one with a four poster king bed and one with bunk beds for little ones, and two bathrooms, plus extra space in the hallway for coats, shoes, kids paraphernalia etc.

The Pig does bathrooms well, and the main bathroom was particularly lovely with a freestanding roll-top bath and a large monsoon shower that was so powerful it felt like you were having a massage each time you went in. Bramley bath products as standard and even an extra bottle of baby bath bubbles had been thoughtfully added for us. 

Home-made cookies and a complimentary bottle of Pig Cut wine were also welcome treats.

Our room was in the converted stable block, a very pretty spot with one downside of the cobbled courtyard being slightly tricky when going back and forth to the room with the baby buggy. Despite that we enjoyed the short walk through the gardens to the main house each day and it was nice to have extra outdoor space on the doorstep of the room for our rampaging two year old.

Food & Drink

Food is, of course, at the heart of any stay at a Pig hotel with their focus on seasonality and local produce. The main restaurant is housed in a light-filled, high-ceilinged room overlooking an outdoor terrace and the fields beyond. It strikes a good balance between special occasion and relaxed country comfort – smart enough to feel like a treat, but unstuffy enough that you don’t feel too on edge with a (generally well-behaved) toddler in tow. We also really enjoyed lunch at The Folly – an additional daytime restaurant serving flatbreads and light bites in one of the buildings out in the grounds.

Much of the Pig at Combe’s produce comes straight from the hotel’s own gardens or else from local suppliers, which is great and means that even simple dishes have extra thought behind them. There’s also a children’s menu, and the staff couldn’t have been more accommodating to us with the two children at mealtimes.

Breakfast is a real highlight and worth lingering over. The buffet table is filled with large flaky pastries, homemade granola, fresh fruit compotes, thick local yoghurt, and freshly baked bread, alongside cold cuts and cheeses. You can also order hot dishes from the menu, from a full English with locally sourced sausages and bacon, to smashed garden peas with chilli and poached eggs.

The Pig’s cocktail menu remains every bit as impressive as we remembered. As with the food, many ingredients are picked straight from the garden, from rosemary and thyme to berries and orchard fruit. While our evenings were slightly less late-night than in our pre-children era, we still managed a couple of expertly mixed drinks by the fire. The negronis were particularly good. On our last night our daughter was also presented with her very own mocktail making kit, with sliced citrus fruit, syrups and juices to mix together herself. While perhaps a little advanced for a two year old, it was fun for us big kids to help out with!

Out & About

One of the nicest things about the hotel is the beautiful grounds it sits within, including their expansive kitchen gardens, ancient oak and cedar trees and surrounding fields. The walled kitchen gardens with their neatly organised beds and paths lit up at nighttime were just starting to show the beginnings of Spring. Joining in with one of the daily tours led by the head gardener was a nice activity to do with our toddler, pointing out the mushroom house, the different fruits and vegetables and the quails in their little hutch.

The wider estate is perfect for a longer walk. Even on a wet winter’s day, a trundle to the end of the long gravel driveway and back was a good opportunity to see a bit more of the surrounding countryside and point out the sheep and horses to the little ones.

Beyond the hotel, the Jurassic Coast is within easy reach, and there’s plenty nearby to keep little ones entertained. A trip to The Donkey Sanctuary was a definite highlight – it’s free to visit and features beautifully kept gardens, children’s play areas, buggy-friendly paths and educational displays showcasing the work of the charity around the world. After a bit of coaxing, our toddler loved meeting some of the donkeys and giving them a cautious pat. We also visited nearby Sidmouth for a blustery seaside stroll and fish and chips by the sea. Just down the road, Heron Farm Vineyard offers organic wines, pretty vineyard walks and a lovely café/restaurant. Wildwood Devon is a great little family adventure, with wildlife including wolves, bears, wild boar, peacocks and owls. It also has indoor soft play, outdoor play areas and a maze to explore.

Thoughts on Departure

For us, the Pig at Combe really delivered for a short break that, even with young children, still managed to feel relaxing and fun. The team there is so friendly and accommodating and the good food, beautiful surroundings and cozy spaces to park up for an hour or two made it feel like a proper break.

Seven years on, life may look very different for us, but The Pig at Combe still delivered that same sense of indulgent countryside escape, even with nappies, toddler wellies and colouring books in the mix.

We were sad to leave!