The Courtyard & The Hedgerow at Wainhill

Dogfriendly Magazine Review

Read our comprehensive review of this listing printed in our bi-monthly magazine.

The Hedgerow, Wainhill
Review by: Vicky Kaderbhal

There is only one word that can sufficiently describe The Hedgerow at Wainhill and that’s cosy.  The Hedgerow is a gorgeous timber lodge that offers a dog friendly self-catered holiday. Belonging to Katrina who gave us a warm welcome, the Hedgerow overlooks The Ridgeway National Trail in the heart of The Chilterns.  With its own driveway and private parking, and its own secure garden, we were able to get settled in nice and quickly while allowing our dogs Buddy and Rory a chance to explore without worrying about them.

The view of the hills from the cottage is spectacular, especially in the early autumn light and we had a chance to admire them in more detail as we made our way over to the horses that live on the property. With horses, chickens, and family dogs, this definitely feels like a truly rural getaway. Fantastic really when you consider that it’s only an hour outside of London. Katrina certainly had dogs and humans in mind when she thought about our arrival. The homemade cheddar cheese biscuits went down very well with Buddy and Rory, and my husband and I wasted no time sampling the delicious cookies that had been left for us. We were also thoughtfully provided with a dog bowl, bed, throw and towel.

Deciding we needed to walk off the cookies and biscuits we made our way up to the hill, which is just a short walk away and enjoyed walking under a canopy of trees and meandered our way down to the village of Chinnor. It was a great walk and secure enough to let the dogs off the lead for a good stretch of their legs.

It may only be a village, but Chinnor has everything you could need, a convenience store, post office, restaurants, and the dog friendly Red Lion pub where we stopped for a quick drink and dog treats from the bar.

It had been a long week for us, so the idea of getting to snuggle on the sofa, rather than eating out on our first night, deeply appealed. We leafed through the welcome pack Katrina had kindly left for us and found Duo Chef’s, a fusion Indian restaurant we had spotted in the village and decided to order a takeaway. I cannot recommend this place enough – the food was fresh, hot, and delicious. I would especially recommend the chilli paneer.

With The Hedgerow being located in the tiny hamlet of Wainhill, when the sun went down, there were no streetlights to guide us, so we decided on an early night. The bed was comfy and made for a great night’s sleep. Even though the cottage is small, there are still sliding doors separating the bedroom from the living area, so we were able to get some space from our snoring pooches.

Up early the next day, we wanted to make the most of the little time we had, so we had an early start and after chatting to Katrina about some of the exciting things to do in the area, including Waddesdon Manor, Bicester Village and the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Steam Railway, we decided to head into Thame after Katrina told us that it was the setting for the fictional town of Causton in the TV series Midsomer Murders. As I’ve always been a fan of the show, we decided that it had to be our first stop. Thame is only about a 15-minute drive from The Hedgerow and as we made our way down the main street, I instantly recognised some of the sights from the show.

The dogs enjoyed the fact that a lot of the shops were dog friendly, and we stopped at The Coffee House for a bite to eat, with the dogs loving all the fuss they received from the staff.

Our next stop was an exciting one for me as I have loved The Vicar of Dibley for as long as I can remember so when I found out that the little village of Turville, where they filmed the exterior shots was only 20 minutes away, I knew that we would be making a special trip to go see it. It’s tucked away down tiny country lanes and made for a fun drive. It was all so instantly recognisable, the vicar’s house, the village green, the church and the hill where they film shots looking down at the village. Wanting to be able to take in the whole village, we decided to take a walk up the hill – it does get steep at one point but luckily, I had our Golden Retriever Mix Buddy to pull me up, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Rory wasn’t quite as helpful to my husband, but he still made it up there nonetheless.

The views were most definitely worth it and we stopped to take in the sights and get some more photos of the village and the surrounding Chiltern hills while the dogs got down to sniffing the new terrain.

The Bull and Butcher, in the centre of the village, is dog friendly and has a great size beer garden if you fancy sitting outside with your drink while you admire the views.

After spending most of the day out, when we did eventually make it back to the cottage Rory and I were ready for a nap. This is never the case for Buddy, who is always raring to go, so my husband took him back out for one more adventure. It’s one of the great things about this location, my husband was able to be up in the hills with Buddy within minutes, happy to have some time to explore on his own.

He said he found it steep in places but yet again Buddy came to the rescue and dragged him over the parts he struggled with. After about an hour, Rory and I had rallied just enough energy to go and find them, and we followed the same route. We bumped into plenty of other dog walkers, and it was great to feel safe enough to walk Rory off the lead on my own.

Back at the cottage and with Buddy finally admitting defeat and having a proper sleep, we decided to stay in again for our second night and utilise the well-stocked kitchen. It had everything we needed to make a meal from scratch with ingredients we bought fresh from Thame. The kitchen comes equipped with a full set of kitchen utensils, oven, dishwasher, and microwave, as well as complimentary tea, coffee and filtered water.

It was another early night for us but not before we got to use the amazing shower cabin that you can hook your phone up to, one last time. The bathroom is also well equipped, with towels, toiletries, and a hairdryer.

Visiting in the autumn, with the early dark nights and lower temperatures, it was such a cosy experience, shutting the blinds and cuddling on the sofa but I think it would be great to go back to The Hedgerow in the spring or summer to get to explore the hills much later into the evening and sit out on the decking with a glass of something chilled in hand while the dogs run in and out.

The Hedgerow is the kind of place you go when you want a proper break, the peaceful atmosphere and beautiful surroundings make for a real break from reality. All four of us thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Hedgerow at Wainhill and it was great to finally find a place that was able to exhaust even our most energetic dog. We only had two nights at The Hedgerow and we both agreed that if we had more time, we would spend it exploring the local villages.

The Hedgerow isn’t the only accommodation that is on offer, as The Courtyard also sits on the same property. This is a two-bedroom B&B that offers the same amazing views but with the option of an extra bedroom and breakfast included. Perfect for more than two people or for those looking to sample the best local ingredients that the Chilterns has to offer.

The Hedgerow, Wainhill, review by Vicky Kaderbhal and appears in DogFriendly magazine issue 70.  For more information on the DogFriendly magazine visit https://www.dogfriendly.co.uk/magazine