Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes

The happy crackle of open fires

Pictures, they say, don’t do justice to Rushay. High above Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, 20 friends, colleagues or hens are just a game of croquet or a set of tennis away from letting go of life awhile. Take your dogs to the froth and fossils of Charmouth Beach and come home to the Aga, books and the happy crackle of open fires.

Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes

Froth, fossils and farm shops

A picture can paint 1000 words, they say. They’re wrong. Reviews here say images don’t do justice to Rushay, perched high on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. Life here is as slow and lulling as the roll of the tide, where up to 20 friends and family, colleagues or hens are just a game of croquet or a set of tennis away from letting go of life awhile.

Bring your dogs and walk 20 minutes to the froth and the fossils of rocky Charmouth Beach. Drop your wellies in the boot room and come home to the cosy comfort of a piping-hot Aga, the American fridge-freezer piled high with goodies from Felicity’s Farm Shop, a full bookcase, and the happy crackle of open fires.

There’s a house and cottage here in front of huge private gardens. Chuck some kebabs on the barbie, spread out on the west-facing terrace, slug it out on the tennis court or get genteel with a G and T and a mallet on the croquet lawn. Twist your way to success on the table football in the games room.

Indoors is a world of bright south- and west-facing reception rooms, high ceilings and waxed wooden floors. Bay windows beckon in the light, the gardens and the countryside beyond. Cosy up with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in the study, then retire to nine beautiful bedrooms and ear-splitting silence.

Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes

Garden and grounds

How’s your kick serve? Bring your Nikes because the all-weather tennis court stands ready for all-year-round action. Bring up to three dogs, too, for the fully enclosed, three-acre garden laid to lawn with apple orchard and paddocks. And bring your wellies for many a wander.

Pour a G and T for a convivial game on the sunken croquet lawn, awash with wild orchids in springtime. Walk from the garden to the sea in just 20 minutes. Wrap things up with a barbecue on the terrace, an evening staring at stars and maybe another gin or two. Why ever not?

Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday HomesRushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday HomesRushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday HomesRushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes
Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes
Living spacesLiving spacesLiving spacesLiving spaces

Living spaces

Beneath the huge, swooping tiled roofs, the bright, light reception rooms face south and west for your daily sunshine fix. This is a world of high ceilings and waxed wooden floors with bay windows that suck in the garden and the unspoilt views beyond. Cosy up around the drawing-room fire with good reads from the bookcase.

Escape to the cottage for a quieter sitting room and a social detox. Get together in the study for movies over Netflix and Amazon Prime Video streamed over the Plusnet Unlimited fibre broadband. Play table football in the games room. Rushay gives you special spaces in which to reunite or spaces to recharge.

Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes

Cooking and dining

There’s a toasty-warm Aga keeping the place cosy but if you just see it as a radiator, maybe it’s time to book in our chef. Chat to Connie Hawker about her party-friendly menus. Or keep the service coming with takeaways from Cinnamon’s in Axminster, Charmouth Fish Bar, or Red Panda for an Asian-inspired food fix.

Stock up the American-style fridge-freezer with hearty goodies from Felicity’s Farm Shop, Lyme Regis’ Town Mill bakery, and Lyme Bay Butchers. Wash it all down with fizz from Morrish and Banham Wines. Eat around the 20-seat dining table or out on the terrace with kebabs and burgers searing and sizzling on the coal barbecue.

Eat out at The Anchor Inn in Seatown, an award-winning gastropub with outdoor seating and sea views, or The Royal Oak, Charmouth for a ‘dirty bird’, spicy sausage pasta or slow-roasted pork belly. Or try The Pilot Boat in Lyme Regis for grilled seabass fillet, plant burger or ribeye steak.

Get your fish fix from Mark Hix’s Oyster and Fish House in Lyme Regis, with super-fresh menus that change according to the daily catch. Head to Lilac Restaurant and Wine Bar in Lyme Regis for pan-fried hake or chalkstream trout. Or will it be spaghetti, mussels and brown shrimp or violet aubergine at Brassica in Beaminster?

Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday HomesRushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday HomesRushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday HomesRushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes
Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes

Bedrooms

Close to the Jurassic Coast, on the edge of the chalk downlands peppered with mysterious hill forts and wrapped in three acres of grounds, Rushay delivers a great night’s sleep. Pick from nine bedrooms across two properties sleeping up to 20.

Bedrooms one and two on the first floor give you kingsize beds and south-facing aspects, while bedrooms three, four and five are first-floor doubles. Kids at the ready for bedroom six, an attic room with four singles, an en-suite shower and toilet. In the cottage, pick from three double bedrooms, one easy to access on the ground floor, with en suite shower and toilet.

Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes
What people say

What people say

An excellent stay, the house is perfect for large group gatherings. And a lovely location with a scenic walk down to Charmouth and the beach! Highly, highly recommended. - Joanne
We've spend a warm summer's week at Rushay with a big family (10 adults, 8 kids) and it was absolutely perfect! The house is very spacious, beautifully decorated and has everything you need. It is a short drive and also a not too long and very nice walk to the beach. But we actually spent a lot of time in the big garden and on the tennis court. We had a few very hot days but the house stayed cool and comfy and there's always some shade under one of the beautiful big trees. The host was very welcoming and helpful throughout the week. Couldn't have chosen a better spot for this special week! - Martin
This house was by far the best choice for my belated 40th. The house is immaculate and even nicer than the online pictures. The grounds are spacious and we were lucky to have good weather to enjoy outside. We had everything we needed and it comfortably accommodated our group of 24. (10 small children). The location is excellent being a short drive from Lyme Regis and Bridport. Honestly, it was a fantastic weekend away and I can’t thank the host enough for his hospitality and ease of booking. - Emma
Rushay - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes

Jurassic fantastic

Shoot clay at Wyld Court or brave the high ropes and zip wires at Tunnel Treetops. Recover with a tour and a pint of Dorset Gold at Palmer’s Brewery. Play the clifftop course at Lyme Regis Golf Club. Paddle at Seatown, hunt for fossils at Charmouth beach, or ride the narrow-gauge Seaton Tramway along the River Axe through two nature reserves.