After years of swooning over the Soho Farmhouse via Instagram, I (Kay) finally made it there! I had a work trip in New York and since my friend/colleague and I were practically halfway to London, we decided to jump across the pond to have some fun after a big meeting.  We split the trip up into two parts – Central London + Countryside.  I am going to focus this post on the countryside since it was my first time to Oxfordshire…and definitely won’t be the last!

Soho Farmhouse
LOVED the Soho Farmhouse.  It’s an exclusive, trendy, relaxing and swanky 100 acre property with 10 garden rooms, 40 cabins, a four-bedroom cottage , 40 piglets and a seven-bedroom farmhouse. If you are a member you can stay any time, but if you aren’t you are limited to the nights you can reserve a room.  Typically it’s Sunday-Thursday.  I would recommend booking in advanced since it is popular with members and non-members like us.  We decided to book the Piglets.  It’s the perfect size for two people…not a suite, but cozy enough for two adults with luggage.  The room was well stocked with Cowshed products and toiletries.  (Hold this thought for a moment…I need to rewind and go back to the beginning.

To get to the Soho Farmhouse, you can arrive by train from Central London (exit Charlbury Station).  We left from Paddington Station and took the Bakerloo (brown line) towards Charlbury.  I arranged with Soho Farmhouse to have a driver pick us up at the station to deliver us to the Farmhouse.  It was about a 15 minute drive and costs £25.  Another option is to hire a driver.  Cost is £220 (which includes a £20 city fee for going into Central London.  If you do roundtrip, it might be less. We hired a driver to collect us from the Farmhouse to take us back to London – it was easier to coordinate timing of departure so we didn’t have to rely on the train schedule.  Next time we go we might go directly to the Farmhouse from LHR by driver and stay two nights and then have the driver take us to London. (Driver info: Arthur, +44 771 440 8373) Arthur is the best!!  He asked if we wanted to drive by Oxford for a little tour which sounded like a brilliant plan, but car sickness got in my way.  YEP, that happened! Not going to get into details about the episode, but it wasn’t my finest moments.   Not sure why I got car sick – it wasn’t Arthur’s driving or the roads. Might have been the massive amounts of coffee I had in my body with no food.  Felt much better after arriving back in London, just in time for our lunch at Honey & Co.  Also – I purchased the RELIEF BAND to avoid any future episodes of car sickness.  It works! (T & I used it on the trains in Japan)

Okay, enough about transportation – back to the fun! Upon arrival at the Farmhouse, you are welcomed with a cup of mulled wine and the most lovely staff.  They check you in and take your bags, which will be delivered to your room.  Our Piglet wasn’t ready yet, so we were taken by trolley to the Main Barn area.  Walked into paradise! It was such a beautiful setting with some great people watching! We ordered some wine while we waited for our Piglet! Our friends that lived in London, came out to have a Sunday Roast with us.  Once they arrived we headed into the Main Barn where we enjoyed a proper Sunday Roast.  Meat, vegetables, popover, potatoes and ended the meal with pudding.  Yes – PUDDING! (aka dessert!)  The chocolate chip cookie bake was DELICIOUS! Post-Sunday Roast we walked to our Piglet room and were happy to see two bikes with our names parked outside, two sets of wellies, and the coziest of rooms.

Later that night, we walked and checked out the Hay Barn and the Mill Room.  Hay Barn is a lovely restaurant and the Mill Room is a bar with a stage for live music.  After having our Monkey 47 cocktails, we headed back to our Piglet where we had a good night sleep.  The next morning we woke up to fresh milk outside our door along with the newspaper.  After enjoying a couple cups of coffee (the milk was TOO good for just one cup), we headed out on our bikes and toured the property.  We rode passed the garden, the cinema, the cabins, 7-bedroom farmhouse and the boathouse.  Stopping at the boathouse we enjoyed the indoor/outdoor pool (heated) for about an hour.  Wishing we had more time – a sauna visit and an indoor spin class probably could have helped us fully enjoy the Farmhouse.  (Next time!)

My first impression of the Soho Farmhouse was excellent…a lot of detail went into creating this countryside retreat for all ages.  If you ever have a chance to go to the Farmhouse, we highlight suggest it! We will be back soon!