Woodford Bridge Country Club

HOTEL OVERVIEW

You know what? When I first pulled up to Woodford Bridge Country Club, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from this little corner of Devon. Milton Damerel isn’t exactly on anyone’s tourist map – it’s one of those villages you drive through on your way to somewhere else, tucked between Holsworthy and Bideford where the rolling hills start getting serious about being proper countryside. But that’s actually what makes this place work so well.

The moment you turn into their drive (and trust me, don’t rely entirely on your GPS here – the country lanes can be a bit cheeky), you get that immediate sense of space that’s hard to find these days. It’s a proper country club in the old-school sense, not some flashy resort trying too hard. The building itself has that solid, comfortable feel – you know, the kind where you can tell they’ve been doing this for a while and they’re not interested in following every design trend that comes along. I mean, the rooms are definitely well-appointed for a 4-star, but there’s something refreshingly unpretentious about the whole setup. The staff actually seem to know the area – when I asked about walking routes, they didn’t just hand me a generic leaflet but started drawing little maps and telling me which paths get muddy after rain and where to spot the best views across to Dartmoor on clear days.

What really got me was how quiet it is at night. I’m talking proper countryside quiet, where you might hear an owl or the distant sound of a tractor, but none of that constant hum you get used to in town. The dining room overlooks their grounds, and honestly, watching the evening light fade across those Devon fields while you’re working through their menu – well, it’s the sort of thing that makes you remember why people rave about the English countryside in the first place. They do a decent job with local ingredients too, though I’d probably skip the wine list and head to the Stag Inn down in the village if you’re after a proper local pint (about a fifteen-minute walk, nice little pub with locals who’ll chat your ear off if you let them). The 8.4 rating makes sense when you add it all up – it’s not trying to be the Ritz, but for what it is, they’ve got the details right. Good shower pressure, comfortable beds, and parking right outside your door without any of that urban anxiety about finding a space. If you’re looking for countryside peace without completely roughing it, and you don’t mind being a bit off the beaten track, this is exactly the sort of place that’ll have you planning your next visit before you’ve even checked out.