Amazing Spaces | The Outbuilding Appledore near Rye, Kent

One of the main things that I look for when spending the night away together is wherever we’re staying has to be way nicer than our house. I mean, that’s the whole point, isn’t it? I love to travel but I equally love my home comforts – especially my own bed since we’ve invested in a Simba mattress which has made getting up in the mornings way harder than it ever used to be. When I stumbled across The Outbuilding Appledore on the Kent/Sussex borders near Rye, it ticked pretty much all of our boxes – my yearning to live somewhere like this was huge.

This luxury self-catering home was designed by lifestyle journalist Amy Maynard and is run by Amy and her husband Charlie. The space was previously the family’s garage and workshop and has now been beautifully rebuilt as a holiday home – in their back garden. I must admit, we did feel a tad apprehensive at the thought of staying in someone’s home but the place looked so gorgeous, I couldn’t resist.

We felt we needed an excuse for a night away and luckily we had one – my birthday was coming up, shortly followed by Ade’s a week later. Having just returned from Sicily, a one night staycation in the UK really appealed. After heavily researching the area (so basically looking up where we should eat, because that’s all that matters), we settled upon The Globe Inn for meal number one on route to our home for the night. What a fine example of how a British pub should be, we fell in love from the moment we clapped eyes on it. Brimming with quirkiness but not in a trying-too-hard kind of way – the service and food was top-notch too. The Farmhouse Platter (£16.45) piled high with cured meats, Merguez sausage, local smoked cheddar and crusty bread was delicious. Ade adored this little pub so much he wanted to come back for dinner.

After reluctantly dragging ourselves away from the pub and another short journey in the car, we arrived at Amy’s home just as she was nipping out to collect her children from school, she gave us instructions on where to find the key and told us to make ourselves at home. I knew from the moment I walked in that we should have either gotten here earlier or booked two nights – or both. I panicked that I hadn’t factored in enough time for a long candlelit soak in the beautiful cast-iron tub that took centre stage in our bedroom, there was even a range of mood-dependent bath oils to choose from – such a lovely touch. Nor could I guarantee that Ade would have time to rustle up a fire for us in the cast iron log burner (spoiler alert, he didn’t).

The Outbuilding Appledore was stunning, so well designed and thought out – I decided I could quite happily live here. All I wanted to do was sway back and forth on the rocking chair with wine in hand (post-bath in a white hotel robe, of course), light the fire (well, get Ade to do it), stick the TV on and order in a delivery but Ade had other ideas. Apparently it isn’t acceptable to behave like this on your birthday, staying in isn’t allowed – I was told we were off to the pub. A twenty-minute walk away via country lanes, bouncy lambs, oast houses and luscious landscapes was The Ferry Inn.

We arrived just as the sun was setting and it was truly idyllic, unfortunately it was beginning to get a bit nippy so we sat indoors to eat. After sinking a local(ish) ale, it was an upscale ham, eggs and chips for me – 8oz Bacon steak, Mackley Farm eggs, thick beef dripping chips and a wholegrain mustard sauce (£12.95). Ade went for the Pan-roasted duck (£16.45) with a port and cherry sauce with he mopped up every last drop with his rosti potato. The menu is very scallop-focused and maybe I should have gone down that route especially as the food prices here were pretty hefty and we slightly regretted our choice in choosing this pub for dinner. On the plus side, there was a rather adorable pub dog so it wasn’t all bad.

Still, the walk ‘home’ was fun. It was pitch black and suddenly those country lanes took on a slightly dramatic feel – armed with torches (thanks for the tip Amy) we felt like extras in The Blair Witch Project. We walked in single file, hoping not too many cars would pass us, luckily they didn’t. Amy did say to text if we didn’t fancy the walk home and her husband would come and pick us up, a very kind offer and the kind of service you only get from staying somewhere like this. Back safely in The Outbuilding Appledore, we cracked open a bottle of wine and caught up with some work on the festoon-lit terrace before it got too cold and we came in to cuddle up on the sofa – sadly with no log fire crackling away in the background (Ade didn’t want to make a mess, apparently).

Amy even provided gorgeous blooms, just for us

We slept soundly and rose at usual work time for our morning work Instagram posts and email catch ups over coffee. The kitchen in The Outbuilding Appledore is fully equipped with everything we needed – including a Nespresso machine that, for once, I managed to work out first time. Social media-ing from our bed whilst peering through the patio doors to the beautiful garden was a fabulous way to start the day.

After grudgingly packing away our belongings, we sat at the kitchen table working, (oh how we wish we could switch off completely) I pretended this was my actual house and life. Sadly, 11am came and it was time to head off, on the plus side this meant brunch and I knew exactly where we were going for that. The Whitehouse Rye, in the gorgeous town of nearby Rye (obviously). The menu here was great and we both beat ourselves up for ages trying to decide what to have. In the end I settled on The Mexican (£9) with spicy pulled pork, beans, avocado, charred corn, lime pickled onions and tortillas – so LA and just what I needed. Meanwhile, Ade had a dish equally as good called The Sausage Situation (£9) – a sausage patty, chilli jam, poached eggs, spinach, crispy fried potatoes and a dill aioli.

Coffee was great too and their cake and pastry counter is pure torture when you’re on Slimming World and you’ve already screwed up for two days straight (not counting the week in Sicily). We grabbed a rather amazing cherry bakewell for Ade to have when we got back – it certainly helped to prolong our ‘break’ and cheered us up after walking back into our rather plain house.

Thank you, thank you and thrice thank you!

Mission accomplished, The Outbuilding Appledore – you’ve created an exceptional place. Not only does it look fantastic but it’s just as suitable for families, babies and dogs are welcome too, it’s certainly not very often somewhere nails all three so successfully. This is way more than a shed in someone’s back garden.

Rates start from £140 a night for two guests, depending on the day of the week.

Find out more here

Make a booking here

Appledore, Ashford, Kent, TN26 2BX
Telephone: 07813 092641
Email: amy@theoutbuildingappledore.com

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We stayed as guests of The Outbuilding, this does not affect our review in any way. We always write with complete honesty.