Wildhive is the brainchild of delightful hotelier Ed Burrows and his business partner Charles Randall, with the backing of wealthy investors. As well as the 15 lovely bedrooms in the house, there are wooden “hives” and treehouses – very rustic and cosy ones – in the woods above for those wanting a more natural experience.
Burrows and his equally personable general manager Jeremy Whitworth are aiming for guests to feel truly at home. Staff are natural, there is a jigsaw puzzle that everyone helps with and plenty of places to flop, while the bar is the forum for cocktails with a kick. When a family walked in and instinctively took off their outdoor shoes, padding about in socks and bare feet, Burrows was thrilled. “Oh look at that,” he beamed. “Just what we want.”
There’s plenty to do. You can have a treatment in the Coach House spa, book a gym or yoga session, play on the games lawn, take directions and gear from the Map Room and go walking, or borrow bikes, including electric ones, and go cycling along the Tissington Trail up into the Peak District. Dawdle in the village of Tissington with its sweet and candle shops – and do see if Tissington Hall is open, where Sir Richard Fitzherbert will give you, by arrangement, an amusing tour of a house that has been occupied by his family since 1609.