Everything Retreat, in the Ribble Valley, offers luxurious privacy, views to relax into, and easy access to some simply fabulous dining
The Ribble Valley is possibly one of the North West’s best secrets. Just an hour from pretty much anywhere in Cheshire, it’s home to some of the best dining in the region, glorious countryside, villages packed with independent shops and some rather smashing sleepover options, including the rather different Everything Retreat.
Opened at the end of 2022, Everything Retreat is an idyllic, adult-only getaway (dogs are welcome), designed especially to help guests to rest, restore and re-connect. The retreat consists of 12 individual lodges, each with its own private hot tub and glorious views across the rolling hills of the Ribble Valley. The interior of each lodge is beautifully designed, with everything you could desire neatly fitted into a bijoux space, including a vast bed, a petite but well-equipped kitchen (should the urge to self-cater attack) and a compact shower room. Outside, each lodge has its own private terrace taking full advantage of the views, and a hot tub, which for my husband was a major draw.
We visited on a chill April weekend (it honestly felt like summer would never arrive) and after coffee and cakes with owner Louise Monk, were taken to our lodge, Byre, a classically English themed space, with William Morris wallpaper, rustic wood and luxurious velvet immediately setting just the right scene. WIth underfloor heating and a wood-burning stove, which Mike soon had up and roaring, the lodge was a cosy escape from the cold and we felt immediately ready to relax and let the week go.
Everything Retreat has a concierge service, all part of the ethos that every guest feels very special, and when we booked we took full advantage, requesting recommendation for dinner, taxis and local walks. Louise managed to find us a table at the Michelin-starred nearby Northcote Manor, a treat we’d been talking about for some time but had failed to actually plan until now. She also arranged for cars to take us there and back (the roads are dark and winding, local knowledge is definitely recommended, plus then you can both try the wine flight...).
Before our car arrived, we headed to the newly opened on-site bar, where we started our evening with an aperitif of Everything Retreat’s very own gin, made for Louise by local distiller Wild Fox, who visited the grounds and selected the botanicals to flavour the gin from what they found there. It’s delicious; light and floral sweet, but with the proper gin kick.
Dinner at Northcote was everything we’d hoped for. A classically stylish hotel, but with no pretensions, we felt immediately relaxed and welcome. We headed first to the bar, where after being settled onto a comfy sofa and provided with a cocktail, we were talked through our menu for that night. Northcote checks with diners on booking whether they have any food allergies or intolerances, and adjusts their seasonal five-course menu to suit. It means no discomfort on arrival, and you spot your greatest food fear on the list.
On arrival at our table we were presented with ‘snacks’. A tiny, luscious Butter Pie, the classic Lancashire icon elevated to melt-in-the-mouth deliciousness, and an incredibly pretty mouthful of chicken liver parfait. If these were the snacks, what joys were we about to experience?
The first course, a set celeriac custard, topped with an apple jelly and studded with pearls of frozen horseradish and tiny apple spheres, was accompanied by a caviar topped miniature crumpet. Oh my, smooth and rich and full of those umami flavours of the best winter foods, it was positively inhaled.
Next came the course I was slightly worries about – roasted veal sweetbread in rice flour batter with a white mushroom mousse, tiny pickled Japanese shimeji mushrooms, shitake and tarragon oil. My first sweetbread – and definitely the best way to start. Absolutely delicious; the mix of flavours and textures was superb. I am not sure I dare try sweetbreads again, however, unless Lisa Goodwin-Allen is in charge. Having pre-warned I don’t eat fish, our next course was an off-menu dream – a presentation that looked like nothing more than a bowl of crisps, below lay a soft pomme puree, topped with Jerusalem artichoke consommé, a slow-cooked Cracklebean egg (I asked – apparently these eggs are particularly loved by chefs for their rich flavour and naturally vivid orange yolk, and are laid by the rare Arlington White chickens, so now we know) and topped by fresh made crisps, all finished with a dusting of vinegar powder. I must have made such a sound of pleasure with my first taste the table next to us laughed and asked. Happy to share the joy, I explained. They were having turbot, however, so we win.
Every course is accompanied, should you choose, by wine selected by Northcote’s sommelier, and he definitely knows his pairing. From an incredible Pinot Gris from Marlborough with the sweetbreads to a sharply sweet Pinot Noir Austrian pudding wine with the dessert, it was a world tour of wine deliciousness.
We drifted back to Everything Retreat comfortably replete and sank into their specially-made mattresses for a night of deep and rejuvenating sleep – after a quick 20 minutes in the hot tub, of course. The joy of having your own, private hot tub just five steps from your door cannot be overestimated, I assure you.
The next morning, as pre-arranged with the concierge, a wooden box filled with fresh fruit, fresh pastries, juice, cereals, bread, cheese and ham was left for us to enjoy at our leisure, and enjoy it we did. There’s something gloriously decadent about lounging in one’s pyjamas on a cloud-like bed, enjoying fresh strawberries and a chocolate croissant while watching Netflix. Mike hit the hot tub again, but I was too comfortable to move, so simply waved at him through the window.
We only stayed one night, but Everything Retreat was just what we needed to escape from real life for a short while. We felt totally looked-after, properly pampered and cared for. The accommodation was beautiful and the service impeccable. If you fancy a gourmet tour of the Ribble Valley, this is definitely the place to choose to stay, allowing Louise and her team to plan your stay – she can even help you out with mapping the local walks you will absolutely need if you’re hitting all the top foodie hotspots.
