Up in Derbyshire for a couple of nights and couldn't have landed in a better location. Dethick is a very small village ( the population is soon to increase to 5, we were told!) and the farmhouse is on the site from which Babington hatched his plot to spring Mary Queen of Scots and put her on the throne. That ended badly for him, but we had a wonderful stay. Gilly is a superb hostess; the accommodation was excellent, and so was the breakfast, which you eat in the stunning kitchen, while chatting with your hostess and other guests as she cooks it! Very peaceful and quiet. Make sure you take in the view from the tiny church alongside the farmhouse, and look inside too. You can get the key from the farmhouse. We usually stay with relatives when in Derbyshire, but, whenever we don't, we will look to stay here.

We stayed for one night at the Manor Farmhouse, and wished we could have had a longer visit, as the setting is perfect, and there are so many places of interest within easy driving distance. We received a warm welcome, with hot drinks and cake on arrival, and Gilly helpfully provided a recommendation for a local pub, and even booked it for us. The pub was good, by the way - The Jug and Glass - within walking distance. Make sure you take the walk through the churchyard, past the stream, to cross the bridge to the pub - idyllic.

The house itself was historic and full of features, such as the Tudor fireplace in the kitchen, but the rooms were sympathetically decorated to a high specification while retaining features such as beams. The fixtures and fittings were of good quality, and our room was spacious and spotlessly clean. We had a comfortable night's sleep, and were treated to a great, freshly prepared cooked breakfast, made with local, good quality ingredients. Gilly was friendly and a very attentive host, paying attention to detail, and she made our short stay a pleasure.

We are telling all our friends to book in at this farmhouse, as we thought it could be the best B&B we have ever stayed in. What we didn't tell Gilly was, we work as mystery dining assessors and usually visit and report on 4/5 star hotels. Although we were not carrying out an assessment visit on this occasion, I can confirm that only a few have come up to Gilly's high standards, and she could teach some chain hotels how to give good customer service!

Thanks for a lovely stay Gilly - we are likely to be back!

Both my wife and daughter have enjoyed reading Alison Uttley's "A Traveller In Time" and discovering that "Thackers" in the book is based on Manor Farm was, as my wife said, a bit like discovering that Narnia really exists. The real delight was realising that it was possible to stay there as B&B guests.
We enjoyed a three night stay at The Manor Farmhouse, incorporating my wife's birthday, two nights of the stay having been a present from our daughter. From the moment we arrived we knew that we were in for a treat. The setting of the farm, with the adjoining church whets your appetite for the building as you approach Dethick - it really is like stepping back in time and the first view of the house itself does not disappoint.
Gilly showed us to our room and welcomed us with tea and cake. Chatting like an old friend she was a mine of information about the house, the parish and the area.
The room was spacious, very comfortable and well-equipped, with furnishings very much to our taste, and all spotlessly clean. The en-suite shower room was of a good size and similarly clean and well supplied with toiletries.
Breakfast is served in the large Tudor kitchen that was the heart of the old Manor House. There was a good range of choices for breakfast, all prepared freshly by Gilly using top quality ingredients. Whilst we ourselves have no special dietary requirements, it was impressive the effort that Gilly made to ensure that all were taken into consideration. Breakfast is ordered the previous evening, but this is completely understandable when the choices include naturally smoked haddock (a generous portion) served with poached egg.
During our stay nothing was too much trouble for Gilly, and we will certainly be returning.