Country retreats that are hard to beat

At last. After months of diary thrashing – or perhaps just one recklessly decisive dinner – it’s confirmed. You and your closest friends are off for a long overdue, seriously sporting weekend. Inevitably you’re tailed by assorted spouses, children and dogs, all displaying wildly varying degrees of enthusiasm. So where to go? Hotels strip away stress, but also intimacy. No one’s brave enough to suggest self-catering after the last debacle, and that friend with a large, impeccably positioned gent’s res seems selfishly reluctant to make the same mistake twice. If only there was a fully staffed home large enough to fit everyone exclusively and comfortably – no pokey attic rooms – complete with top-notch hospitality, hot water galore and sporting thrills coupled with alternative amusement for those whose idea of a good time inexplicably doesn’t involve windswept moorland. Is it too much to ask?

Gordon Robinson from the Royal Berkshire Shooting School regularly accompanies clients to exactly this sort of house and is clear about the standards required. “Most places charge a lot of money, so