Hastings Retreat
Your Hosts
We love the countryside and family life and are happy that we can share our life experience with you. You’ll see John and I pottering around the grounds, so please stop and have a chat, and feel free to reach out if you need anything at all. We are here to help. We hope you have a lovely stay.
We’ll hopefully be around to welcome you to Hastings Retreat and are happy to answer any queries you may have. If you need anything urgently, please call us:
Dawn · 07946 544214
John · 07977 552009
…or you can send any other messages using the contact form here.
Please abide by our few simple house rules to make everyone’s stay more enjoyable.
If you’ve requested a sofa bed on your online check-in form, we’ll make sure your bed linen is prepared for you. The fitted sheet will already be on the bed, and your duvet and pillows will be stored either in the under-stairs cupboard or in the lift-up ottoman section of the grey sofa, depending on your property. Towels will be provided and stored underneath the TV.
You can walk through the wood on the right-hand side of the lake by going through the gate to the right, following the driveway until you see a path through the trees on the right. Walk through the wood until you meet the path at the end, turn left here and exit onto the road. Turn right down the road and keep walking straight past the village shop — The Pavillion Bar is on the left and The Halfway House is further down the same street on the left.
Across the golf course following the yellow markers, then underneath the motorway following the paths which lead to the field path to Packington. A nice walk, but a taxi back might be a wise move!
Ashby de la Zouch is full of great pubs. There’s a Wetherspoons at the bottom of the street. The Tap at 76 and Brew, both at the top of the street, are great for ale connoisseurs. The White Hart (at the top) is great for live music on a Saturday night. For cocktails, The Vine on Bath Street followed by The Cocktail Bar in Rushtons Yard are a must. The Lamb and The Bulls Head are both lively at the weekend too.
If you fancy a short drive into the countryside, The Tollgate Brewery have opened their rustic outdoor bar, boasting their own ales and speciality lagers. There’s often a barbecue with great burgers — a truly unique experience, highly recommended, we love it.
Open 12 noon – 9pm Tuesday–Saturday, 12 noon – 5pm Sunday.
This micro pub serves beers from The Tollgate Brewery and also has many guest beers and a wonderful atmosphere.
Tue–Thu 4pm–10pm · Fri 3pm–10pm · Sat 12 noon–10pm · Sun 12 noon–9pm.
This micro pub serves amazing beers from all over the world!
Thu & Fri 4pm–10.30pm · Sat 2pm–10.30pm · Sun 2pm–8pm.
There are also larger pubs in Ashby including Wetherspoons, The Bulls Head & The White Hart (live band every Saturday night).
You’ll need to make a reservation at most local restaurants at the weekend. Ashby has Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian and English cuisines, and many offer takeaway and delivery. You’ll find a few takeaway menus in your accommodation. There are too many to list, but here are a few of my favourites.
Our closest café is at Hicks Lodge Cycle Centre, easily reached on foot · Menu.
There are many cafés in Ashby de la Zouch, but I’d recommend:
There’s also an excellent café serving great food at Shortheath, easily accessible on a cycle or a long walk (approx 2.3 miles) · Visit. If you fancy wandering down the canal on foot or by cycle, The Hub Café at Moira Furnace is a great place to stop for refreshments (approx 2.3 miles) · Visit.
There are plenty of walking and cycling routes straight from our doorstep — start right next door and keep walking.
You can access Hicks Lodge by walking up behind the hedge to the left-hand side of the driveway. Follow the bark-chipping path up the field and through the hedge. Go through the 5-bar gate and straight across the field towards the spinney at the top of the hill, where you’ll see another 5-bar gate to access the paths at Hicks Lodge. Turn right for the café and cycle hire, or left towards Donisthorpe or past the beautiful lakes on a circular walk back to the café.
When the skies are clear, the view from Sunset Bench can be breathtaking. It’s a beautiful place to share a bottle of wine and watch the sun go down over Hicks Lodge. Take the bark-chipping path behind the hedge, clearly signposted, to the left-hand side of the driveway — walk up the field and through the hedge. Enjoy…
The 3-acre lake is available for our guests — access it by walking down the field and entering the gate on the left-hand side. There’s a sunbathing platform and picnic table for your pleasure. Use of the lake is completely at your own risk. If you’d like to fish during your stay please let us know, and we’ll provide a dipping bucket for sanitising keep nets before using them in the lake — this helps protect our fish from potential disease. All fish caught must be returned to the lake. Please help protect this wonderful environment by taking any rubbish away with you.
For safety reasons, use of the lake after sunset is strictly forbidden.
If you’ve booked a hot tub during your stay, it will be ready to use the first evening you arrive but may not be quite up to the desired temperature by 3pm. Someone will discreetly check the hot tub levels regularly to ensure your bathing experience is the best! Hot tubs are drained early on the morning of departure, so won’t be available for use after 7am.
Please check out by 10am.
Please strip the beds and put your used towels and bedding in the black bin liners provided underneath the kitchen sink.
Please dispose of your rubbish and recycling in the bins provided behind the fence on the right-hand side of the car parking area, making sure to separate tins & plastics, glass, cardboard, and general rubbish.
Please place the key back into the lock box when you leave. We hope you enjoyed your stay and we look forward to welcoming you back.
Superfast fibre is provided for your convenience. The network name and password will be available after check-in.
Hastings Retreat is home to the Naughty Hare Distillery — why not treat yourselves to a 2-hour afternoon of gin tasting? Available for a minimum of 6 guests at £18 per person. We start with a welcome cocktail, then learn all about our quirky, tongue-in-cheek brand, taste some of our delicious flavours, and hear how our gins are lovingly hand-crafted. Finish with a gin of your choice, your way!
Booking must be in advance of your stay. To check availability and book, call Naughty Hare on 01530 682246 or email [email protected].
Lakeside Bistro offer beautiful afternoon teas to take away and are only a 5-minute drive away. They’ll even deliver if you’re ordering for a group. Highly recommended.
Gourmet Pop Up offer catering for any private event — they’ll cook a delicious 3-course dinner for you or deliver stylish buffet food to help you celebrate in style. Alternatively, Ryan Chef at Home offers a similar service and comes highly recommended by previous guests.
Wild Minds believe that being in nature for any activity can massively improve the health benefits you experience. They’ve developed a series of wellbeing activities to be enjoyed outdoors to benefit your physical and mental health. To arrange a group booking or join one of their regular sessions, please visit their website.
Acorns Events supply their services for this amazing venue — themed parties (Las Vegas, James Bond 007, The Great Gatsby, Hollywood/Oscars, Peaky Blinders, Alice in Wonderland, Willy Wonka, Casino and more), close-up magician, life drawing with a fun twist, red-carpet entrance, chocolate fountain, photo booth, popcorn & candy floss carts, candy table, casino tables, chair covers, table centres, giant light-up letters, token-play slot machines and a multi-game arcade (Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and 600+ games), uplighters and much more. See lots more at FUNCAS.COM. Packages are tailored to your needs and budget.
Office 01530 458086 · Andrew 07887 537245 · Karen 07769 646489.
Tara offers a range of treatments including massage, aromatherapy, hot stones, scrub and steam, facials, Indian head massage, reflexology and much more. Highly recommended by our previous guests.
Ask us for details of relaxing holistic treatments available during your stay.
Our barn conversions have underfloor heating, currently set to maintain a comfortable temperature day and night for your convenience. If you’d like to change the temperature, please ensure the operation icon is highlighted using the right and left arrow keys, then set the desired temperature using the up and down arrow keys and click the tick to confirm. If you have any problems, just send us a quick message and we should be able to set the temperature remotely for you. Please note it can take a few hours for the temperature to adjust — underfloor heating isn’t like conventional heating.
The Fisherman’s House has a wood-burning stove and central heating controlled by a thermostat in the hallway.
Please recycle!
Please help us protect our environment by recycling your glass, plastics, tins and cardboard. You can use the red tubs located outside each property to recycle all of the above.
Bins for general rubbish are located behind the fenced area to the right-hand side of the car parking area. There are also further recycling bins here if you need to empty your red tubs during your stay. Please place all of your recycling tubs into the appropriate bins at the end of your stay.
Many thanks for respecting your environment.
Go Leicestershire has lots of info and ideas for great days out in North West Leicestershire. Take a look at their website for lots of useful info · Visit Go Leicestershire.
We would love to welcome you back
We hope you’ve had a lovely stay and look forward to welcoming you back.
Book a RoomGet In Touch
Social Media
We’d love for you to share your photos with us on social media. Please give us a like on Instagram and Facebook and tag us in! We keep our guests up to date with everything happening at Hastings Retreat through our social pages and periodically run competitions — so please stay in touch.
Follow us on Facebook · Follow us on Instagram