There is something about the Percy's experience that fits very neatly. You haven't set foot on a blade of grass for about three years and therefore arrive to this rural idyll without the appropriate footwear. A crisis is averted by the rows of wellington boots in the lobby for the use of namby pamby townies such as yourself.
You come back from your walk around the 130-acre estate, ruddy-cheeked and peckish, to find that two slices of rich fruit cake have magically appeared next to the cafetiere and kettle in your room. They go down perfectly as you reflect on your afternoon - but then your limbs begin to gently ache. You're not very sore, but you could do with a bath. Maybe one with a control panel that turns on jets of water so that it's practically a Jacuzzi. Just like, in fact, the one you find in your bathroom. You empty the sea moss relaxation bath salts into the water and lie back. You could stay here all evening. You really could. But there's dinner to think of. It's a good thing you've seen the menu because it looked so tempting it's the only thing that will get you out of your velvety white bathrobe and over to the restaurant.
It didn't look like it was going to be so straightforward before we set off. Percy's is in the heart of Devon and the helpful directions from the owner included the phrase 'go as far as you can' so often that it began to seem as if this was the Hotel at the End of the World. It certainly is remote and visiting without a car is not recommended, but it's in an excellent location all the same. Roadford Lake is nearby and the Eden Project is less than an hour's drive away.
Percy's doesn't take all this natural abundance for granted. The estate, which is undergoing organic conversion, produces game and lamb, as well as herbs and vegetables from the kitchen garden. There are very few hotels that would greet your breakfast order of eggs with the words, 'duck, goose or hen?'.
The food is the real star of this set-up; the starter of spiced seafood chowder is a meal in itself, so it's a good thing that the panfried monkfish is so light. I took the fresh flower that decorated my meringue pudding and pressed it between the pages of my notebook. It seemed like the right thing to do.
· Percy's Country Hotel and Restaurant, Virginstow, Devon. (01409 211236). Double rooms from £100 per night including breakfast. Dinner from £37.50. Getting there: First Great Western (08457 000125) operates trains from London Paddington to Exeter St David's from £24 return.
