A romantic French escape in Northumberland

William de Percy and Le Petit Chateau are comfortably tucked away in Otterburn, a short drive from Newcastle and equally not far from the Scottish borders.

Northumberland is an area I’m keen to explore more, setting off North of Newcastle is always exciting as there’s so much to do and see up in the countryside. Some of the old roman roads are fun to drive on, perhaps not if you’re a passenger and you’re trying to sip coffee though… there’s a lot of up and downs!

We visited William de Percy for a review stay recently and I was so excited! I’d seen Le Petit Chateau online and knew it was well known as a beautiful wedding venue, but didn’t know all that much about the Crêperie and inn, William de Percy.

The rooms

With 22 rooms, this boutique hotel really does feel luxurious and somewhat exclusive, though the prices may surprise you. It’s more affordable than you think, unless you’re going all out for a wedding with owls swooping in with rings… Each to their own.

We were staying in a deluxe room, and as our friendly American host led us to our French escape, I really did have to watch my jaw didn’t drop and hit the floor. Our room was huge; ‘deluxe room’ can mean many things, sometimes you get a little extra floor space, you might get a nice seating area to enjoy your morning cuppa, or maybe the bathroom will have a bath and a shower. Well, this room had all of this, incredible unique decor, a roll top copper bath and a balcony. I could have just stayed all week…

Very kindly, we received a cocktail making kit in our room. A fun way to start your evening and the cocktail we made was delicious, fruity and fresh.

Food

For dinner we headed down to the inn; a cosy setting that had a real friendly, village atmosphere. We browsed the menu and a bottle of wine while picking out our food, because you can’t go wrong with an Australian Shiraz.

I ordered the catch of the day, wanting to try something different and my boyfriend was persuaded by the steak – can’t say I blame him! We had recently visited another venue from Apartment Group – Liberty Brown at The Palm, where we had steak and he informs me this steak at William de Percy was really good too, but could have been better with that blue cheese melt LB offered. If you missed that review, check it out.

My fish was light and tasty, and the addition of cockles and mussels really added to the dish. I mustn’t have read the menu properly though as I ordered a side of fries, not realising the fish was served with potatoes. Oops.

Dessert time and we tried the After Eight crêpe, be rude not to try one of their crêpes in a crêperie right? And a cheeseboard, because – why would you not order a cheeseboard?

After a great night’s sleep in the huge bed, with a super cosy duvet, we enjoyed coffee on the balcony. I obviously had a bath, complete with the L’Occitane bath fizzer which was part of the complimentary toiletries. Great if you’ve forgotten to pack a bath bomb or been surprised with a room upgrade. However, something they offer at William de Percy is a bath butler service, where you can pick from a menu and come back to your room with a bath all ready for you, even add some prosecco to that too if you fancy. Sounds like such a treat…maybe next time!

Breakfast featured a range of fun names – Hadrian’s Wall (the full english) hair of the ‘chien’ (scrambled eggs on toast with a bloody Mary shot) Crepe monsieur and Northumberland kippers to name a few. We both chose the full English, more coffee – ground coffee by Pumphrey’s, a local Newcastle based coffee roaster and generous helpings of apple juice.

The location…

Before we left, we had a look around Le Petit Chateau, where I was mistaken twice for the wedding photographer – turns out if you walk around in a boiler suit and have a DSLR hanging over your shoulder you look the part!

Would we go back? Absolutely. I’d be there next weekend if I could. It’s a lovely place to stay, the staff are incredibly friendly and it’s a great base for exploring Northumberland if you like to get outdoors. If you’ve got a faithful pooch you can bring them along too, as William de Percy have dog friendly rooms available. So you’ve got no excuse!

Our stay was complimentary with dinner, bed and breakfast. All photos and words are my own.