Hello and a warm welcome to you.
My name is Karen and my husband, Chris, and I are the owners of Benchwood House.
We started hosting in early 2022 with an online management company and moved on this year to manage the business ourselves.
Our intention is to serve our guests to the best of our abilities and to provide a comfortable, relaxing, enjoyable stay, with a wealth of options to explore the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and its environs.
Chris and I moved from London to Guestling, which is in the district of Rother, on the outskirts of Hastings, to seek a better quality of life, away from the unhealthy demands of a city lifestyle.
We love living in the countryside and we are excited to showcase the many hidden gems that our region offers.
Chris is a former army sergeant with The 6/7th Battalion Queen’s Regiment (Territorial Army) and International Data Specialist.
He loves fishing, gardening, woodworking, and beer.
I am a writer, an author, and businesswoman currently, and my career spanned the fields of IT, administration, project development, and social sciences.
Apart from writing, I love interior design, gardening, and catching up with friends.
We demolished a dilapidated stable block located on our property and through rigorous planning rules built a modern holiday home that is unobtrusive in the landscape of the High Weald AONB.
Our property location in Guestling is rare because it sits in The High Weald AONB, within ancient woodlands, with unspoilt views of mesmerising landscapes, and a former 18th century mining pond, now transformed for boating exercise and relaxation.
Benchwood House is a gated private property in our woodland grounds, which is about three acres including the boating pond.
With its own gardens, it contains multiple outdoor seating areas, a garden room, and allows for easy access to walk in the adjacent open and panoramic countryside.
Thank you for visiting our website and we invite you to choose Benchwood House and The High Weald AONB as your vacation destination.