Having your own swimming pool at home is often way too much hassle.  There’s an ideal solution though. Let others do the work. Several Wolsey Lodges have swimming pools: visit in summer and you can take full advantage. Best of all, the Lodge owners are invariably as intensely proud of their pool as they are of their house, garden, and cuisine, and are only too delighted to see guests making use of their facilities.

Old Whyly – East Sussex

The banner photo shows the pool at Old Whyly, a Wolsey Lodge near Glyndebourne in the heart of East Sussex.

With a pool house cloaked in wisteria and sheltering walls trapping the heat of the sun, the pool at Old Whyly matches the elegance of the grounds, which many guests have compared to Sissinghurst. Old Whyly is very much in the forefront of the new wave of B&Bs: ultimately elegant and refined, offering a new level of sophistication and style.

The house itself is redolent with history, with foundations dating back a thousand years, and walls that could tell swashbuckling tales of the Royalist wars of the 16th century. This all adds to the pleasure of Old Whyly’s very contemporary comforts.

Spindrift Jordans – Buckinghamshire

Spindrift Jordans has a charming kidney-shaped pool, surrounded by flowers, in its own beautiful gardens inspired by Monet’s gardens in Givenchy. This lodge is in the heart of the Chilterns, Quaker Country, in the village of Jordans. The Mayflower Barn, said to be made from the timbers of the eponymous ship, is right next to the historic meeting house, built in 1688. Local attractions include Windsor Castle, Hughendon and Clivedon manors and Beaconsfield. Access is easy: it’s a short walk to Seer Green and Jordans railway station which reaches London Marlybone station in half an hour, and it’s two minutes drive from the M40’s junction 2.

Kilmokea – County Wexford, Eire

You can swim year-round in Kilmokea, a luxury manor house in County Wexford, as the swimming pool is indoors as part of a spa. This is in a beautiful stone building set around a sun terrace, and includes the indoor heated swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, aromatherapy treatments and gym area. An all weather tennis court and croquet lawn completes the extensive facilities that make staying here such a pleasure.

Burnville House – Devon

Set on the edge of Dartmoor, Burnville House is at the heart of an organic working farm, with B&B rooms and self catering cottages offering a chance to experience rural life in beautiful surroundings. The swimming pool complements a tennis court and a games room, complete with skittles, meaning there’s plenty to do between walks on the moor, visiting Tavistock, the Eden Project or the Lost Gardens of Heligan. A dip in the pool will wash your cares away.