Getting out of the big smoke into the countryside is always a pleasure and doubly so when the invitation includes polo and a stately home! And so it was that I headed by train to Cowdray in leafy Sussex for the Cowdray Park Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup. I’d visited nearby Goodwood a few times so knew how lovely the countryside is in these parts. In a little over an hour we arrived at Haslemere and from there it was a 20 minute cab ride to the 16,500 acre Cowdray Estate. There’s an 18 hole championship golf course on the estate and a clay pigeon shooting school. Arriving at Cowdray House, you immediately get the wow factor. It’s a beautiful building that dates from the 19th century and is surrounded by 110 acres of parkland.
Formerly the home of Lord and Lady Cowdray, this luxurious retreat is now available for private hire. They still own Cowdray Estate, live nearby and take a keen interest in the running of the house. Lady Cowdray is a talented artist and her sculptures are dotted around the grounds. These have a spiritual element as she and her husband are practitioners of transcendental meditation. At Cowdray Hall, also on the estate, visitors can sign up to a variety of wellbeing classes, including mindfulness, tai chi and yoga.

Buck Hall is the jewel in Cowdray Park House’s crown with its double-vaulted ceiling and stained glass window. It can be hired for a private dinner seating up to 150, with musicians playing from the minstrel’s gall...