It wasn’t the response I’d expected when I’d phoned to book a post-new year bolt hole last month. “We’re very busy around new year,” said the receptionst, “but I could put you in the hut.”

It was, she hastened to add, a very nice hut — and as I’d heard very nice things about Wallett’s, and liked the idea of nice walks along the cliffs by Dover, I went for it.

It was, as Chris Tarrant might say, the right answer. The “hut” looked from the outside like a garden shed on stilts beside the car park. But inside it was a cosy double room with a small gallery with a comfy mattress for a third person.

The “hut” is one of Wallett’s Court’s 17 en suite rooms, the majority being in the main house — parts of which date back to the 11th century when William the Conqueror’s half brother Odo was in residence — while some are in a converted barn. The feel is rural-but-smart, great for a weekend.

Some rooms have four-posters with styles that range from tastefully antique to contemporary Noughties. Inside the main house there are timber beams and exposed brick walls, while on the first floor landing original painted frescoes on the plasterwork date to the early 1600s and beyond.

Blowing off the festive season cobwebs was easy. After a good two-hour walk past Second World War gun emplacements along the cliffs to Dover, with France visible across the Channel, I was ready for a soak in the spa’s hot tub and then for dinner.

My honeyed fig and Vulscombe goat’s cheese starter was bland, but the main course of roasted loin of cod with tempura vegetables and chilli and ginger jam filled me so sufficiently that I skipped pud, even though the glazed coconut brûlée definitely had my name on it.

The next morning I had one of the best breakfasts I can remember, followed by an hour’s reflexology massage (£25) in the spa, which was relaxing but could have been a bit more forceful, although maybe that’s just my masochistic side. I left full of beans and ready to face 2005.

Bottom line: Will Hide paid £99 for a B&B double.

Sampling the fare: Three-course dinner £35. House wines £15.

Access all areas: Sorry, no.

Need to know: Wallett’s Court Country House (0800 0351628, www.wallettscourt.com).

Room: 8 out of 10.

Food: 8 out of 10.

Service: 7 out of 10.

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