Welcome to Bramble & Stone Escapes- A blog
- rebeccapreece87
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Hello, and welcome- we're really glad you found our blog page.
How did you find us? I'm guessing you found this little corner of the internet because you are someone who values the slower things. A proper rest. Time with the person you love most. The kind of weekend that actually truly feels like a weekend.
That's exactly why and how we came about.
How it all started
Bramble and Stone didn't begin as a business plan or a spreadsheet.
It began with a feeling- the uncomfortable realisation that we were trapped.
We'd built our own business, but somewhere along the way it had started to swallow us whole. Enquiries to answer, stock to order, my husband designing late into the night, then in the business all day, then come home and do it all again.
Before we knew it, it was 11pm. The TV hadn't been switched on in weeks. Date nights were a distant memory. A holiday? Not had one for a decade!
The chime of our phones was the soundtrack to our lives- was this what it's all about?
So we stopped. We asked ourselves: when did we last just be us?
Why Derbyshire?
I won't pretend there was a romantic reason for choosing Derbyshire.
It was more of a feeling — one that had been passed down without me really noticing. My mum always talked about it. Ashbourne's famous chippy. Days spent at Thor's Cave with her dad, long since passed. Her brother in the army cadets, camping in the hills. It was always there in the background, somewhere that felt familiar even before I'd spent much time in it.
And then there was the fact that it was England's first national park. That meant something to me. The scenery did the rest.
Finding the actual property though? That's a less poetic story.
We'd been through the wars by that point. Three years of planning battles at another site. Land we'd borrowed and mortgaged ourselves to buy, undone by circumstances we couldn't control. I was exhausted. Honestly, I was broken.
One night, after a row born purely out of stress and disappointment, Glen went up to bed before me. When I finally came up, he was on his phone.
"I think I've found it."
I didn't even look up. Not more land. I'm not interested.
He turned his phone around anyway.
The tiniest, cutest little stone barn I'd ever seen. And behind it — the Derwent Valley, rolling out like it had been waiting for us.
"Oh ok," I said. "I think you're right."
Seeing what others couldn't
The barn was tired. Really tired.
But the bones were there — and that's everything. The stone walls, the setting, the views across the Derwent Valley that the current owners seemed almost unbothered by. At the time it was being marketed as a stop-off. A place to rest your head for the night before pushing further into the Peak District.
We knew it was something else entirely.
Three years of frustration hadn't been wasted. Somewhere in between the planning battles and the sleepless nights, I'd been learning. Marketing conferences, industry talks, long conversations with people who understood what modern travellers actually want.
And what they want isn't another average Airbnb in a row of terraces.
They want something that feels different. Something that feels considered. A place that doesn't just give them a bed for the night but gives them a reason to come — and a reason to come back.
We could see all of that in that tiny stone barn. We just had to build it.
The renovation story? That's a whole other post. And trust us — you'll want to read it.
What we wanted you to feel
From the very beginning, we knew what we wanted guests to feel the moment they arrived.
That sigh. You know the one. Where your shoulders drop, your jaw unclenches, and somewhere in your chest something quietly lets go.
We wanted Bramble & Stone to feel like stepping sideways out of the world you came from. Somewhere that operates at a completely different pace — where the quirks aren't inconveniences, they're the whole point.
Take the kettle. There isn't one.
Not because we forgot, but because you're not meant to make a quick coffee here. You're meant to fill the stovetop, put it on the hob, and wait. Listen for the whistle. That sound — and if you've ever been camping you'll know exactly what we mean — is nostalgia in its purest form. It slows you down before you've even had your first sip.
Nothing here can be done quickly. That's not a flaw. That's the design.
And then there's the outdoor bath.
I'll be honest — I hadn't tried one before we started visiting places on our own research weekends. Now I want one at home. There's something about sinking into steaming water with nothing above you but open sky that feels almost absurdly indulgent — until you're in it, and then it just feels necessary.
These aren't just features. They're feelings. And feelings are what people come back for.
We Actually Did It
When we finally opened the doors, the sleepless nights didn't stop — they just changed.
Instead of planning battles and loan anxiety, it was a different kind of worry. Are they ok? Do they have everything they need? Do they like it?
My mum comes to help with the changeovers. She makes us lunch and we spend our time together making it perfect for the next guests. Honestly, those days have become some of my favourite.
The moment I knew — really knew — that we'd done it?
The reviews.
Five stars, every single time. Guests writing about exactly the feelings we'd set out to create. That shoulder-drop moment. The stillness. The whistle of the kettle. The bath under the sky.
They felt it. All of it.
And that made every single difficult day worth it.
So if you're reading this and wondering whether Bramble & Stone is the right escape for you — I hope our story has answered that question.
We built this for the version of us that was running on empty. We build it fresh for every couple that walks through the door.
Come and find your sigh. 🌿
With love,
Rebecca & the whole Bramble & Stone family 🤎
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