From the moment you enter the gates of The Grove Estate you step in to the world of the English country house, with manicured lawns leading down to sprawling woodlands, lakes and open parkland leading down to the River Tyne.
Formerly part of the great estate, the woodlands are now a nature reserve, and deer and badgers, foxes, kites and kestrels are daily visitors to the gardens. Peep out of your curtains at dawn and you are very likely to see them browsing just yards away from the house.
The Apple Store, a restored horticultural building within the orchard, retains much of it’s original character with exposed parts of the hugely thick garden walls and wooden cladding to the other walls and ceilings.
The original dark wooden floorboards still bearing the scars of 150 years as a workspace. It has been made cosy with modern levels of insulation, suitable for a stay in any season. The perfect bolthole for a romantic winter weekend! Draw the heavy velvet curtains and sink in to the new mattress on the enormous Victorian bedstead.
There's a cute shower area behind a screen, and a vintage kitchen with metal units, Belfast sink and wooden drainer all in keeping with the theme, but still with modern amenities you're used to like microwave and coffee maker.
However, the unique thing about the Apple Store is that it is also a private vintage shop. Most of the contents are for sale, so if you are the sort of person who loves to root through the shelves and hidden corners of a vintage shop or thrift store, here’s your chance to spend as long as you like peeping into the drawers and working your way through the books and choose what treasures you would like to keep. If you admire that 'something' you can buy it and take it home with you as a memento! There are shelves full of a constantly changing array of vintage games, maps, jigsaws, china tea services, silver, glassware, record players, hi-fi separates, Bakelite radios, lamps, clothes, scarves, jewellery and accessories, toys, furniture, typewriters, rugs, pictures and mirrors, really, anything quirky and appealing that has caught our eye. Better still, if you are a collector of something in particular, let us know in advance so we can see if we have any suitable items in our stock elsewhere, and we can put in there ready for your stay, with no obligation.
As far as we know, at the time of opening, this is the only vintage store in the world where you can stay the night, so you can enjoy a unique experience. The store is warm and well insulated with central heating, a small vintage kitchen, a modern shower and a cosy bathroom. Outside, the Apple Store also offers beautiful views over the orchard towards the river, a secluded sunny terrace and a barbecue area.
For guests who want to travel with friends, we have another one-bedroom cottage next door.
The cottage is very secluded, and yet only a couple of minutes walk from 4 local pubs and a range of restaurants and shops. There are also very regular bus services nearby that can take you to the shopping experience of The Metrocentre or the nightlife of Newcastle.
Ryton is perfectly situated to get to Hadrian’s Wall country within minutes, and the wide open spaces of Northumberland coast and castles to the North within half an hour. The English Lake District is less than an hour’s drive away, and the Yorkshire Dales to the South and Scottish border country to the North are both within an hour’s drive.
