Fit for anything

LEADING a tour of Fairfield House, Paula Carlington can’t help but nitpick.

“That shouldn’t be there,” she says of a square stool, and, “that bed isn’t very well made”. Coming to the attic bathroom, she makes a confession. “I have made some mistakes. I really hate these tiles. But, overall, I’m pretty happy.”

For Paula, the house is more than just bricks and mortar – it is her passion. Having spent months of her time and thousands of pounds restoring it, it has become a reflection of both her tastes and her philosophy on life.

The decor throughout is based on a palette of grey, with occasional splashes of colour and nods to tradition with things like distressed storage chests and bare wooden floors. Where possible, Paula has kept original features such as fireplaces but, overall, the house has the kind of modern feel that most would expect from a holiday home.

Along with a spacious, fully-equipped kitchen, there is a hot tub and a rough tennis court, and even heated dog kennels. A 1980sbuilt annexe which adjoins the main house is currently being renovated to include a conference centre and gym.

Now every inch the luxury bolthole, with rooms overlooking the rolling Weardale hills, it’s hard to imagine Fairfield House as anything but. Yet when Paula and her husband, Simon Heptinstall, bought the property, it was in dire straits.

“It was built in 1840 as a family home, then it became council offices, and then it became a conference centre,” says Paula, 47. “The guy who owned it before us developed it for an international language school and conferencing.

He ran a successful business for about 20 years, then it ended up in the hands of the receivers, which is who we got it from.

“It was an absolute wreck. There was grass growing in the lounge, damp, the roof had gone – everything needed doing. We put in a silly offer and they said yes, so off we went down that track.”

Detail from one of the chandeliers

Having worked as a chartered surveyor, Paula had plenty of experience in property development, but taking on Fairfield House was different. Simon had sold his business, Storey Carpets, and the couple, who have three children, had both “retired”.

The venture was inspired by Paula’s love of the outdoors. She had trained as an instructor in Nordic Walking, which she describes as “an all-over body workout, walking with poles in a very odd manner, looking a bit like John Cleese”, and had started working with the outdoor adventure company Northern Bootcamp.

The business was looking for a base in Weardale, and Fairfield House seemed ideal. It was going to be a joint venture between Paula and Simon and Northern Bootcamp – then fate intervened.

“We had a big delay of six months because of bats and we made the decision to go our separate ways,” says Paula. “We bought the house in February 2012 and, to make the partnership workable, we needed to be onsite by April. We didn’t get properly onsite until October, so we decided to focus on this and Northern Bootcamp moved up to Northumberland.”

One of Paula’s first priorities was to get the local community on-side. She knew the scale of the task in hand and she wanted its approval.

“The support from the police and the local community has been tremendous,” she says. “The police were delighted when we bought the house because they were constantly being called out to it. The kids were in here doing what kids do and thieves had been in and stolen every bit of lead and copper but, because there was no real owner, they couldn’t prosecute.

“I worked for the National Lottery for a while and fully understand the importance of engaging with local people, so that was one of the first things we did. We went knocking on people’s doors, explaining what we were doing.”

Finally, in July, the house was ready, and Paula enlisted help from specialist accommodation provider House Parties to generate bookings. Expecting a slow start, Paula and Simon went on holiday to Florida, but due to high demand, Paula had to come back early.

“We didn’t really expect much business over the summer but we were wrong,” she says. “It’s really taken off. It’s been ridiculous. We have ended up with five part-time staff and we are looking for fulltime as well. We were fully booked for Christmas, New Year, even January. Weekends in April and May are gone, and we have even got bookings into 2015.”

The main success has been weekends, with parties of up to 16 booking exclusive use of the house and facilities. They also have the option of being catered for, even to the extent of having five-course dinners prepared by a chef. A key advantage is that Paula and Simon, who live in nearby Wolsingham, are entirely flexible, and go out of their way to accommodate guests’ needs.

“We’ve had people come for 30th birthday parties and we’ve had a group of retired and nearly-retired teachers who walked a lot and were happy just to sit around the fire and read,” says Paula. “Everybody has a different idea of what being away is for them and we will provide what they want. We hand over the keys and leave them to it, or they tell us what they want and we provide it. It’s either of those options and anything in between.”

Having built up a weekend trade, Paula is now keen to focus on midweek. She aims to target gyms, yoga groups and those concerned with spiritual needs to offer both peaceful and more active retreats.

“For fitness retreats, we will run as much as people want us to run,” she says. “We do a lot of adventure training outside. We can take people Nordic Walking for the day, we can do adventure training and cycling. I’m doing my level three in nutrition so we can also do the catering.”

As well as using her own expertise, Paula has drafted in help from personal trainers and a cycling specialist, who will lead physically challenging, bootcamp-style activities, but with an emphasis on fun. She aims to take maximum advantage of the Weardale countryside, which is her own inspiration for keeping fit.

“We use Hamsterley Forest a lot, which is five miles away and it’s stunning,” she says. “Everything is within ten minutes from the doorstep. I think possibly the older I get, the more I appreciate the natural environment. I’m at my happiest standing on a hill on my own with a set of headphones on.”

Following this theme, Paula already has ideas for her next project. “I want something completely different.

I want land,” she says. “I want to be able to have a big central area with a star shape and eco pods, tree houses or luxury yurts coming off, so they are separate, but all connected. It will be very much focused on the environment and being ecofriendly.”

The dining and seating areas are comfortable and cosy, with animal skin throws and leather sofas

To someone else who had just taken on such a massive renovation project, this might seem overambitious, but it is what Paula thrives on. “I love the tourist industry and I love making something look fab,” she says.

• fairfieldinweardale .co.uk Bookings can be made through House Parties on 01845-597614 or house-parties.com.

House Parties specialise in offering unique big houses of exceptional quality for special occasions and holiday lets sleeping up to 28 guests; professional catering is available at all properties and pets are welcome at many. Their properties are located in outstanding locations across England, Scotland and Wales.