New Year’s doesn’t have to mean crowded city centres, packed pubs and staying up until midnight surrounded by strangers. For some of us, the best way to welcome a new year is with a little more peace and quiet: a beautiful countryside setting, good food, cosy firesides and time to properly relax.
Devon is particularly well suited to a calmer New Year escape, offering a wonderfully peaceful feel, with crisp winter walks, quiet lanes and cosy villages to explore. Whether you’re looking for a few nights away over Twixmas or want to make New Year’s Eve part of a longer countryside break, Devon provides plenty of ways to start the year at a gentler pace.
Why Spend New Year’s in the Devon Countryside?
There is something particularly appealing about escaping to the countryside at the end of December. After the busyness of Christmas, a few days surrounded by open landscapes and fresh winter air can provide a welcome chance to slow down and relax before the new year properly begins.
A countryside New Year also gives you the freedom to make the most of the season without feeling as though you have to follow the traditional party formula. You can spend the afternoon walking through the winter landscape, return somewhere warm for a cup of tea, enjoy a leisurely dinner and settle in for the evening.
For many, this is exactly what makes a Twixmas break so appealing. The days between Christmas and New Year are often outside of your normal routine, with nowhere you particularly need to be, making it the perfect time for you to enjoy a change of scenery.
Enjoy a Twixmas Break in Devon
Devon’s countryside is particularly lovely at this time of year. Winter walks provide an excuse to get outside, while the shorter days make returning to a warm country house all the more appealing. You can spend your days exploring the local area at your own pace, stopping for lunch somewhere cosy or simply enjoying the surroundings before returning for an evening of good food and relaxation.
A Twixmas break can also be a chance to extend the festive season rather than rushing straight back into everyday life. Instead of putting away the Christmas spirit immediately, you can enjoy a few more days of good food, comfortable surroundings and time together before the year comes to an end.
Where to Enjoy a New Year Break in Devon
If you’re looking for a peaceful place to spend the New Year, Dartmoor is an obvious choice. The national park’s combination of open moorland, wooded valleys, rivers and historic villages provides plenty of opportunities for winter walks and exploration.
The area around Chagford makes a particularly appealing base for a countryside escape. Sitting on the edge of Dartmoor, Chagford has the character of a traditional Devon town, while the surrounding landscape offers plenty of scope for getting outside and is still well connected to the rest of Devon.
Make it a Foodie Break
If your ideal New Year celebrations involve considerably more eating than partying, Devon is a wonderful destination.
The county’s food scene makes it possible to build an entire break around good food, whether that means discovering local producers, enjoying seasonal dishes or choosing a hotel where dining is part of the experience.
New Year’s is particularly well suited to this kind of getaway. Rather than squeezing dinner in between drinks and celebrations, a foodie break gives the meal itself the attention it deserves. A long dinner, excellent wine and a carefully considered menu can feel every bit as celebratory as a traditional New Year’s Eve party.
This is one of the reasons a country house stay for New Year’s can be such an appealing alternative. You can enjoy an evening of exceptional food and wine, raise a glass at midnight and then simply walk upstairs to bed.
New Year and Twixmas Breaks at Mill End Hotel
For a New Year’s break that combines the best of a Devon countryside escape with a celebration centred around amazing food, Mill End Hotel offers a rather special way to welcome in 2027.
Set beside the River Teign near Chagford on Dartmoor, Mill End provides a peaceful country house setting for three nights over New Year. Rather than a single evening of celebrations, the Country House New Year Celebration turns the occasion into a complete break, with accommodation, dining and plenty of time to relax.
The stay begins on Wednesday 30th December with fireside tea and homemade cake on arrival, followed by a three-course dinner. It is a gentle start to the break and an opportunity to settle into the country house before the main New Year’s Eve celebrations.
New Year’s Eve begins with breakfast before the evening’s centrepiece: a seven-course Tasting Menu with matched wines. There is also a sparkling toast to welcome the New Year, giving you all the celebratory elements you would expect from New Year’s Eve, but in a more intimate country house setting.
New Year’s Day is slower-paced, with brunch followed by a three-course dinner. After the excitement of the night before, there is time to enjoy a relaxed start to the year before breakfast on Friday 2nd January brings the stay to a close.
The stay is less about one big night and more about enjoying the whole experience: good food, good company, comfortable surroundings and the opportunity to start the year without rushing anywhere.
Whether you choose a few nights over Twixmas or stay for Mill End’s Country House New Year Celebration, Dartmoor offers a beautiful backdrop for a slower start to 2027. Add in winter walks, a peaceful country house and several memorable meals, and you have a New Year break that feels like a genuine escape rather than simply another night out.
Welcome 2027 at Mill End
Mill End still has availability for both Twixmas and New Year breaks, including the three-night New Year’s House Celebration from 30th December 2026 to 2nd January 2027.