Whether your ideal holiday revolves around relaxing walks in the countryside or adrenaline-fuelled pursuits, the Goodwood Estate will tick everyone’s boxes (even the dog)

Were I to write a letter to my younger self, do you know what I would put at the top of my words of therapeutic wisdom? Go on more holidays. Because when you’re older and you’ve saddled yourself with both a child and a dog, decent breaks will become rarer than hen’s teeth – or maybe even rarer than that! Now, I’m not setting this up as a tale of regret for either my very loud, live wire of a child or my anxiety-ridden, mahoosive dog, because I love them both incredibly dearly (almost all of the time).

Rather, my advice stems from the fact that it’s almost impossible to find a holiday location that ticks all of the boxes when you have the whole family in tow. Step forward The Goodwood Hotel, in the beautiful Sussex countryside near Chichester. Fine-dining restaurant and farm shop to satisfy my food obsession: check. Golf course, nearby motor circuit and pub for the hubby: check. Swimming pool and pastry-laden buffet breakfast for the son: check. Acres of stomping ground and supplied treats for the hound: check. This fantastic hotel, in the stunning grounds of Goodwood House, has so much to offer that, rather than running out of things to do, we simply ran out of time to do them. And that, for me, is the marker of a good holiday.

For our three-night stay, we’re nestled in one of the hotel’s four dog-friendly self-catering cottages – a stone’s throw from the hotel and all of its amenities, but with just enough distance to give a cosy sense of privacy. We arrive late afternoon and open the door of Peach Tree Cottage – a picture-perfect, stone-built affair – to find a bountiful hamper laden with goodies from the estate’s farm: thick-cut bacon, eggs, bread, two types of cheese, chutneys, and some chocolates for the mini guest, Dexter. Cosmo the dog also gets a hamper (filled with duck treats), plus a built-in bed in the kitchen and his own towel for post-walk muddy paws. Upstairs, the cottage has two bedrooms, both with their own bathrooms and roll-top baths (Dexter immediately jumps in, he’s so taken with his). Downstairs is an open-plan living room and kitchen, separate utility room and toilet.

Our first full day on the estate starts with a massage in the hotel spa for me (as all good holidays should), while the boys check out the swimming pool in the leisure centre. Suitably relaxed and refreshed, we head out for a stroll with Cosmo to explore the grounds. Weaving along the country lanes, we stumble across Goodwood Home Farm’s shop, laden with produce from the estate’s self-sustaining, organic farm. Home Farm is one of the UK’s largest lowland organic farms, and was also the first dairy in the country to be 100% organic.

As well as award-winning meat and dairy products, you can also pick up Goodwood’s own beer and gin, along with wine from the Gusbourne Vineyard in Kent. We leave with a bagful of lunch supplies and a bone from the butcher for Cosmo – who is sitting obediently outside, masquerading as some sort of well-trained dog. He knows a quality treat when he smells one…

he next day starts with a golf-pro lesson for my husband, Dan, on the estate’s own course, followed by a trip to the Goodwood Motor Circuit and Aerodrome, just a five-minute drive from the hotel (where dogs are also welcome). As the daughter of a racing-car obsessive and former RAF pilot, I’m conditioned to love the sight of an old plane and the low hum of a supercar, and Goodwood delivers both in spades. This, coupled with the stunning art deco architecture and the rare cloudless blue sky, makes for a perfect day. There are dozens of different road and sky experiences you can sign up for here (relative to your fear levels). Dan heads off to do an off-roading Land Rover experience, while Dexter and I try our hands at the race simulator experience – where you get a sense of what it feels like to drive the Motor Circuit (I can confirm that I would be a terrible Formula 1 driver).

That evening, we go to Farmer, Butcher, Chef – one of the estate’s three eateries – where seasonal, farm-produced ingredients are very much the order of the day. The evening à la carte menu offers top-quality fine-dining fare, but in a lovely, relaxed atmosphere – which is always a blessing with children and dogs in the mix, especially with an enormous silver labrador who is terrible at being invisible. The next morning, I manage to squeeze in a guided tour of the fascinating interiors and artworks within Goodwood House itself, before vowing to come back and sample some of the things we didn’t manage to accomplish on this trip. Here’s to dog- and child-friendly accommodation, and the rare opportunity for a proper holiday.