A countryside sanctuary where wellness, community, and heritage meet
Within the rolling South Downs, Long Lane is shaping a new kind of British retreat, a private members club and hotel devoted to deep rest, precise nourishment, and shared ritual. Set at Grade II listed Dunford House near Midhurst in West Sussex, the alcohol free concept promises high design and longevity led programming, from diagnostics and red light therapy to a natural swimming pool among ancient woodland. With its opening now targeted for late 2026, anticipation gathers around a place that pairs English pastoral romance with forward thinking wellness, a union of heritage, quiet luxury, and community that feels both restorative and refreshingly modern.
There are places that still the pace of the day the moment you arrive, where sunlight moves across old stucco and lawns, where the hush of woodland makes space for clarity and connection. Long Lane, a private members club and hotel taking shape in the South Downs National Park, is one of those rare projects that feels inevitable the moment you hear it described, a countryside sanctuary devoted to longevity, design, and the quiet luxury of feeling well. Its founders speak of a new nucleus for modern wellbeing, and the setting could not be more compelling, Dunford House, a nineteenth century country villa with generous grounds and a storied past.
The setting, English pastoral with a storied soul
Long Lane is rooted at Dunford House near Midhurst in West Sussex, a Grade II listed Italianate residence built between 1849 and 1853 for the statesman and free trade campaigner Richard Cobden. Designed by Frederick K Wehnert of Wehnert and Ashdown, the house carries historic resonance, its associations with Cobden, his family, and early suffrage circles woven into the national story. The grounds, a sixtyish minute journey from London, unfold as meadows and woodland within the South Downs, offering the restorative scale that true escape requires.
In recent years the property has been guided toward a sensitive new chapter. Planning notices detail the change of use to a hotel and members club, with heritage information areas and public access days envisioned, evidence of a careful dialogue between preservation and contemporary hospitality. The registered office is Dunford House, GU29 0AF, a precise anchor for a project that aims to welcome a community invested in health and cultural life.
A members club and hotel shaped by longevity
Long Lane describes itself as a private members club and hotel where wellness and community meet in nature, a place built on connection to self, to others, to purpose, and to the land. This north star informs every space, from social rooms to studios and treatment suites, and it arrives with an insistence on quality and clarity that feels both elegant and quietly radical.
Membership will be more than access, it will be a relationship. Founders Louie Blake and Harrison Hide envision diagnostics as standard for members, a baseline that informs personalised menus, sleep support, and recovery plans. The club’s clinic programming will include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, IV drips, cryotherapy, and contrast therapies, while the grounds will invite movement with woodland running trails, natural immersion, and a swimming pool designed for a gentler rhythm.
Design for calm, architecture for the nervous system
In the main house, interiors are being conceived through what the team calls longevity architecture, a design lens that treats the building as an extension of the human nervous system. Air, water, light, sound, and temperature are considered in concert to encourage calm and clarity. Natural materials ground the aesthetic, while intelligent systems support rest and focus in a way that feels intuitive rather than clinical.
Guest rooms and future cabins carry the idea into private space. Plans call for Eight Sleep mattresses, air filtration, red light wall panels, and circadian friendly lighting. In lieu of televisions and traditional minibars, guests can expect collagen shots, in room wellness menus, and recovery tools that make nightly rituals feel both indulgent and purposeful. It reads like the best hotel room you can imagine, one that does not distract you from yourself, it returns you to yourself.
Cuisine that begins with you
Perhaps the most intriguing promise is Long Lane’s precision nutrition restaurant, where menus will be personalised to the guest. Data from diagnostics can shape the plate, from macro balance to micronutrient focus, while the kitchen works seasonally with organic produce and a garden forward philosophy. A herb distillery and alcohol free bar will make the ritual of a drink feel celebratory and clear minded, a signal that conviviality here is about presence, not compromise.
The landscape as daily practice
The estate spans roughly fifty five acres of ancient woodland, gardens, and trails, a canvas for morning runs, meditative walks, and open air classes. Programming will range from yoga and pilates to forest bathing and sound, threaded with workshops and residencies that build culture as much as fitness. The Coach House concentrates performance, longevity, and recovery in one destination, while The Farm extends healing outdoors with natural swimming, cold plunges, and secluded treatment pods that invite silence and birdsong.
A thoughtful team shaping a movement
Co founders Louie Blake and Harrison Hide have framed Long Lane as a response to the detox then retox loop of modern city life. Their concept is entirely alcohol free, an integrity first choice that aligns with the club’s mission. They have drawn a notable team around them, including marketing voice Jamie Caring, along with specialists in longevity and breathwork, and collaborators from plant based gastronomy. The momentum has been palpable, a community forming around the build, and a following that reflects genuine interest in a new kind of hospitality.
What to expect, at a glance
Historic setting at Grade II listed Dunford House, designed in the mid nineteenth century for Richard Cobden.
Private members club and countryside hotel devoted to longevity, recovery, and community, entirely alcohol free.
Precision nutrition restaurant with personalised menus, diagnostics led programmes, and a herb distillery.
The Coach House for performance and recovery, The Farm for natural swimming, cold plunges, and forest therapies.
Rooms and cabins planned with Eight Sleep mattresses, air filtration, and red light therapy for deep rest.
Approximately fifty five acres of woodland, trails, gardens, and a kitchen garden within the South Downs National Park.
Membership, rooms, and timelines
As the concept gathered attention, early guidance suggested room rates beginning around the mid three hundreds per night, with monthly membership tiers from entry level to all access. The opening, once slated for summer 2026, has been thoughtfully moved to late 2026 to respect the cadence of planning within a protected landscape and to preserve the integrity of a full, not phased, debut. The care is telling. This is a place designed for first impressions that last.
Why it matters now
Long Lane speaks to a contemporary desire to place wellbeing at the centre of social life. It is a new expression of the English country hotel, one that honours heritage and landscape, yet feels decisively present tense. The promise is not escape for escape’s sake, it is meaningful restoration, shared with others who value the same. The result is elegance with intention, comfort with clarity, and a deep sense of place that begins with history and looks forward with grace.
Planning a visit
For those drawn to this union of heritage and health, membership enquiries and waitlist registration are open as the team finalises development at Dunford House. The address is set in the green heart of West Sussex, GU29 0AF, with progress updates shared regularly through official channels. When the gates open, late 2026 will feel like the right moment to step inside, breathe deeply, and settle into a ritual that is at once new and wonderfully familiar.
