OUR STORY
ABOUT US
Mike and I have been together for over 36 years. Sixteen of these were with our beloved Labrador, Kaya, who sadly passed away on the first day of summer 2014. Having travelled extensively for many years, we decided to put down our roots in beautiful Devon. Kaya was instrumental in us buying this property, we wanted him to have a beautiful environment to spend his silver years in.
It took us almost three years to get over his passing, and we were lucky to adopt Gibson, an almost carbon copy of Kaya , loving and intelligent, but he didn't quite make the grade as a guide dog. We later took on Bradley, a playful chocolate Labrador we've fondly nicknamed "the monster." Both have their own characters and temperaments, but we're sure you'll love them to bits.
We chose the name "ANRÁN" for our home as it's derived from the Chinese characters "ān" and "rán," meaning "a place of peace and tranquility." Much of the interior design and furnishings reflect the many places we've travelled to and lived in over the years.
Two Careers, One Standard
What we brought to ANRÁN wasn't just a love of Devon and a soft spot for Labradors, it was thirty-plus years each spent at the top of two very different industries, and we like to think that shows in everything we do here.
Mike spent over three decades in senior international hospitality leadership, including Food & Beverage Director roles at Gleneagles in Scotland and with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, before founding his own hospitality consultancy advising five-star hotels and resorts around the world. Along the way, he's delivered events ranging from intimate private dinners to some of the most secure, high-stakes conferences in the world ... the kind where there's simply no room for things to go wrong.
My own career took a different path. I spent years as a photographer and filmmaker, working with major international brands including Nike, Nokia and Johnnie Walker. I learned what it takes to make a place, a moment, or an event look as extraordinary as it actually feels , and that's something I think about constantly here at ANRÁN, from the way a room is dressed to the way the light falls across the courtyard in the evening.
We bring both of those worlds to every stay and every event we host. Whether it's a family celebrating a birthday, a couple getting married, or a company bringing their leadership team together, you're not just booking beautiful rooms , you're in the hands of two people who've spent their careers making sure things are done properly, and made to look just as good as they feel.
A Place Built with Care
Much of ANRÁN's interior design and furnishings reflect the many places we've travelled to and lived in over the years. We've transformed a once-derelict farmhouse, along with its original cowsheds, feed barns and milking parlour, into the home and venue you see today , reusing original materials wherever we could, and preserving the character of the buildings as we went.
Sustainability matters to us too: a biomass boiler system sustainably heats both the accommodation and provides abundant hot water for the rooms. Our organic kitchen garden provides fresh, seasonal produce, sold in an onsite honesty shop with proceeds going to causes close to our hearts, Cancer Research and Veterans with Dogs.
We hope that when you stay with us, or bring your event to ANRÁN, you feel both things at once: the warmth of a home that's genuinely ours, and the quiet confidence of knowing it's being looked after by people who've spent a lifetime getting the details right.
Edwin & Mike
ANRÁN at Tidwell Farm
ANRÁN @ Tidwell farm, Ashburton, Devon TQ13 7LY
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