Inside The Scarlet Hen at Norfolk House near Huddersfield

Imagine if every Friday you had to pack up all your belongings and leave your home, so that a group of strangers could move in for the weekend. This is the reality of life for the Hughes family in Huddersfield

Not for Charlotte and Darren Hughes the Friday night ritual of feet up, wine opened, movie and a takeaway. Not in their own home anyway. For them every Friday night means another sofa, another town - while the party starts back home.

But it’s a way of life they continue to love after eight years as weekend nomads.

This unusual ritual originated over a glass of wine with a friend who had just started letting a property out on the rental site, Airbnb.

Norfolk House (Image: Elspeth Mary Moore) Due to various circumstances and no longer needing so much space, the family were trying to sell the house and nearly raffled it off until Charlotte’s friend suggested they let their huge 19th century home out instead.

‘And I just thought no! What about my antiques, my wallpaper, all my personal stuff, the kids, where would we put everything? Who would want to stay here, and how the hell would it work?!’

Eventually, Charlotte was convinced to just put it online and cross that bridge once someone booked it. To her surprise, a four-night booking for a cool £3,000 came through straight away. She’s never looked back.

The custom-made bar and large entertaining space is a hit with hens. (Image: Cool Stays) There's plenty of room for fun at Norfolk House. (Image: Cool Stays)

Eight years on from that first booking, their home has now been reinvented as an incredibly successful business, placing The Scarlet Hen at Norfolk House as one of the country’s leading hen-do destinations. That said, rather posh hen-dos.

However, one thing remains the same: the family still move out every Friday and return to the house on a Sunday evening.

‘The bizarre thing we do that most people can’t get their heads around is that we live here full time,’ laughs Charlotte as she explains how the family have been packing up their things and moving into a weekend rental for years.

It could be a stress-inducing and likely divorce-bound process for most couples, is quite the opposite for Charlotte and Darren who have been living life differently for decades.

The kitchen's made for dancing. (Image: Cool Stays) For over 25 years they spilt their time between London and Ibiza running the party Creamfields on the Spanish island before returning home to Charlotte’s native Yorkshire to raise their two boys, Hugo and Jasper.

Hugo has now gone off to university, but Jasper still joins his parents every time they upsticks to a new place. At first the family rented a flat over the road, but Jasper hated going there, so for just a little more a month says Charlotte, ‘we can stay in a beautiful place in Holmfirth.’

Plenty of people have opinions on their way of life. Keyboard warriors of Facebook say they are taking property from the locals, but on the contrary, Charlotte stands firm by the fact they’re adding to the economy by, ‘helping local family businesses, spending in the area as we are eating in the restaurants and shopping locally,’ explains Charlotte.

Gather your favourite people for dinner under a feather chandelier. (Image: Cool Stays) Rotating between ten different properties, the only prerequisites are that the weekend base is near to a bus stop for Jasper to get to work and not too far from the house in case of emergency.

Aside from that Charlotte finds it ‘quite exciting really as we don’t know where we’re going to be’ and even misses the upheaval during the quieter months.

So, how exactly does this military operation work?

This largely falls to Darren who does all the ‘hands on stuff’ by getting the whole house ready along with the cleaners. It also helps that he keeps it ‘home ready at all times,’ shares Charlotte, as she laughs at how you won’t even find a crumb in the house.

You won't be stuck for things to do here. (Image: Cool Stays) ‘Normally we have such a routine – we come back on Sunday getting the house back to how it is, unpacking our stuff. I look at who’s coming in and on Thursday the cleaning team are in, and by Friday we’re out. Once you’re used to that fast-paced life, it’s the norm.’

Of course, their time in hospitality has helped ease them into this and most certainly set them up for success. Combine their experience of throwing international parties with Charlotte’s knowledge as an interior designer, and you have Yorkshire’s finest hen party mansion! As well as sophisticated hens, they also host wellness retreats, celebratory stays, and girly getaways.

The couple bought the house from an entrepreneur who had converted it to a very high standard, making a pretty penny in the process, but the ‘country house chic’ wasn’t quite to their eclectic tastes. Over time they put their mark on it, covering the walls in House of Hackney and Cole & Son wallpapers, upcycling furniture, and adding unique antiques.

There's no bunkbeds or sharing in this house. (Image: Cool Stays) There's no bunkbeds or sharing in this house. (Image: Cool Stays) It’s a fun filled place with quirky touches from the neon signs, feather chandeliers, and flower walls - just some of the many things the guests to Norfolk House love.

‘We realised really quickly it was suited mainly for groups of girls,’ explains Charlotte, which is why we have a hair drier in each room, tons of mirrors everywhere – just what a group of girls want and need.’ Charlotte even makes sure to stay in a different room each night throughout the week so she can experience what the guests do and implement any changes she feels will enhance their experience.

With three reception rooms, huge social areas, a built-in bar, roof terrace, covered hot tub, and even treatment rooms, it’s clear to see why it’s so popular. The couple were adamant from the very beginning that they wanted to make the house a destination, so that their guests have everything under one roof. And here the world really is your oyster.

Hide out on the roof terrace. (Image: Cool Stays) ‘There are two guys that come in to do life drawing classes, a chef that comes in to cook all this fabulous food, we have a local girl who does a cocktail masterclass, and we also have a spa room for treatments as we converted one of the wine cellars,’ she says.

On top of this, Charlotte makes the whole process of staying at Norfolk House as easy as possible by letting guests pay per person, organising the invoices, and keeping track of the payments, to take the stress off the chief organiser.

So, is all this worth the weekly upheaval, and having created such an incredible house, doesn’t she just want to keep it to herself?

What's a home without a hot tub? (Image: Cool Stays) Charlotte has not only made a successful business model and lasting legacy for her family, but also donates part of the proceeds to the Pennine Domestic Abuse Partnership.

And as she puts it: ‘we get to share this beautiful, large house with lots of very appreciative people. We get rave reviews, and people go away with a much more positive view of Huddersfield.’

The Scarlet Hen at Norfolk House sleeps up to 21 guests. Prices start from £150 per person for a one-night midweek stay with no activities, for more information and to book visit scarlet-hen.co.uk

Charlotte Hughes. (Image: Elspeth Mary Moore)