Style Files: The ‘spring in a bottle’ fragrance Callie Coles can’t live without

Life is chaotic when we catch up with Callie Coles, the renowned hunter and mother of three who’s charmed Instagram with her wool knits and traditional English ways. Marmalade, one of the family’s whippets, has just given birth to six puppies and poor Callie is undergoing treatment for sepsis after a spider bite turned nasty. Still, she’s managed to get out for a run on Warrior, the horse she almost bought (and later pinched) from Toby Coles, the man who later became her husband.

“This weather is peculiar,” Callie tells her followers about the morning’s ride. “The petrichor was pungent and almost overwhelming. I think a good night’s sleep will help…” She goes on, her words like a letter sent from a time long ago, deep in the Dorset countryside. When we managed to pin down Callie to talk fashion, family and life on the farm, she was every bit as charming as her Instagram musings and rambling old home suggests. She tells us more about the ‘scent of spring’ and the bath products she swears by.

What does a typical day look like for you? We get woken early every morning by Pippin [two-year-old Peregrine]. He gets up with the lark. Then my husband, Toby, walks the dogs and feeds all the animals while I get the other boys [Jesse, 13, and Merlin, seven] ready for school.

I then go for a run. When I’m back and have had a bath, I sit down and write for as long as possible before the children need me again. Then we do the school run.

Most afternoons we ride, walk the dogs and cook supper, put the children to bed and then sit down to read, watch telly or just talk until we go to bed — normally unsociably early so we can get up at the crack of dawn the next day.

Do you manage to get a ride in every day? We simply can’t manage it, but we ride as much as physically possible. It’s just us on the farm, so life is pretty busy.

Where did your love of riding begin? My great-grandfather was a master huntsman in East Cornwall and my grandfather was in the mounted branch of the Metropolitan Police. Granny also rode a lot. Mum loves horses. Most of my family has kept racehorses. It’s been in the genes for many generations.

Your Instagram account has a huge following. How did that start? It was a place to store photographs, so I don’t lose them! We also have an Instagram account for the small stud farm we have on the Devon–Cornwall border. We have a motley menagerie there and offer holiday lets in a little wooden cabin that we call The Tree House.

OK, let’s talk fashion. How would you describe your style? Jeans and shirts are a must. My style is classic and traditional. Isabel Marant is a favourite designer; Cabbages & Roses have beautifully feminine but still practical dresses and separates.

Shoes or bags? Shoes, I guess. I rarely have a bag with me.

What’s your skin care routine? The products I use are mostly from Kloris. They use CBD oils [a non-psychoactive cannabinoid] to create skin care and bath products with health benefits. They are amazing.

Have you ever been to Australia? I went to Sydney when I was working as a nanny. I met Pink by the pool and she was lovely! My cousin is Australian — he lives in Sydney — and I am so keen to get out there to see him.

Tell us about your favourite holiday destination. Scotland. Or closer to home, I love the Hotel Endsleigh’s elegant suites and spacious grounds. 

Before we finish, can you share a few of your favourite things with us? 

Favourite place to stay: Hotel Endsleigh, Devon
Located in Devon, not far from our home at Woodley Park Farm, Hotel Endsleigh was commissioned by the beautiful and scandalous Georgiana, Duchess of Bedford. Married to one of the richest men in the country and lover of the artist Edwin Landseer, her life revolved around her beloved home. The hotel is set on 100 acres (40 hectares) of fairytale gardens, woodlands, follies and grottos created by Humphry Repton. 

Favourite scent: Diptyque Eau Rose

Diptyque Eau Rose is the scent of spring in a bottle. The range includes eau de parfum, candles, room sprays and bath products, so you can surround yourself with the multiple aromas of the rose, from bud to stem to fresh leaves. Its rosy delicateness is teamed with fruity accents and green notes.

Favourite book: National Velvet

Like any horse-loving girl, as a child I read Enid Bagnold’s National Velvet and dreamed of riding in The Grand National. The most loved racing story of all time, it’s a classic tale of dreams, ambition and one girl’s belief in a horse.

Favourite brands to wear: Drizo-Bone and Glaze & Gordon 

We all have Driza-Bones. Merlin’s godfather Paul Messara, or rather his lovely wife Alice!, from Arrowfield
Stud sent him one for his birthday. Most of my favourite day-to-day riding things come from Glaze & Gordon. I supplement them with vintage hand-me-downs.

To see more of Callie’s life, follow her on Instagram. 

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