Up a twisting mountain road in the Catskill Game Preserve, you’ll encounter a little bit of the spirit of England at the Redcoat’s Return. Once the center of a potato-and-dairy farm, the 1860 home at Elka Park was later a summer boardinghouse. Now this lodging is known in the area for its English country hospitality.
Tom (the Redcoat) and PegWright have owned the inn since 1973; he was once a chef on the Queen Mary and she was an actress. The inn features extensive art and antiques collections that bring to-gether mementos of trips abroad—and there’s a moose head, named Basil, over the fireplace. Tom, who has a quirky sense ofhumor, says that he plays golf in his spare time and that “Peg is inter-ested in metaphysics.” Both are practiced conversationalists. Tom is full of stories about his objets d’art, which in-dude a cricket bat and a framed antique scarf commemorating the first boxing match between an Englishman and an American, in 1860. Zoe, the Wrights’ Bernese mountain dog, can also be a charming hostess.
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