A charming Cotswolds stone cottage with a fantastic open-plan kitchen/diner leading onto an outdoor lounge that’s perfect for families and an ideal base for exploring Cheltenham and the Cotswolds.
Family-friendly and dog-friendly too, the cottage is an excellent choice for a real home-from-home experience in the Cotswolds. Socialise in the stunning kitchen/diner, step out into the private garden to dine alfresco, or relax beside the log burner on cold winter evenings. You’ll find the cottage a comfortable base with a village pub to hand and easy access to the Cotswolds countryside and picturesque villages, plus the spa town of Cheltenham with its fantastic shopping opportunities, race days and annual literature and jazz festivals. Guests also have access to the full fitness suite and a range of classes at the nearby gym, just a short walk away.
Built in the late 1800s from local Cotswolds stone, this cottage is full of traditional style and retains many period details alongside its modern interior and high-tech features that include an electric car charger and a cinema room.
The light and spacious, open-plan, kitchen/diner is a great place where everyone can socialise. Gather around the antique French farmhouse table that seats six, or sit at the kitchen island with a drink and keep the cook of the group company as they prep dinner. There’s everything you could need to self-cater with fully-integrated appliances including a dishwasher, washer dryer and fridge freezer.
Bi-fold doors in this room open up to the private garden so that you can enjoy the best of indoor/outdoor living when the weather is kind. It’s a brilliant entertaining space with a patio with comfortable sofa seating and a Weber BBQ with a built-in pizza stone, while the kids can let off steam on the lawn or on the trampoline.
The family lounge has a log burner, a TV and a corner sofa making it great for movie nights and lazy wet days in, while the snug is a more grown-up sitting room that’s perfect for a bit of peace whilst reading a good book. There’s also the convenience of a downstairs WC.
If you need to do some remote work during your stay, there’s fast broadband and WiFi, a laptop-friendly office area and even a glass dry erase board should you need it.
Upstairs there are three bedrooms, one with a king-size bed and two with a double bed, all with a TV, some storage space and luxury mattresses. There’s also a family bathroom with a rolltop bath and a separate walk-in shower.
On the driveway, there is parking for one car.
The Cotswolds is a richly rural area with more than 3,000 footpaths and trails running through farmland and wildflower meadows, as well as ancient woodlands to explore.
For woodland birds, Box Wood tucked away in a valley near Minchinhampton is well worth a visit. Comprised mainly of beech, with some limestone streams running through it, in summer it becomes alive with birds. Listen out for great-spotted woodpeckers and tawny owls, and keep your eyes peeled for treecreepers and nuthatches as they run up and down the trees.
More woods can be found on Crickley Hill jointly managed by the National Trust and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Located just south of Cheltenham its habitats also include grassland, scrub, and limestone rock exposures. Mixed flocks of tits and finches are common in the woods, while kestrels can often be seen hovering above as they hunt for prey. In summer, the site is also a haven for wildflowers and butterflies.
Cotswold Water Park which straddles the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire border is a vast marl lake system spread over 42 miles. Cleveland Lakes Reserve is made up of two of the largest lakes and is an important site for both wintering and breeding birds including coots, great crested grebes, and little egrets. For bitterns, reed buntings, water rails, and snipes, head to Shorncote Reedbed which also has two bird hides so you can view the wildlife close up.
If you want to see some exotic and rare birds, Birdland in Bourton-on-the-water has a variety of attractions set in nine acres of gardens and woodland. Some of the highlights include the Parliament of Owls, home to eight species of owl, the Pandemonium of Parrots, where you can learn about the 16 species of parrot housed there, and Penguin Shore which has daily feeding displays. There are plenty of spots to have a picnic, as well as a children’s play area, and a gift shop.
Nearby Greystones Farm nature reserve is home to wildflower meadows, Iron Age ramparts, a replica Iron Age roundhouse, a working organic farm, and an interactive discovery barn. The old farm buildings are used by swallows and house martins for nesting and there are plenty of birds of prey to be spotted gliding overhead. There is also the opportunity to view a live camera feed of a barn owl box, and watch the birds as they bring up their chicks.
Farmland birds can be found all over the beautiful Cotswolds countryside. Look out for corn buntings, grey partridges, turtle doves, and yellow wagtails.
