For kin
One day they’ll say, “When we were kids, we found a place to call home, a family cottage that became a midwinter fortress. The floor was lava, and there were owls each night, and always crumpets at breakfast.”
Or, something like that, anyway.
In places where lochside retreats are eclipsed by peasouper fogs, and sea-crafted gales are carried in on the wings of sooty shearwaters, your motley crew (and the dogs, too) will always be found together. Here’s to time away with your homefolk, to tallying up the seconds between lightning flashes and thunder claps, and the careful cherry-picking of Monopoly tokens.
These weathered seasons are for luxury hideaways. For teaching the children the cosy curriculum: discovering herbs in the garden at dawn, squeezing lemon wedges over cast-iron puffed pancakes at lunch, and melting boiled sweets into stained glass sugar cookies for last lesson. What you feel most has no name but cinnamon, blankets, puzzles, chuckles, and rivers of honey flowing from the drizzler.
The Walled Garden
Dyrham, Bath, The Cotswolds, UK
Perhaps the most ornate vegetable store in all of England, The Walled Garden began life as a potato house for Dyrham Park in Bath before becoming a luxury Cotswolds garden stay.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,895 per week, £1,395 per short break
Pets: One small well-behaved dog is welcome
Features: Fire pit, use of the owners´ tennis court and use of the owners´ natural outdoor pool (pool available between 8am and midday, outside of these times available on prior agreement)
The Flower Press
Bibury, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Emerald green in spring, fire red in autumn; luxury cottage The Flower Press is a French countryside-inspired home and garden in the quintessentially Cotswolds village of Bibury.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £2,595 per week, £1,995 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs over the age of 12 months are welcome
The Ruby Barn
Sandford St Martin, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, The Cotswolds, UK
Bringing a touch of Californian chicness to the Oxfordshire countryside, this luxury Cotswold stone barn conversion has been fashioned with soul.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £2,150 per week, £1,595 per short break
Pets: Two well behaved small dogs are welcome
Features: Children´s play area with slide
The Knapp
Slad, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Settle yourself within the pages of Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie at The Knapp, where the magic of a Slad Valley childhood meets the Cotswolds of the 21st century.
Sleeps: Up to 8 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 4 guests
From: £3,250 per week, £2,450 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Cinema/games room and an outdoor kitchen
Evania
Bentham, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Inspired by the colours and countryside of the Mediterranean, this Gloucestershire home with heated outdoor swimming pool and hot tub, is the perfect family retreat.
Sleeps: Up to 10 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 & Up to 4 guests
From: £4,995 per week, £3,950 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Outdoor heated swimming pool (May - September), hot tub, outdoor kitchen area with built-in gas barbecue, games room with table football, pool table, table tennis and television
Gulliver´s Hall
Bisley, Stroud, Gloucestershire, The Cotswolds, UK
Playful, elegant, and ancestral, Gulliver's Hall is a luxury country manor in the beating heart of the Cotswolds; a family spa near Bisley with a heated pool, sauna, and tennis court.
Sleeps: Up to 21 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 15 & Up to 6 guests
From: £7,795 per week, £5,895 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome on prior request
Features: Outdoor heated swimming pool (April-October), sunken spa bath, sauna, steam room, outdoor shower, outdoor kitchen with pizza oven, paella burner, games and cinema room, tennis court, croquet lawn
