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Sansome House Cottage

www.sansomecottage.co.uk

Vacation Rentals, United Kingdom & Ireland, Heart of England

Unwind slowly in a Cotswold cottage. Stunning guest accommodation in a very English setting.

Location: Ilmington

Sleeps: 4

See location on a Google Map

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Accommodation Summary

Gorgeous Cotswold stone cottage for long and short vacation rentals sleeping up to 4 people. The cottage is set in the courtyard of the owner’s house with its own private secluded garden.

Accommodation comprises, hall, sitting room with open fire, cloakroom with basin, W.C. and shower, large kitchen/diner with larder off and patio doors to small private garden. Stairs to landing. 1 bedroom with twin beds, 1 bedroom with king sized bed and dressing room with WHB off. Bathroom with basin, W.C and bath.

"Thank you for a wonderful week. The cottage is the best we've ever stayed in and certainly one we plan to return to. Your attention to detail and personal touches, along with your friendly welcome and continued hospitality made our holiday even more memorable. You have set a high standard for other holiday lets to aspire to."

The J. family, London.

 

Location

At the northern edge of the Cotswolds in a fold of the Ilmington Downs is the beautiful unspoilt village of Ilmington. Click here to view a slideshow of a walk I took around the village in May, taking photographs.

 

Although close to major tourist centres, it is off the beaten track and consequently remains undiscovered by the average traveller although it is popular with walkers in the summer. Ilmington has a beautiful Norman Church and two good pubs, one of which, The Red Lion, does ''take out' food such as fish and chips and pizzas as well as in-house dining. Some excellent food shops are 5 mins drive away at Shipston on Stour and a Waitrose supermarke is 10 minutes away on the road to Stratford upon Avon. Ilmington is surrounded by great walking and cycling country and is 3 miles from the most famous garden in England at Hidcote Manor (email me for a link to all the wonderful events going on there throughout the year), a National Trust property. Next to Hidcote is another lovely, privately-owned garden, Kiftsgate which is well worth a visit. Both are open from Easter to October. You can have afternoon tea at Kiftsgate and Hidcote has both a restaurant and a cafe as well as a shop and a plant centre. At nearby Moreton-in Marsh King Charles I granted a charter for a market in 1637. This popular street market still continues today, every Tuesday, rain or shine, when the High Street is covered with market stalls. Many wonderful places to visit are within easy reach of Ilmington - Broadway, Stow on the Wold, Chipping Campden (these last three great for cream teas, old buildings and antique shops), Stratford upon Avon, Warwick, to name but a few, with Oxford and Cheltenham both about 40 minutes by car.

"The cottage is well appointed, situated in a charming village, quiet enough for peace and relaxation but close enough to good roads for easy access to the rest of the Cotswolds. The real icing on the cake was our hostess who made sure everything was as desired - advice on places to visit, little extras from the garden..."

Spencer and Beth K. Chester

Your self catering accommodation

Sansome House Cottage lies in the courtyard of Sansome House and the situation is very peaceful. You are unlikely to be disturbed by human noise but we do have a noisy cluster of birds singing in Spring and the resident pheasant (he's back from his holidays!), badgers and deer make themselves known occasionally.

This delightful cottage, furnished in small country house style, is very spacious, comfortable and extremely well equipped. It is warm and cosy throughout the year with central heating and open wood fire. The aim is to make it a 'home from home' with anything that you might need (apart from consumables!) on a short break or long stay provided. We try to keep it well maintained and recently had a large part of it redecorated (but we have kept it looking the same as we have so many return visitors who don't like change!).

• A welcoming entrance hall leads to a very comfortable sitting room with large HDTV and DVD player. An antique Persian rug lies on the natural wood floor. Two big sofas for lounging on. Radio/casette/CD player. An eclectic mix of books on the bookshelves. A stack of board games for rainy days. Open fire with logs (the is the only 'extra' but we give you a small basket to start you off)
• A downstairs cloakroom with a shower.
• A very large kitchen with farmhouse table and dresser. Electric hob and oven, fridge freezer (with extra space available in our freezer if needed), dishwasher, washing machine and dryer. Microwave and food processor. For coffee lovers: a drip filter machine, a French press, a stove top expresso maker and an electric one. The kitchen is extremely well equipped – there is a large range of saucepans, knives and kitchen utensils. There is a small TV and an i-pod dock in the kitchen also.
• Patio doors lead to a small secluded cottage garden. Garden furniture and a barbeque are provided. There is table tennis in the adjoining garage.
• Upstairs are two good sized bedrooms: A fresh, light twin bedroom with very comfortable beds fitted with all night electric under blankets, good new mattresses and ample cupboard and drawer space and a relaxing double bedroom with a king-sized bed (American Queen), also fitted with an electric blanket. A comfortable sofa and television should you want to get away from your friends or family! Off the main bedroom is a dressing room with a large wash hand basin and storage space.
• A modern bathroom with bath, loo and basin + airing cupboard.

"What a wonderful week we've had! The cottage is lovely and suggestions from Felicity sent us to some absolutely incredible places"

Sharon and Co. California. 

All the usual things you would expect to have at home are in the cottage – iron and ironing board, hairdryer etc.

Please note that the staircase is quite steep and although fitted with handrails, is probably not suitable for anyone who has difficulty on stairs e.g. toddlers or the infirm.

Special Features

• The owners welcome you on arrival and are available and happy to help you with any advice you may need throughout your stay (and before!).
• On arrival you will find a tea tray laid for you with biscuits, bread and jam, all homemade.
• The rent is all inclusive of linen and towels. There are no extra utility bills. The fire is laid, ready for a match and the first basket of logs is free.
• An end of holiday cleaning service is provided on advance request (extra charge). For those staying longer than a week I can arrange for a cleaner to come in during your stay.
• Complimentary bottle of wine
• The cupboards are stocked with 'starter' quantities of store cupboard basics such as coffee, tea, sugar, flour, oil etc to save you having to worry about bringing everything with you on the first day, arriving off a plane perhaps, so that it is more like arriving as guests as someone's house where they gone away and have left some things for you to save you having immediately to rush to the shops.  We try to keep your rental cost down by NOT providing exotic 'hampers' and designer toiletries, as some agency cottages do. Similarly I do all my own marketing, booking and maintenance as I like to have direct contact with guests and am happy to answer any questions you might have in advance of your stay. We can do a small fresh food shop for you, to order, if you are travelling from far away. Just let us know when booking. There are two pubs a few minutes walk from the cottage where you might like to have your first dinner.
• This is a non-smoking cottage.
• The cottage has Broadband wi-fi connection. You need a computer with a wireless card to make use of this. This access is free to visitors. 

"You have a lovely and welcoming cottage; a cosy and comfortable place to come back to each day. You've done everything possible to make us feel at home. The just-baked bread was scrumptious, the jam delicious and the goodies from your garden a pleasure to enjoy. You've thought of everything from rainy day activities to evening entertainment, to lots of information on this beautiful region"

Marvin and Phyllis R. New Jersey 

 

Please go to www.sansomecotage.co.uk to see tariffs, availability and further photographs.  Weekly stays start at £590 rising to £700 in high summer. Some of 2013 is already booked but there is still limited availability in the summer months. Christmas 2013 is booked.

You are welcome to contact me at any time through this site or the above listed one. I am never far from a computer, weekends included, so you will rarely have to wait for more than a few hours for a reply unless I am out of the country or travellling (an all too rare event!).  You may also telephone (but please be aware of time zone differences or I might just be away on a rare holiday in which case email will reach me if you don't get an answer within hours to your telephone call/message) on +44 1608 682555.  Felicity.

P.S. For those interested in visiting Ireland - I occasionally let my second home in Ireland for stays of a 5 nights and over. It is a (large) one bed apartment in south central Dublin. This is also advertised on Slow Travel (number 3233)

Slow Travel Reviews

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Contact Information

Company: Sansome House Cottage

Name: Felicity Ausden

Street: Back Street

City: Ilmington

State/Province: Warwickshire (North Cotswolds/Shakespeare Country)

Country: England

Zip/Postal Code: CV36 4LJ

Website: www.sansomecottage.co.uk

E-mail: Click here to send an e-mail inquiry