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Review 2152: Owner, Sansome Cottage

www.sansomecottage.co.uk

Recommended. Review by Pauline from NM

2bed/2bath cottage in village near Chipping Campden, Cotswolds, Heart of England

Sansome Cottage on a rainy day, photo by Pauline

When

May 2006, Did not stay here, but visited

Location

This cottage is in a small village, Ilmington, on the northern edge Cotswolds, in the county of Warwickshire, 4 miles north of Chipping Campden and 8 miles south of Stratford on Avon. The cottage is on the grounds of the owner's house, but is a separate house and separated from the owner's house by the driveway and a lawn area.

Ilmington is a pretty village, with a pub that has good food (The Howard Arms, www.howardarms.com - recommended in the book "Forty Classic Cotswolds Pubs" by G.M. Ball, 2005) and a couple of shops. The surrounding countryside is beautiful and the Warwickshire Centenary Way long distance path passes through the village.

The cottage is private with its own outdoor area and parking.

Nearby Amenities

The cottage is on a pleasant lane in the village, so you can walk to the shop, the pub or to footpaths that go out into the countryside. The nearest large supermarkets are in Stratford (15 minutes) or Stow-on-the-Wold (15 minutes), but you will find everything you need in nearby Chipping Campden or Shipston-on-Stour (easier parking, prices are lower).

The House/Apartment

This house is historic and has been beautifully restored. It is large and spacious. On the ground level there is a large entry room, a good sized living room and a big eatin kitchen. The living room has comfortable furniture and a good TV/DVD/VCR (gets digital channels - more than just the basic 5 stations). It is nice and bright, with a large window. The kitchen is fabulous with a big table in the center. All the plates, cutlery and pots and pans were good quality. There is a shower room downstairs. Wireless broadband for high speed internet is available.

Upstairs there are two bedrooms, one large master with a queen bed and a sitting area, another bedroom with two singles and a large bathroom.

The furnishings are all top quality and very comfortable. You feel like you are in an historic cottage, but the ceilings are high, the windows are big and it is spacious.

There are no other rental cottages on the property - there is just the owner's house and this cottage. Inbetween is a building that used to be a stables, but is now storage.

Garden

There is a private outside garden and sitting area.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

Furnishings are top quality, comfortable and in good shape. There are lots of chairs at the dining table, and two couches plus a comfortable chair in the living room. The house was very clean.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

The beds looked lovely. The duvet, sheets and towels did NOT smell of perfumed laundry products (one of the things I check for since I have a mild allergy to fragrances). The master bedroom was large, with a couch in one corner to make a private sitting area. The bathroom was large and had a good tub (shower in the downstairs one).

Kitchen

Great kitchen. Electric stove, lots of pots and pans, dishes, cutlery and all good quality. This is a kitchen you would enjoy using. There is a washing machine in the kitchen, with a dryer in the building next to the house (a storage room).

Problems or Bonuses

The surprise was the spaciousness. I have stayed in many Cotswold cottages and most are small with low ceilings.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

You rent directly from the owner. Felicity, the owner, has a classified listing with Slow Travel and takes part in the UK & Ireland forums on the message board. I met her "online" and asked if we could visit to see her cottage while we were in England. If I had found her cottage before we had booked our trip, I would have booked it instead.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

Yes, I recommend this vacation rental. The only downside is that it is in a small village with only one shop and pub, but many of the vacation rentals in the Cotswolds are in similar villages. The upside is the quality of this rental, for a reasonable price.

Things to do in this area

Lots to do from here. You are close to Stratford on Avon and Warwick. To the south lies the Cotswolds. It was a 35 minute drive from Burford, on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds to Ilmington. It is probably only 20 minutes drive from Ilmington to Stow-on-the-Wold, 15 minutes to Morton-on-Marsh, less than 10 minutes to Chipping Campden.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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