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Review 2389: Owner, Sansome Cottage

www.sansomecottage.co.uk

Recommended. Review by Amanda from UK

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

When

April 2006, One week

Review

Sansome House cottage is an absolutely wonderful treasure to have discovered. We have stayed in dozens of country cottages over the years, but it is rare to find one so perfect. We stayed there for a week nearly six months ago, but having discovered Slow Travel and seen that someone else has recommended it, I just wanted to add my impressions. I am not listing all the factual stuff as that is already in the other review.

The cottage itself had been recently renovated and decorated in exquisite taste, and with enormous attention to detail, using very high quality materials. The overall sensation was of being in an immaculately run country-house hotel, except that you have the whole place to yourself. The bedrooms were beautifully furnished, and the beds were genuinely comfortable (as someone with back problems, I am very picky indeed about beds). The bed linen was all high quality white cotton. There were lovely pictures throughout, and a great selection of books to read while you are there, also DVDs and CDs.

The kitchen is the heart of the house. It is very large, with a big dining table in the centre, and cosy seating off to one side, overlooking the garden. It was extremely well-equipped with everything we needed, all in sparkling condition. When we arrived, we also discovered numerous little extras: a bottle of wine, freshly-baked homemade bread (still warm!), homemade biscuits, and other groceries. There were fresh flowers, and candles on the table ready for dinner. Other places sometimes leave a few little things, but not to this standard. It was a lovely welcome.

The owner, Felicity, is charming, warm and welcoming. She made us feel totally at home, and was happy to help with suggestions for trips and eating out. Her house is on the other side of the courtyard, but the cottage feels totally private.

Ilmington is a lovely village. It has a couple of pubs, one of which, "The Howard Arms" is a dining pub which has won lots of awards. We ate there twice - seriously good food and a terrific ambience. During our stay, there was an Open Gardens day, and we walked round the village visiting some of the amazing gardens and meeting the friendly people who had created them. There was even a Morris Dancing troupe! There are lots of little footpaths which wend their way around the village so you can walk around the centre away from any traffic (not that there is much anyway). The church is postcard-perfect, and had a trail for children to find twelve wooden mice that had been carved by the original carpenters when they made the pews.

As you can tell, we really fell in love with Sansome Cottage and the village of Ilmington. There aren't many places left that are this special. It has all the ingredients for a wonderful holiday, and now comes right at the top of my list of favourite cottages.

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

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Review 2389: Owner, Sansome Cottage

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