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Review 3275: Rural Retreats, Coates Mill Cottage

www.ruralretreats.co.uk

Recommended. Review by TaraF from GA

2bed/1bath house in Winchcombe, Heart of England

Coates Mill Cottage view from the back garden, photo by Tara Finco

When

June 2007, 1 Week

Location

From the Rural Retreats website: "Coates Mill Cottage is an end of terrace, 200-year-old Cotswold stone property. It lies in a quiet position in a wooded hollow with a mill stream opposite. The property's rural setting belies the fact that it is only a 10-minute walk from the centre of Winchcombe and a five-minute walk from the nearest pub, The Corner Cupboard. Winchcombe is a small Cotswold town with a wealth of old buildings, and Sudeley Castle." Very true for all of this description.

The nearest bigger towns are Cheltenham and Bishop's Cleeve, where you'll find supermarkets such as Tesco. The cottage itself is down a gravel path with other homes along the drive; be warned that the turn into this lane is sharp and there's a stone bridge that makes it tight... get a smallish rental car! The location is just off the Cheltenham Road (the B4632), which is the main two-lane road through Winchcombe (main being a relative term). Trees and a field separate the road from the lane the cottage is one. While it's a quiet and serene setting, you can hear the cars from this road. The cottage is wonderfully situated across from a stream our children loved investigating, and walking paths are just a few steps away.

Nearby Amenities

Within Winchcombe there is a small grocery store, a butcher, a baker, a pub, a tea room and other small shops you might need, but if, like us, you'd like a larger supermarket, there is a Tesco and Morrison's a short drive away. We enjoyed going to the Corner Cupboard pub; definitely a locals' hangout with dogs welcome.

The House/Apartment

The building was a beautiful honey-colored, 200 year old cottage. It was in excellent shape and was everything I had hoped it would be. I was near tears as I entered the door because it was like a dream realized: this was our home in the Cotswolds! NOTE: Every picture on the website is accurate -- both inside and out look just like the pictures!

As you walk in, you enter the dining room and can see back to the kitchen area. Immediately to the right is a small but comfortable sitting room with a sofa, a chair, and a small TV (on the website they don't have the TV pictured, but it's where the lamp is on the chest); in both the dining room and the sitting room there are windowseats where my children read many a book. Back in the dining room, there is a working, wood-burning fireplace next to the table, as well as a stereo with a CD player and some CDs. This is the only dining table inside the house, but it's perfect.

The kitchen is separated from the dining room by a counter. When we arrived, a wonderfully stocked hamper was sitting out for us. The pretty kitchen has a full-size stove and oven, a pretty sink area, a large window to view the steps up to the garden, plenty of utensils, nice dishes -- in short, everything you need. The washer and dryer are to the right in a separate room, where you'll also find the refrigerator. There is also another sink there and more counterspace.

To the right of the kitchen are the steep stairs up to the bedrooms and bathroom. At the top of the stairs is a short hall with a large window to the back garden. Directly ahead is the large bathroom with shower and tub. Be sure to pull those blinds while you're in the bathroom: from there you can see into the neighbor's garden (where they have the sweetest black Lab). Next to that is the first bedroom with a queen bed, dresser, and closet (note: the hairdryer is in this room, in the dresser ... it took me a day to find it). The other bedroom, to the left, has two twin beds that can be joined together, I think. It has an armoire for storage and seems a little smaller than the first bedroom. Both bedrooms have windows facing the front of the cottage, but it's fairly private. Your window overlooks the front garden, and you can hear the stream across the gravel road. The beds were very comfortable and had nice linens and beautiful white down duvets on them.

Garden

From the kitchen you exit to a lower patio with slate gravel, and you take the steps up to the upper garden, a delightful, large space. There is a grassy area that's small but lovely, and a nice pond with waterlilies to the right in the gravel garden. By the pond are lounge chairs and a table and chairs, perfect for sunny, warm days.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

The cottage was perfect. All the furniture was comfortable, and it was wonderfully tidy when we arrived.

Problems or Bonuses

The only surprise was how much it exceeded my high expectations. I hated leaving, and my 11 year-old daughter says this was her favorite of the four vacation rentals we stayed in during our trip to France and England. Lydia, the caretaker next door (owner of the sweet black Lab) was such a pleasure to meet and made sure we had enough towels when she realized we had two kids as opposed to just ourselves. She didn't hover, but she was there when we needed her and was very gracious.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

Rural Retreats was wonderful. No problems; easy to work with. We will hopefully return to England in 2009, and we'll definitely use them again for our next rentals.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

I would stay here again -- heck, I'd buy the place if I could and live there forever! This was such a wonderful week in such a wonderful cottage that it would be easy to recommend to anyone.

Things to do in this area

Walks abound in the area, and Sudeley Castle is a pleasant walk from the cottage. Oxford is a short drive, as is Stratford -- it's England! Everything is close! While there is a basket full of information about walks, be sure to visit the Tourist Information center in Winchcombe for input on your walks. We tried one from a list within the basket, and it was really unclear; we got lost, it poured ... but we remember it fondly now. The lady at the TI center can give you better advice, which she did for us, and we had wonderful walks after that.

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

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