Cotswold 'country house' style - with two dining pubs in the village and a local shop
Sansome House Cottage, Back Street, Ilmington, Warwickshire, CV36 4LJBedrooms - 2
Sleeps - 4
Bathrooms - 2
Sorry no pets
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Sansome House Cottage in Ilmington, Warwickshire - 2 bedrooms, sleeps 4
All prices quoted are all-inclusive for up to 4 people. There are no extras A minimum stay is usually 3 nights and if you stay 4 the 4th night is at half price in the months of November to March, subject to availability. These dates are not released until near the time as weekly stays are my preference. Peak summer rate for 2024 is £1100/week. Christmas £1500 3 night minimum for October and December 2024 and some 2 night breaks in June also. Short break rates are of course more per night. Currently the rate averages £210 night for a short stay at weekends in June and there may be odd gaps later in the Sumer. Discounts for longer breaks than 3 nights. When you request a booking, we send you our terms and conditions link and the link to our online booking form. We hold this space for you for 48 hours, pending your acceptance of the contract (by ticking a box online) along with instigation of a deposit payment, otherwise we assume you have changed your mind and that slot is open again for other enquirers. The booking is secured when the deposit (25% of the cost of the stay) is received. We allow 7 days for the transfer (by BT or cheque) of funds on confirmation of the booking. The balance is payable 2 months in advance of arrival. Look for Sansome House Cottage for further details direct from me.
This courtyard cottage with private garden lies in a beautiful, non-touristy North Cotswold village of Ilmington. With two great dining pubs a short walk away, it is perfect for those who want a winter break, a week-long walking, cycling or sight seeing holiday, or to settle in as if it were your own country cottage and spend a month exploring the area or just simply winding down.
The owners aim is to provide you with everything you might need in an extremely well-equipped and roomy cottage; a place of peace and comfort and somewhere you will want to come home to at night. The cottage sleeps four people. It is the perfect location being both in the Heart of England and in the Cotswolds at the same time and Ilmington is a village which is off the main roads yet near to the ‘action’. For this reason it attracts many overseas tourists as well as walkers, cyclists or those who just want to sit in front of a log fire on a relaxing break with the occasional drive to nearby villages or an amble round to the pub.
Ilmington is a very pretty village set amidst the rolling hills of the Ilmington Downs, on the Warwickshire/Gloucestershire border, the highest point in Warwickshire being just a mile away.
Climbing or driving to the top of the hill, you can enjoy quite spectacular views over the closely neighbouring counties of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire.
Ilmington is the only village in Warwickshire in the designated Area of Natural Beauty (ANOB) that is the Cotswolds - an area of hills that stretches south as far as Bath. Almost all the villages and towns of the area have visit-worthy features so you have a multiple choice of where to go each day – perhaps a cream tea in Chipping Campden, an old wool marketing town, complete with ancient Wool Market building in its renowned beautiful High Street, antique browsing in Broadway, Moreton in Marsh and Stow on the Wold, exploring many lesser known but beautiful villages in this area, and further on admiring the beautiful buildings and delights of Burford and Oxford. 7 miles north is the bustling town of Stratford upon Avon, which, to Shakespeare fans, needs no introduction but is also excellent for shopping with many small shops as well as the well known High Street chains. Within a 10 mile radius are golf courses at Brailes, Welford and Stratford, riding at Stanway and Moreton, tennis in the village, fishing, racing at Stratford and Warwick and many more outdoor activities available within easy driving distance.
There are numerous houses and gardens (many of them National Trust properties) you can visit in the area as well as places of particular beauty and historical interest. Warwick, with its famous castle is 16 miles but of course there are other less known castles in the region.
There are regular Farmer's Markets, Craft Fairs, Music and Literary festivals throughout the year and of course village fetes in the summer (Ilmington Show is on August Bank holiday Monday). Several large files of information are kept up to date in the cottage to help you decide where to visit each day.
The flatter land to the north of Ilmington suits the leisure cyclist, whereas the sporty cyclists can tackle some very steep hills out of the village in the other directions. It is easy to find quiet, relatively traffic-light roads, even in high summer. The walking country is all around, making decision making difficult as there is so much choice. Walking, cycling and driving routes, together with maps are left in the cottage for you to borrow.
Accommodation
This 18th Century former farm building was converted in the mid-twentieth Century and fully modernised a few years ago to become a thoughtfully equipped home from home for holiday lets. It is furnished in small country house style with a mix of antique and modern furniture. It is the only cottage in the grounds of the owners’ house on the edge of the North Cotswold village of Ilmington. The setting is very quiet, the day to day sounds being those of the many garden birds or the happy squeals of the children in the school playground up the road at break time. The bells of the Norman church ring out on Sundays with practice time on Tuesday evenings. There are squirrels, badgers, a deer, a mole and a pheasant on regular visits/eating forays to the garden but they are all (except for the pheasant) almost completely silent.
The cottage is completely separate and private, being on the other side of a large courtyard from the main house and has its own small secluded garden leading off from the kitchen. The kitchen has all the modern appliances you would expect – dishwasher, washing machine, ironing equipment, sharp knives and good pans etc. as well as several different ways of making coffee to suit all tastes. The small garden has a BBQ and garden furniture. And in summer, you have your own supply of fresh herbs growing there amongst the flowers.
The entrance hall can double as a small dining room although most people take their meals at the big kitchen table or go out the French windows to eat at the table in the garden if it is sunny (or cook outside on the BBQ).
There is a cloakroom downstairs with shower cubicle plus wash hand basin and WC.
The sitting room has an open log fire with a starter supply of logs provided (more available locally). This is laid ready for your arrival, just requiring a match but the cottage is cosily centrally heated so it is unlikely you will need a fire. There are two big sofas and an armchair in which to curl up on with a good book (loads of them on the shelves to borrow) or to watch TV or a DVD or just to have a convivial chat over a game of Monopoly, Cluedo or one of the many other games provided there are jigsaws too for staying-in days.
Up quite a steep staircase are two good sized bedrooms: a twin-bedded room where the morning sun streams in, and a double room with a super king-sized bed (two mattresses sharing a base so suitable for close friends as well as couples) and a small dressing room off with a hand basin. In between the bedrooms lies the bathroom with bath, basin and WC.
What’s included
Electricity, heating are included. Linen and towels also included. A starter basket of logs is provided and further logs can be purchased locally. The cupboards are stocked with starter amounts of essential kitchen supplies (tea, coffee etc.). Freshly baked homemade bread, jam and biscuits are left for your tea on arrival. WIFI access is offered free of charge. Off road parking.
Changeovers
Saturday to Saturday bookings, only, most of the year. Short breaks may be available in Winter (November to end of February) with more flexible changeover days. These may be booked much nearer to the time and are generally subject to a 3 night minimum. Week long stays bookable up to a year in advance.
Arrival from 4 pm and departure 10 am. These times are flexible if there is not a back- to-back booking.
Directions
Detailed directions will be given on booking. Ilmington is situated between Shipston on Stour and Chipping Campden, 7 miles south of Stratford upon Avon and 45 mins drive from Oxford and Cheltenham. The parking for the cottage is off-road
Self-catering features
- Bedrooms: 1 Double (Super King bed made up as Austrian Twins), 1 Twin
- Sleeps: 4
- Bathrooms: 2 (one with bath and one with shower)
- 3 xTVs with Freeview/video/DVD/radios/CD player/ipod dock/wifi broadband (free)
- Washing machine and drier
- Log fire
- BBQ and garden furniture
- Books, games and puzzles in the cottage.
- Table tennis in the adjacent garage. Storage for bikes here also.
- Chipping Campden & Shipston on Stour both 4 miles
- The cottage is unsuitable for the infirm because of the staircase being steep
- Well behaved children over 5 are welcome. We are not equipped for babies.
- The cottage is for non-smokers only
- Birmingham airport 45 mins, Heathrow 1 hour and a half
- Moreton in Marsh 8 miles Stratford upon Avon 7 miles
- Tennis in the village. Bowling green. Playground and skateboard ramp.
- Many walking and cycling routes passing through Ilmington.
- Cycle hire 3 miles (they will deliver)
- Racing, golf, riding, fishing all in a 10 miles radius
- Two pubs in the village 3-5 mins walk, one does takeaways, the other has an award- winning restaurant
- Hidcote Garden 3 miles
- Many other National Trust houses and gardens within easy driving distance
- Theatres and historical houses in Stratford upon Avon.
- Short breaks (please note a minmum of 3 nights)
Ilmington map and Sansome House Cottage location
Hand-picked quality self-catering cottage
