There is much that I want to say but can’t with regards to the day I have had. Mondays are tough, especially if you are someone in your early 30s who still drinks (and there are fewer and fewer of us, probably for the best), but the agonies of tasting real freedom on a Saturday and Sunday, only to be returned to the crashing thump of adult life, can be overwhelming.
Suddenly, the many emails that you have been ignoring for 48 hours can be avoided no longer, and as you desperately cast your eye around the home in which you work, in a vain attempt to briefly disconnect, all you can see is cracks in the walls, and things that need repairing and clothes that need cleaning. And then, a strong breeze blows all your plants off your windowsill and covers you in soil. I often take it upon myself to attempt to bring the countryside to the computers and tablets of the ordinary Londoner, but this was a little too literal, even for me.
Bringing the countryside to the good people of the city should be more like writing about homes like Sarsden Cottage in Sarsden, Oxfordshire. On the market with The Country House Department for the not insignificant sum of £1.75 million, the property is a five-bedroom thatched cottage that looks like it wants to pick you up and cuddle you. The agonies of adult life will find you everywhere, but at Sarsden Cottage, they will hurt a little less.
Situated in the triangle of Chipping Norton, Stow-on-the-Wold and Burford, the village of Sarsden (and its adjoining village Churchill) is about as peak Cotswolds as you can get. There is a nice church. There is a village green. There is a nice pub (The Chequers Inn) and, perhaps most importantly these days, Daylesford Farm Shop and the Soho Farmhouse are a short drive away.
The property itself dates from the 17th century, although it does benefit from some more recent additions. The current owners have carried out a tasteful refurbishment of the house, creating a home of period elegance that oozes cosiness. Observe the comfortable sitting room and its glorious fireplace. Marvel at the farmhouse style kitchen that is both modern yet traditional. The double aspect garden room, with its enormous french doors and windows, is a particular highlight (I also like the choice of paint colour).
The small garden to the rear is also extremely pleasant. Hardly massive, it is mostly laid to lawn with well stocked beds and shrubs, creating a space that is nice to look at, spend time in, but won’t demand every hour of your free time to maintain. It’s all very well thought out and the kind of welcoming, functional space that might not write its own headlines, but is exactly the kind of calming home I would like to retire to after a day like today.
Sarsden Cottage is for sale with the Country House Department for £1.75 million
A classic Georgian manor house in an ancient hilltop town in the Cotswolds
The Lammas is a spectacular Georgian house in one of the finest spots in the Cotswolds, as Penny Churchill explains.
Credit: Savills and Knight Frank
Six of the best homes in the Cotswolds (or just outside) for sale, as seen in this week's Country Life
If it's more than an hour from the Soho Farmhouse or Daylesford, we don't want to know about it.
Credit: Hamptons
A honey-coloured home in Wiltshire that sits at peace with its landscape
Rock Cottage offers four bedrooms and almost two acres of land in the pristine countryside near Turleigh.
A 'rare and exceptional' medieval estate with an Elizabethan-style house, a string of cottages, and a location an hour from London
The Allexton Hall Estate comes to the market, and Penny Churchill tells its story.
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Can't you hear me S.O.S? Our treasured native dog breeds are at risk of extinctionDo you know your Kerry blue terrier from your Lancashire heeler? A simple lack of publicity is often to blame for some of the UK's native dog breeds flying dangerously low under-the-radar.
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'There are architects and architects, but only one ARCHITECT': Sir Edwin Lutyens and the wartime Chancellor who helped launch his stellar careerClive Aslet explores the relationship between Sir Edwin Lutyens and perhaps his most important private client, the politician and financier Reginald McKenna.
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If heaven is on earth, it might be in this home with a converted chapel that is now a swimming pool5 Wood Barton Town House is part of an exclusive 80-acre development in Devon that also comes with fishing rights on the River Avon and four bedrooms.
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The sounds of spring and stained glass in an Arts-and-Crafts masterpiece in DorsetWith 35 acres, more than 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and tennis court, Winterfield has it all.
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An eight-bedroom wonder in East Sussex where the outdoors are an adventureThe interiors of Old Middleton are pretty good too.
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A lakeside farmhouse on the market in the beautiful heart of PembrokeshireA lake, streams, 15 acres and five bedrooms. Rogershook might have it all.
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An idyllic countryside home that's light, spacious and comes with a Grade II-listed follyHagg House is a gorgeous family home that just happens to have a miniature castle in the gardens. Annabel Dixon explains more.
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A historic villa for sale on the Via Nomentana worthy of Rome's rich historyThree floors, lots of balconies, and a private garden in one of Rome's loveliest neighbourhoods.
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Eight bedrooms of unlisted Edwardian elegance with sweeping views of SomersetAshton House sits near the market town of Chard and comes with a wealth of amenities both inside and out.
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A waterside cottage in Devon with a private quay, idyllic views and the prettiest summerhouse we've seen in yearsRight beside the picturesque Yealm Estuary, No 1 Noss Mayo is an idyllic home that feels like an escape from the world. Annabel Dixon takes a look.
