Fresh to market, at a guide price of £3.25m through Strutt & Parker, comes a perfect gem in the form of The Dillay, a small sporting estate four miles from Bisley, near Stroud, Gloucestershire . It’s ideal for anyone looking for a hidden oasis in the Cotswolds.
The estate includes some 160 acres of pasture and woodland with exceptional sporting potential, plus another four acres for the house at its centre. It’s a beautifully-positioned Cotswold stone farmhouse with five bedrooms.
The ground floor includes an open-plan kitchen with an oak-framed garden room off to one side, and two main reception rooms.
There is also a gun room and a study, with further accommodation available in two cottages and a recently renovated shooting lodge.
Matthew Sudlow, director of Strutt & Parker’s Oxford office, sets the scene of The Dillay: ‘Once part of a larger estate, it’s now a secluded haven that encapsulates the core of the old estate and arguably the best part of it.
‘Hidden away from the rest of the world in its own valley and bordered by woodland, you can see why Laurie Lee chose the Dillay Brook and Slad Valley as the setting for his “Cider with Rosie” trilogy. Inside the valley, you feel that you’re in a mini nature reserve of your own, protected from the outside world and surrounded by wildlife and beautiful woodland.’
He adds: ‘If you’re a keen shot, then there’s some of the best shooting in the Cotswolds.’
The current owners have undertaken considerable renovation and extension work over the past three years to create ‘a truly special home’, Mr Sudlow says.
‘On the estate itself, the woodland has been re-fenced, new tracks and driveways laid and, although, previously, the estate was serviced by spring water alone, mains water has been introduced. And the recent introduction of Gigaclear in the Cotswolds means that you don’t have to be completely cut off if you choose not to be.’
The Dillay is for sale via Strutt & Parker at £3.25 million — see more details and pictures.
Mini-break: The Painswick, Gloucestershire
The cream of the Cotswolds.
Credit: Humberts
A magnificent lakeside home near Princess Anne's Cotswolds estate
This beautiful 19th century house lies on Gatcombe Water, just around the corner from HRH Princess Anne's Gloucestershire home.
-
One for the pot: Nine of the prettiest vases to gift this Mother's Day, instead of flowersWe typically send our mothers flowers on Mothering Sunday, but what about a vase to hold them in?
-
The extraordinary Egyptian-style Leeds landmark hoping to become a second British Library — and they used to let sheep graze on the roofThe project has been awarded £10million from the Government, but will cost £70million in total.
-
Six charming homes up for sale, including one dubbed 'one of the most picturesque in Dorset', as seen in Country LifeOur look at the finest houses to come up for sale through Country Life in the past week is full of delights, from a new-Georgian mansion to a perfectly-sized Hertfordshire estate.
-
A Buckinghamshire mansion built for the speech therapist who set Churchill on his path to greatnessPenny Churchill takes a look at Rignalls, a classic Arts-and-Crafts home that looks like it's stepped out of the pages of an EM Forster novel.
-
An idyllic Hampstead mansion whose price has risen nine times faster than inflation — and it's not hard to see whyCloth Hill is even more beautiful on the inside than it is on the outside.
-
Some of Scotland's most beautiful churches are being sold off for as little as £40,000 — but a word of warning before you take the plungeLucy Denton examines how best to help former church buildings thrive as times move on and property changes hands.
-
Inside the £28 million mansion designed to 'shake things up' and 're-define the English country house of the 21st century'With everything from helicopter parking and a 1000-bottle wine cellar to bespoke wallpaper designed by Christian Lacroix, Harford Manor is a country house like no other. Annabel Dixon took a closer look and spoke to the man behind its creation.
-
A blissful and beautifully named home in one of the most exclusive spots in CornwallPenny Churchill takes a look at Boswodegh, a wonderful home that makes the most of its superb location in Helford Passage.
-
A sleek, seven-bedroom villa with a wine cave, wellness space and a 20-person JacuzziIncredible attention to detail at Almancil Loulé's, an amazing home for sale in Portugal's exclusive Quinta do Lago resort.
-
The 10 most expensive postcodes in the country — and what you could get if you lived thereThe latest research on the most exclusive postcodes in England and Wales makes for eye-catching reading, with some areas having average property prices over £4m. Annabel Dixon breaks it down.
