Description
Sansome House Cottage has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and is set up to feel like a home from home, not a standard holiday let.
We do not accept bookings with pets, nor with children under five, for safety reasons. Children of five and over are very welcome. In the winter, when short breaks are available (£190/night) a 4th night is sometimes half price. We rarely have short breaks in the summer but it sometimes happens when people book more than a week that we have a gap to fill.
Sansome House Cottage is furnished in the style of small English country house rather than sleek, modern minimalist grey. It is a blend of antique and modern and has all the comforts you would expect, and it has a particularly well-equipped country-style kitchen. The aim is to provide a home from home in our lovely village setting so if you do want to spend time in, then you are happy and comfortable with books to read, TV to watch and board games to play; and, of course, the essential WIFI on hand.
The cottage is quietly situated in a courtyard (covered by CCTV) in the village of Ilmington, perfectly placed for for a Cotswold holiday combined with exploring Shakespeare country being at the northern end of the Cotswolds but less than 8 miles from Stratford up Avon. It is great for walkers who will be spoilt for walks all around, both hill and flat walking in the immediate area and within easy driving distance to explore more beautiful places around. The popular haunts of Chipping Campden, Moreton in Marsh and Stow on the Wold, Chipping Norton and Broadway are all under 15 miles away, as well as multiple small and pretty villages like Ilmington Within 5 minutes walk is an excellent shop (opens early for freshly baked croissants) and café in village as well as two wonderful dining pubs – the Red Lion and the Howard Arms, both widely praised by our guests. The Howard Arms has won multiple awards and the Red Lion sells a particularly good beer – Old Hooky.
Ilmington itself is hidden away from the tourist hot spots and gets little outside traffic, being frequented mostly by cyclists and walkers who enjoy the surrounding hills – the Ilmington Downs for the pretty scenery and the amazing views from the top. The highest point in Warwickshire (for we lie on the Warwickshire/Gloucestershire border) is easy walking distance. If you want to walk to Hidcote Manor Gardens, that is a 3 mile hike or a few minute’s drive. Multiple lovely walks can be taken from the doorstep. The Oxfordshire and Worcestershire borders are both less than 15 miles away.
Most stays are Saturday to Saturday, 7 night bookings. Short stays November to February excluding the Christmas/New Year period. There are NO extra fees from this site or from me on top of the rate quoted as I pay them a subscription and they don't take commission from either you or me.
Sansome House Cottage is a conversion of an early to mid-1700's farm building which lies opposite our own house, the original honey coloured Cotswold stone farmhouse, across a courtyard. It has its own small, secluded garden at the side and I try to fill the courtyard with flowers in pots all year round and have multiple vases of flowers inside to greet you. We have just planted a Whitebeam on the central lawn as the cherry tree in the photo sadly died.
Entrance Hall
There is a small antique table which could be used for romantic dining for two (candles provided). A door off leads to
Cloakroom/Shower room
Monsoon shower + loo and basin. A heated towel rail - central heating in winter, electric in summer.
Kitchen
Up two shallow steps from the hall. A rustic style kitchen. There is a large pine table with six chairs and this is the main dining space. If I haven’t provided the piece of equipment you need, just ask to borrow mine but most people remark how well-equipped it is. It has all the things you might expect like microwave, washing machine (tumble drier elsewhere) fridge freezer, smoothie maker, food processor and four different ways of making coffee – filter, Nespresso, Bialetti type and jug type. There is a small larder off the kitchen. Leading from the kitchen through double patio doors is
The Garden
Garden furniture for those warm days and a simple BBQ on wheels (kept in the garage). The garden is small with a paved area for the table and parasol and a little lawn surrounded by well stocked flower beds and plants in pots including a selection of cooking herbs.
The Drawing room
Antique Persian rugs lie on a wooden floor. There are two comfortable sofas and an armchair, grouped around an open fireplace which burns logs. The fire is laid ready for a match and a small basket of logs is provided. A 43” HD TV. Books and board games. Multiple leaflets and information on the area including walks and cycle rides.
Stairs
14 steps which are a bit steeper than standard lead up from hall. At the top bit there is a rope handrail (rope handrail one side and wooden bannister on the other for the rest) so this may be unsuitable for those a bit unsteady on stairs.
Twin Bedroom
A sunny room in the mornings as it faces East. This has two full sized single beds. (They do not join to make one double and no longer have footboards to bother the long people).
Bathroom
Lying between the two bedrooms. This has a bath, with grip handles, a basin and loo. No shower here.
Double Bedroom
A comfortable room with a small sofa, TV and a small dressing room off (with a hand basin). The bed is a super king base made up with two mattresses in the Austrian style so could be used by two close friends as well as a couple as you have separate duvets – the latter popular with some couples as it removes the possibility of duvet stealing in the night! Sheets are cotton. Duvets and pillows are feathers and down or synthetic down type (I had to buy double for Covid quarantining so you can now request synthetic if you have a feather allergy, although there still will be some feathers in soft furnishings - I can remove all the added ones if requested but not what is an integral part of a sofa.)
As I have quite a lot of guests flying in from abroad I provide basic starter supplies (or more) of household items like soap, shower gel, loo paper, foil, clingfilm, tea, coffee, oil, salt, herbs etc. You are greeted on arrival with a tray of afternoon tea in the form of freshly baked bread, biscuits and homemade jam. Candles and complimentary wine are left for your dinner.
Note that mobile reception is poor in Ilmington (although fine in the cottage if you are with a provider with wifi boost) so we provide a landline phone, there to be used for an outgoing emergency only call.
Reviews (all 5 star) can be found on sites such as VRBO ( https://www.vrbo.com/445725 -click for reviews at top right) TripAdvisor ( a click through from my own site) but prices are much higher there because of commissions and processing charges. Reviews also on my own site www.sansomecottage.co.uk NOTE if you get no answer on either phone email and/or texting is best. I have had a few bookings through this site but not yet asked for any reviews (I hate to ask people to do that!)