Description
Beechwood Cottage is fantastic. The spectacular views from this superb holiday rental are matched by the amazing interior, which features a stunning vaulted oak ceiling in the living area, a bespoke kitchen, and six/seven bedrooms that accommodate up to 12 guests. It's perfect for big families, extended families, or friends (but not hen or stag parties) who want a self-catering Cotswolds holiday cottage convenient for favourite sights and attractions but rural rather than in the centre of a busy town. The cottage is in a picturesque village called Sheepscombe, which has its own popular pub (the Butcher's Arms) and stunning walks and views from the cottage.
Sheepscombe is a picturesque village with fantastic views. It's blissfully peaceful yet only two miles from the market towns of Painswick and Stroud. Painswick may not be as well known as Stow-on-the-Wold or Bourton-on-the-Water, which makes it even more delightful - as if you've been let in on a closely-kept local secret. Its heritage as a prosperous wool town is evident in the decorative beauty of its stone buildings that include the Grade I listed St Mary's Church and the 99 famous yew trees in the churchyard. Look closely, and you'll see marks from cannonballs and bullet holes in the walls of the church's tower from when Parliamentarian forces took refuge there in 1644. Painswick Rococo Garden dates from the 1740s, with six meticulously maintained acres of walkways, vistas and outdoor "rooms".
Local walks include a scenic one-mile route to Slad, where you can slake your thirst at the traditional Woolpack pub, the local drinking hole of the author Laurie Lee, who is now buried in the church graveyard opposite the pub. You can scale Painswick Beacon for panoramic views stretching towards the Severn Valley and River Severn. As a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this part of the Cotswolds has a wealth of footpaths and cycling routes to help you explore. Bicycle and E-Bike hire is readily available.
Gloucester and Cheltenham are both within easy reach of Beechwood Cottage. Gloucester's Cathedral is simply magnificent, and you can't get more stylish than Cheltenham's boutiques. Day trips can include browsing the local farmer's market at Stroud (which was recently voted the best place to live in the Sunday Times), touring a local vineyard, or a spot of shopping and lunch in Cirencester, Chipping Campden or Burford. You can also visit Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury, the Batsford Arboretum, Hidcote Manor Gardens and the Slimbridge Wildlife and Wetlands trust. Bath is around an hour's drive for more shopping and sightseeing, as are Bristol and Stratford-Upon-Avon.
However you spend your days, you will love returning to a warm Beechwood Cottage welcome, enjoying a house that has lots of space, spectacular views where you can relax and socialise, both indoors and out, with your nearest and dearest.