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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Graham Norton's elegant East London home hits the market, and it's just as wonderful as you would expectThe four-bedroom home in Wapping should be studied for how well it uses two separate spaces to create a home of immense character and utility.
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Sign of the times: In the age of the selfie, what’s happening to the humble autograph?When Ringo Starr announced that he was no longer going to sign anything, he kickstarted a celebrity movement that coincided with the advent of the camera phone and selfie. Rob Crossan asks whether, in today’s world, the selfie holds more clout than an autograph?
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Graham Norton's elegant East London home hits the market, and it's just as wonderful as you would expect
The four-bedroom home in Wapping should be studied for how well it uses two separate spaces to create a home of immense character and utility.
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About time: The fastest and slowest moving housing markets revealedNew research by Zoopla has shown where it's easy to sell and where it will take quite a while to find a buyer.
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A wisteria clad hall built by one of the founders of the Bank of EnglandCome for the history of Old Hall. Stay for the interesting interiors.
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A gorgeous Scottish cottage with contemporary interiors on the bonny banks of the River TayCarnliath on the edge of Strathtay is a delightful family home set in sensational scenery.
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Six rural properties with space, charm and endless views, as seen in Country LifeWe take a look at some of the best houses to come to the market via Country Life in the past week.
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380 acres and 90 bedrooms on the £25m private island being sold by one of Britain's top music producersStormzy, Rihanna and the Rolling Stones are just a part of the story at Osea Island, a dot on the map in the seas off Essex.
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A home cinema, tasteful interiors and 65 acres of private parkland hidden in an unassuming lodge in KentNorth Lodge near Tonbridge may seem relatively simple, but there is a lot more than what meets the eye.
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A rare opportunity to own a family home on Vanbrugh Terrace, one of London's finest streetsThis six-bedroom Victorian home sits right on the start line of the London Marathon, with easy access to Blackheath and Greenwich Park.
