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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What the hedge can tell us about the countryside, with Richard NegusThe hedge is much more than just a barrier between one field and the next. Richard Negus joins the Country Life Podcast to discuss his work, his latest book and how he's being tapped up to switch cricket clubs.
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Country Life August 20 2025Country Life August 20 2025 is the Scottish Issue, featuring glorious Glamis Castle, 47 pages of the best Scottish property for sale, John Buchan, and the Glasgow Boys
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A 17th century farmhouse in Surrey with one of Britain's oldest squash courtsFords Farm is on the market for the first time in over half a century.
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The 15 best-value commuter towns for people working in London, according to new research from one of Britain's top estate agentsSavills have released their list of the best-value commuter towns in Britain. But do the sums add up? Toby Keel takes a look.
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What everyone is talking about this week: Where are the new Cotswolds?The appearance of American Vice President J. D. Vance in the Cotswolds is a sure sign that they're saturated, but where else can you escape to that has the same charm?
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19 outstanding country homes, from £450,000 to £20 million, as seen in Country LifeA spectacular country house in Yorkshire and an enormously impressive Channel Islands retreat are among the stand-out homes on the market this week.
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Three homes down by the Thames, perfect for those who love messing about on boatsThis summer’s scorching temperatures will no doubt have endorsed the perennial appeal of Thames-side houses with frontage and private access to the river. Penny Churchill and Toby Keel pick out some prime examples.
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A pavilion, pool and pleasure gardens at this Devon country house 'with not another building in sight'Ebberly House is a majestic country house in Devon built by one of John Soane's pupils — and as it comes to the market, it's a place Penny Churchill knows well.
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Take over the world or throw a great big party on this private fort for sale in PembrokeThorne Island, dubbed the British Alcatraz, has been a £2 million labour of love. Now it could be yours.
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The perfect summer house? A country home, beach house and rural escape rolled into one in a prime spot in SussexIf there's a finer house than Grangewood House in which to enjoy the summer, we'd love to see it. Penny Churchill takes a look.
