This striking, timber-fronted home serves as an excellent base from which to take get to know the bucolic countryside and villages of the Cotswolds. Formerly a stone barn, it's been exquisitely renovated with contemporary touches and unique pieces – think hand-crafted vases, olive-wood sinks and wall-hung kilns. Here, you'll have a personal concierge at your service – someone on hand to shop for local produce, restock the woodpile or secure you a table at revered local restaurants. When you aren't sipping a gin and tonic in the manicured garden, having a games night in front of the fireplace or trying your hand at pastoral recipes in the impressive kitchen, you might want to venture out and explore. The picture-perfect village of Bibury, home to National Trust properties, is a mere ten-minute walk away and you'll be surrounded by rolling hills and untouched nature in every direction – all you need to do is pull on your boots and embark on a leisurely ramble or invigorating hike.

Read less