GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Temple Guiting Manor hails from Tudor times; a cream tea is just a short walk from the manor; the Granary sleeps up to six people, and has a stylish openplan living area
The Cotswolds is the dewy-eyed vision of winter as presented in every rom-com set in rural Britain – all honey-stone villages, frost-dusted valleys and jolly, fire-lit pubs. That dream is brought bursting to life at the Temple Guiting estate, a collection of self-catering buildings spilling out from a 15th-century manor house and into 15 acres of prime Gloucestershire countryside. New to the fold is the Granary, a recently refurbished threebedroom stone property with views of the estate’s tennis court. The bones of the building may be pure Cotswolds, but the décor is not, taking cues from industrial design, traditional African art and Modernism to form a pleasingly comfortable den perfect for a cold-weather hunker. Beyond the estate, an easy circular walk takes you over fields, through woodland and back to the doorstep in an hour or two. Before you abandon the outdoors altogether and slump in front of the wood-burning stove, pop into the estate’s tea room, just a short stroll away, for a cream tea.