Our latest stay was at Chestnut Cottage close to the wonderfully-named village of Bishops Itchington – a VisitEngland 5 Star Gold Award property located just a short distance from the M40 motorway in Warwickshire, and listed on the Premier Cottages website. Premier Cottages’ collection features almost 1,000 four and five-star self-catering cottages across the UK. Properties range from small, romantic boltholes to large family-friendly country estates.
Chestnut Cottage is a converted outbuilding situated on a working arable farm where the main crops are wheat, barley, oil seed rape, field beans, peas and linseed.
The welcome
Although the property was all ready for us on arrival, owner Fiona Walker came to personally meet and welcome us on arrival which was a lovely touch, particularly since we’d had an awful journey that took six hours rather than the usual three! We were in the area for a sailing competition that our sons were taking part in, and – as well as giving us a warm welcome – Fiona showed a genuine interest in their sport as well as a great enthusiasm for what was available to us both on site and in the local area.
The cottage
Chestnut Cottage is situated next to the farm’s majestic chestnut tree and was completed in 2002. It sleeps 4 people with a double and twin-bedded room, so is perfect for families.
The double comes with its own en suite…
…whilst the twin bedded room has a shower room just next to it.
An open plan lounge, dining room and kitchen provides guests with a relaxed, sociable and cosy living space.
The kitchen is equipped with a gas hob, electric oven and grill, microwave, fridge/freezer and slimline dishwasher.
A small utility room with washing machine, ironing board, etc. is also available.
An additional point of note is that the property is all on one level and wheel chair friendly.
Free WiFi is available throughout and two small patio areas can be found outside which would be perfect for the Summer months.
The facilities
There are a number of points of interest in the immediate vicinity of the cottage.
Just opposite the cottage is a barn that houses an impressive vintage tractor collection that guests are welcome to browse. It contains mostly single cylinder hot bulb tractors dating from 1937.
Also nearby is a small orchard carp lake, used by a local model boat club; a model train club and even a model flying club also meet at the farm.
A children’s playground is also on site, as are the owners’ friendly cats and border collies. There’s even a go-kart that children can play on!
On Fiona’s recommendation, we ate at The Bell Inn at Ladbroke which is less than 5 miles away. This is a family-friendly pub serving good quality food in a relaxed atmosphere and with friendly staff. We recommend the burgers, but do make sure you book ahead as it was busy when we visited.
Further suggestions and recommendations for eating out can be found in the information guide at Chestnut Cottage.
Situated approximately midway between Royal Leamington Spa and Banbury, the cottage is also well situated for visiting Stratford-upon-Avon to the west, and Northampton to the east. We were in the area for a sailing event at Draycote Water which is just a 25-minute drive away.
Other nice touches
As well as the personal welcome and recommendations, there were a number of other considerate touches. Since our visit was at the end of October, a pumpkin had been left on the doorstep for the children to carve during their stay, or to take home and carve back home.
There was also a complementary bottle of wine in the fridge… and some chocolate treats!
The cost
Short breaks at Chestnut Cottage start from £450 out of season.
The best bit
One of the appeals of the cottage for us was its cosiness. With the nights drawing in – and even more so with the clocks going back – it was lovely to have somewhere so warm and cosy to return to, particularly for our boys who had been out on the water all day in relatively cold conditions.
The final verdict
Chestnut Cottage is very conveniently located and run by attentive and caring owners. It’s not a bad place from which to admire the sunset also!
Disclosure: Our stay was courtesy of Premier Cottages.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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6 Comments
Hello Paul,
Thank you for those lovely comments and wonderful photos. We loved having you and your family stay with us and hope one day to see your delightful boys sailing in the Olympics.
Glad you all enjoyed your stay.
Fiona
Thank you, Fiona… you were a wonderful host and the property was just what we needed. We would have loved to have stayed longer but sadly it was back to school this morning!
With best wishes,
Paul
Wow!!! What a fantastic cottage, this look really awesome to stay there. Glad to read your blog and some different post. Thank you so much for sharing it. Great job!
Never been to Warwickshire! These cottages look so charming and quaint, what a lovely experience – really nice for a countryside getaway. It’s a shame your journey took so long, but at least you had this cottage to come to. I’m in love with the kitchen and dinner table – so cute! Complimentary wine is the cherry on top of the cake.
This cottage looks so cute! Looks like a great place to explore the countryside and get some peace and quiet. I haven’t been to Warwickshire yet, looks like a nice place. The burgers at the pub also look very tasty.
What a lovely little cottage – perfect for families! I’m looking at going self-catering myself this Summer and will definitely add this one to my shortlist.
Chestnut Cottage is a converted outbuilding situated on a working arable farm where the main crops are wheat, barley, oil seed rape, field beans, peas and linseed.
Chestnut Cottage is a converted outbuilding situated on a working arable farm where the main crops are wheat, barley, oil seed rape, field beans, peas and linseed.
The welcome
Although the property was all ready for us on arrival, owner Fiona Walker came to personally meet and welcome us on arrival which was a lovely touch, particularly since we’d had an awful journey that took six hours rather than the usual three! We were in the area for a sailing competition that our sons were taking part in, and – as well as giving us a warm welcome – Fiona showed a genuine interest in their sport as well as a great enthusiasm for what was available to us both on site and in the local area.
The cottage
Chestnut Cottage is situated next to the farm’s majestic chestnut tree and was completed in 2002. It sleeps 4 people with a double and twin-bedded room, so is perfect for families.
The double comes with its own en suite…
…whilst the twin bedded room has a shower room just next to it.
An open plan lounge, dining room and kitchen provides guests with a relaxed, sociable and cosy living space.
The kitchen is equipped with a gas hob, electric oven and grill, microwave, fridge/freezer and slimline dishwasher.
A small utility room with washing machine, ironing board, etc. is also available.
An additional point of note is that the property is all on one level and wheel chair friendly.
Free WiFi is available throughout and two small patio areas can be found outside which would be perfect for the Summer months.
The facilities
There are a number of points of interest in the immediate vicinity of the cottage.
Just opposite the cottage is a barn that houses an impressive vintage tractor collection that guests are welcome to browse. It contains mostly single cylinder hot bulb tractors dating from 1937.
Also nearby is a small orchard carp lake, used by a local model boat club; a model train club and even a model flying club also meet at the farm.
A children’s playground is also on site, as are the owners’ friendly cats and border collies. There’s even a go-kart that children can play on!
On Fiona’s recommendation, we ate at The Bell Inn at Ladbroke which is less than 5 miles away. This is a family-friendly pub serving good quality food in a relaxed atmosphere and with friendly staff. We recommend the burgers, but do make sure you book ahead as it was busy when we visited.
Further suggestions and recommendations for eating out can be found in the information guide at Chestnut Cottage.
Situated approximately midway between Royal Leamington Spa and Banbury, the cottage is also well situated for visiting Stratford-upon-Avon to the west, and Northampton to the east. We were in the area for a sailing event at Draycote Water which is just a 25-minute drive away.
Other nice touches
As well as the personal welcome and recommendations, there were a number of other considerate touches. Since our visit was at the end of October, a pumpkin had been left on the doorstep for the children to carve during their stay, or to take home and carve back home.
There was also a complementary bottle of wine in the fridge… and some chocolate treats!
The cost
Short breaks at Chestnut Cottage start from £450 out of season.
The best bit
One of the appeals of the cottage for us was its cosiness. With the nights drawing in – and even more so with the clocks going back – it was lovely to have somewhere so warm and cosy to return to, particularly for our boys who had been out on the water all day in relatively cold conditions.
The final verdict
Chestnut Cottage is very conveniently located and run by attentive and caring owners. It’s not a bad place from which to admire the sunset also!
Disclosure: Our stay was courtesy of Premier Cottages.
Hello Paul,
Thank you for those lovely comments and wonderful photos. We loved having you and your family stay with us and hope one day to see your delightful boys sailing in the Olympics.
Glad you all enjoyed your stay.
Fiona
Thank you, Fiona… you were a wonderful host and the property was just what we needed. We would have loved to have stayed longer but sadly it was back to school this morning!
With best wishes,
Paul
Wow!!! What a fantastic cottage, this look really awesome to stay there. Glad to read your blog and some different post. Thank you so much for sharing it. Great job!
Never been to Warwickshire! These cottages look so charming and quaint, what a lovely experience – really nice for a countryside getaway. It’s a shame your journey took so long, but at least you had this cottage to come to. I’m in love with the kitchen and dinner table – so cute! Complimentary wine is the cherry on top of the cake.
This cottage looks so cute! Looks like a great place to explore the countryside and get some peace and quiet. I haven’t been to Warwickshire yet, looks like a nice place. The burgers at the pub also look very tasty.
What a lovely little cottage – perfect for families! I’m looking at going self-catering myself this Summer and will definitely add this one to my shortlist.