Gorgeous Nr. Uley Cottage S59554

About this property

This fairy tale Cotswold stone farmhouse is approached up a long and sometimes bumpy private drive. It leads behind a church and manor house into the heart of the beech woods.

Surrounded by the steep hangers, off a drive, off a lane, off a minor road, and buried in the bosom of the Cotswolds, there is a hideaway that must be about as remote from the twentieth century in southern England as possible. It still has all the modern comforts. A farmstead at Woodwells was recorded as early as 1280. Today, guests will find hidden in a sunny clearing of the wooded hills that rise steeply at the end of the meadows, a picturesque farmhouse built in 1877.

The manor estate is in the 'Royal Triangle', set in the heart of the Cotswold Hills. The historic cities of Bath, Cheltenham, and Cirencester are all about 20 miles away with all their wealth of cultural and scenic attractions. Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Stratford-upon-Avon are popular day excursions. London is about 2 hours away. Heathrow Airport is a little closer.

Whether interested in the famous limestone villages of the Cotswolds, prehistoric barrows, quiet lanes, antique shops, walking, Norman churches, gardens, good food and drink, visiting friends, or more likely a combination of these, the choice is wide and guests will barely scratch the surface during their stay. 

Apart from the Cotswolds and their wool towns and villages, other touring regions include the Berkeley Vale, the Forest of Dean, the Wye Valley, the Welsh Marches, the Malverns, and the Thames Valley.

Historic houses, besides the estate itself, include Berkeley Castle, Chavenage House, Dyrham Park and Sudeley Castle. Within walking distance is Woodchester Mansion, an unfinished masterpiece of the Victorian age. Tourist attractions include the American Museum at Claverton Manor and the Roman Baths at Bath, Gloucester Cathedral, Westonbirt Arboretum and the Wildfowl Trust at Slimbridge.

Gloucestershire is famous for its many gardens. They include Hidcote and Kiftsgate, Miserden Park, Painswick Rococo Garden, Rodmarton Manor, Barnsley House, Highgrove and Westbury-on-Severn. The house is the ideal base for the Horse Trials at Badminton and Gatcombe Park and for racing at Cheltenham.

The estate forms a wild and secret valley extending along the Ewelme stream under the Cotswold edge. It is accessible, yet far from the intrusion of public roads and the commercial farming of the Cotswold plateau. The extensive native beech woods are carpeted with bluebells in the spring. Richly varied walks lead the serious hiker or casual stroller over many miles of footpaths on the estate and beyond. Long-distance trails are well organised in the surrounding area of the Cotswolds.

Beyond the valley is an impressive group of archaeological sites. The Iron Age hill fort at Uley is the most impressive in the Cotswolds, commanding views over the Severn Vale to the mountains of Wales. Neolithic long barrows and Roman settlements lie on the hills. The estate and its neighbouring valleys form a haven rich in wildlife, with wildflowers in the fields, protected butterflies, deer and badgers, and a rich variety of habitat for bird-watching. Guests will not forget the fabled owls.

As well as a traditional West Country livestock, and farms producing home reared organic meat, this is a sporting estate perfect for all forms of country pursuits. There is fly fishing, and rough shooting and clay pigeon lessons can be arranged. Riding, gliding and golf (with three courses) are all a mile or two away. Many activities are organized by for corporate programmes or private parties. There is plenty of room for those who want none of these but want simply to breathe in the peace and utter seclusion of a timeless countryside.

The Manor is a mile east of Uley, off the B4066, at the small green past the Old Crown pub in Uley (just opposite the Church). Uley is a charming weaving village between Tetbury, Stroud (6 miles) and Dursley (3 miles west), signposted from the A 4135. The M5 Junctions 13 (north) and 14 (south) are a few minutes west: head for the B4066. The M4 is 12 miles south. Exit at Junction 18 and follow the A46 north in the direction of Stroud as far as the crossroads with the A4135. Then go west towards Dursley, turning second right after the Hunters' Hall pub in Kingscote down to village of Uley on B4066.

Accommodation

Downstairs a porch leads to the front hall, with an elegant dining-room seating eight to the right and a pretty Victorian sitting-room to the left. There is a modern farmhouse kitchen/breakfast room, fully equipped with a microwave, fridge/freezer and dishwasher. Beyond is a back door and hallway with space for country clothes, coats and boots. There is a shower room (with wash basin and lavatory), making the twin-bedded room here independent.
Upstairs are two spacious double bedrooms, both with double beds (one with a fine Victorian brass bed), and a large bathroom. The whole house is especially cosy - with pictures, antiques and chintz. It is set in a large private garden.
The Manor Garden: The present "Old English" garden has been recreated by the owners among open lawns and a field since 1980, with box hedges enclosing quarters of English parterres like those in the Stoke Edith tapestries, or Kip engravings. The planting is traditional, with herbs and aromatics, old shrub roses and garden favourites, and the box, holly, juniper and yew replanted, as well as formal features, a stilt hedge and pleached allee in lime and hornbeam, and sculpture by Simon Verity. The design makes use of old plans and records, suggesting an early garden reordered conservatively at the turn of the eighteenth century, just when the formal tradition was about to be swept away, in fashionable gardens, by the landscape garden. The mill pond walk recalls the early Georgian Elysium of rills and meandering paths. Two thousand young trees were planted as shelter belts to mark the millennium.