The sun’s out and there’s just the hint of a morning breeze filtering across the hilltops. Fold back the doors from the dining room. Butter your croissants and stir your coffee in the south-facing garden. Savour the view beyond the drystone Cotswold walling, the ferns and the trees.
From here, it’s just a short stroll to further frolics. The indoor pool, complete with changing rooms and views, is heated nicely; if it’s not hot enough, try the Turkish hammam. Chill out in the entertainment room with Sky TV. Then wander the five-acre garden shared with other Kingham Cottages guests.
Turn your arm over on the tennis court, whatever the weather. Send the kids to find the play area. Fire up a barbie in the courtyard. Drink in the pure Cotswold air. Top up your glass.
There’s an open-plan look to the living area here. It adjoins the dining room, from where light floods in from the skylight. It’s a sociable space, built for midnight movies, cosy card games and burying your nose in a book. There’s an open Jetmaster fire to stoke.
Everything is immaculately modernised here. Once a stable block, housing horses and groom, Berry Pen now marries traditional features with modern touches. There’s underfloor heating to keep your toes toasty, plus Infinity broadband and Sky TV to while away the evenings.
Raid the shelves that groan with books, bring along your favourite DVDs, get round the piano for a singsong, or gather in the living room for late-night charades. Berry Pen brings people together in cosy comfort.
Options for eating out here are so good that we’ll forgive you for making a beeline for the Kingham Plough every day. Set in the heart of one of England’s loveliest villages, the Plough is always seasonal, always fresh. Tell me you can resist crisp cacklebean egg or roast rump of longhorn beef?
Try The Wild Rabbit, branded Britain’s poshest pub, for hay-baked celeriac, organic winter leeks, quail and English sweetbread. Or will it be the Mill House, for Cotswold lamb shank, wild seabass salad, or a classic chicken and mushroom pie?
If you’re staying in, you’ll love the electric oven and hob, and you’ll revel in raiding the Daylesford Organic farmshop for foraged mushrooms and seven-seed sourdough to pile into your giant American fridge-freezer. If you want to take it easy, call our chefs for extravagant celebrations or simple drop-offs.
However you play it, you won’t be short of space, or atmosphere. Light from the glass ceiling panels floods the dining room, alive with quirky furnishings and the lively buzz of up to 16 voices, handy for when your guestfest spills out into other Kingham Cottages.
Behind the oak doors to its three bedrooms, Berry Pen sleeps six. There’s a super-king master with spotlit ceiling and en-suite with bath and separate walk-in shower.
Bedroom two comes with a set of single beds that can be linked to convert to a double. Bedroom three is a fixed twin. Bedroom two has a bath and separate walk-in shower, while bedroom three has a walk-in shower.
