The quarter-acre private, walled garden here’s a rural idyll, blessed with a soundtrack of finch and lapwing. The Cyder House makes staying out there easy, with long, lazy soaks in the six-seat, wood-fired hot tub, a treehouse with climbing wall and slide for the kids, and boules court for a little Gallic garden fun.
The marble fireplace frames a homely woodburner: load up another log, settle back in the squishy sofas and find a film on Netflix, care of the BT Wi-Fi. Interiors here come with a warm feel peppered with bulging bookcases, beanbags, roaring fires, rugs and cushions.
Spaces might be posh and plush but there’s no shortage of fun amid the deep skirts and the fancy cornicing. Head out to the games barn to fill an afternoon with eight-ball pool or table-tennis. Or watch the kids make memories among the books, toys and dressing-up clothes in the playroom.
Keep the freezer and two large fridges stocked with goodies delivered from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco, with more scrummy stuff from Stroud Farmers’ Market, The Green Shop, Woodchester Wines and Eastington Farm Shop. Prepare it on the range cooker, single oven and induction hobs. Or put your feet up and call up Sally, our pro chef.
Load some more logs onto the open fire and eat around the chunky oak table that’ll happily accommodate your whole party, or out in the garden on the terrace with the kids disappearing between courses into the treehouse. Finish off with a coffee from the Swan machine.
Order up takeaways from Joe’s Wood-fired Pizza, Indian Garden or The Ionian Wood-Fired Kitchen. Pop out to the Frampton village green – England’s longest – to eat at The Bell Inn or The Three Horseshoes: come in summer and delight in the sound of leather meeting willow as you sink a local ale or fine wine.
Head to the village-owned Red Lion in Arlingham for rib-eye steak or spicy zarzuela, or to William’s Food Hall for lamb tagine, salmon fishcakes or chef-prepared meals to take away. Enjoy the peak of Nepalese and Indian dining at The Everest. Or head back to Europe at The Olive Tree, for gnocchi or coq au vin.
Out here among the duckponds and wide skies of The English Cotswolds, there’s little to keep you from deep slumber bar the odd call of a lonely lapwing. The Cyder House sleeps 16 in six lovely bedrooms with 200 thread-count White Company sheets and towels.
Bedroom one (Painted Lady) offers a superking or twins and shares a bathroom with bedroom two (Green Underleaf), a kingsize. En-suite bedrooms three (Mad Pear) and four (Rumble Jumble) are also kingsize, while bedroom five (Maiden’s Blush) is a double that shares a bathroom with bedroom six (Gypsy Red), another double.
Kids worried about leaving home behind? Bring it with you. With berths for 16, you can bring mums, dads, grans, grandads and Uncle Tom Cobley. The children will love the treehouse with climbing wall and slide will see plenty of action.
Stay out there in the sunshine for competitive action playing rounders or on the boules court. Find the games barn and while away an afternoon playing table tennis or pool. Older kids can hang around in the hot tub, watching galaxies do their stuff. And the terrace table’s big enough to sit the whole gang.
Inside, there’s a homely feel to the traditional furnishings, so make yourself at home. Find the playroom for toys, games and dressing-up. Settle back on the squishy sofas for Netflix on the 55” telly (or bring your Amazon password for Prime). Upload your holiday shots with the BT Wi-Fi. Play cards past bedtime in front of a roaring fire
