A holiday cottage near Oxford
Well Cottage is a thatched, self-catering cottage in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds — about 35 minutes from Oxford, and a quiet, beautiful base for the dreaming spires.
Well Cottage is a thatched, self-catering cottage in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds — about 35 minutes from Oxford, and a quiet, beautiful base for the dreaming spires.
Oxford is one of the great cities to visit in England, but it is not somewhere you want to stay the night if you can help it — the parking is a battle and the hotels are dear. Far better to base yourself 35 minutes out, in the quiet of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, and go in for the day. That is exactly what Well Cottage offers: a Grade II-listed thatched cottage in the hamlet of Ledwell that sleeps seven across four bedrooms, with two inglenook fireplaces, a walled garden and an Aga kitchen — and the city of dreaming spires a short drive or train ride away. As self-catering cottages near Oxford go it is an unusually characterful one, and with room for seven it suits a family or a group who want to do the city together. It is also less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse and five minutes from Great Tew, so Oxford is only ever one part of the trip.
There is more in Oxford than a single day can hold, which is one good reason to stay nearby and come back. Wander the honey-stone quads of the colleges — Christ Church, Magdalen, New College — climb a tower for the rooftops, and stand under the dome of the Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera. The museums are world-class and most are free: the Ashmolean, the extraordinary Pitt Rivers and the Museum of Natural History under one roof. Then there is punting on the Cherwell, the bustle of the Covered Market, free evensong under the choristers at Christ Church, and a pint in a pub that has poured them since long before America existed. Our full guide to a day in Oxford maps out how to fit it together.
By car, Oxford is about 35 minutes from the cottage. But the smart way to do the city is to skip the parking altogether: Charlbury station is a short drive away, with direct trains that reach Oxford in around twenty minutes and run on to London Paddington if you fancy a day further afield. Park at the station or use one of Oxford's park-and-ride sites on the ring road, and you arrive in the centre relaxed rather than circling for a space. For a family or a group staying at the cottage, that means a proper day out in the city and a quiet thatched house, a fire and a garden to come home to — the best of both.
And Oxford is far from the only draw within reach: Blenheim Palace is twenty minutes the other way, Great Tew and the Falkland Arms are five, and the whole of the north-Oxfordshire Cotswolds is on the doorstep. See the area guide for everything else.
Half an hour from Oxford, a mile from Soho Farmhouse, five minutes from Great Tew. A thatched cottage that sleeps seven, in a quiet Oxfordshire hamlet.