Oxford's Ashmolean is the kind of museum you wander into for an hour and leave three hours later, blinking in the sunlight. The collection spans ancient Egypt to the Pre-Raphaelites, it's completely free, and it's an easy drive from the cottage.
The Ashmolean opened in 1683, making it Britain's oldest public museum, and the collection is staggering in its breadth. You can move from Egyptian mummies to Stradivari violins to a room of Turners and Constables, all within a single morning. The building itself is handsome neoclassical, recently renovated with a light, airy interior that makes the whole experience feel generous rather than overwhelming. There's a rooftop restaurant with views across the Oxford skyline, which is worth knowing about if you fancy lunch after a morning of galleries.
We particularly love the ceramics galleries and the cast collection on the lower floors, where you can get surprisingly close to remarkable objects without the crowds you'd face at the British Museum. It's about 40 minutes from the cottage by car; park at one of the park-and-ride sites on the edge of Oxford and take the bus in. That way you avoid the city-centre traffic entirely and arrive relaxed. If the children are with you, the museum runs family trails and handling sessions that keep younger visitors genuinely engaged.
“Pair it with a walk through the Bodleian quadrangles and lunch at the Covered Market. That's a near-perfect Oxford day.”
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.