Fifteen acres of private gardens tucked behind the walls of Barton Abbey in Steeple Barton, barely two minutes' drive from the cottage. They open only a handful of days each year for the National Garden Scheme, so if your stay happens to coincide, consider yourself lucky.
The gardens sit within the grounds of a handsome Georgian house on the edge of Steeple Barton, and they feel like the kind of place you might stumble upon in a novel. There are deep, beautifully planted herbaceous borders enclosed by old stone walls, a still lake fringed with reeds, glasshouses full of tender things, and woodland paths that loop quietly through the trees. The whole estate has a calm, unhurried quality: the sort of garden where you lose track of time and only notice when the light starts to change.
Because Barton Abbey opens under the National Garden Scheme, visiting days are rare (usually just two or three across the summer). We keep an eye on the NGS calendar and will always let you know if dates fall during your stay. It's worth planning around if you can. Tea and homemade cake are usually on offer, the owners are generous and welcoming, and the whole afternoon has the feeling of being invited into someone's private world for a few hours.
“It's one of those places that feels like a secret. You drive through the village, turn in past the gates, and suddenly you're somewhere extraordinary.”
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.