Heathland golf in the Cotswolds is not something you expect to find, but Tadmarton Heath is the real thing: gorse, heather, sandy soil that drains beautifully, and a layout that would feel at home on the Surrey heaths. Twenty minutes from the cottage, and worth every minute of the drive.
If you play golf, Tadmarton Heath is one of those courses that quietly becomes a favourite. It is an inland heathland, which is a rarity in Oxfordshire — most courses in this part of the world are parkland or downland, and they play very differently depending on the season. Tadmarton drains beautifully because of the sandy subsoil, which means the course is playable in almost any weather. Come November when the clay courses around Chipping Norton are plugging balls in the rough, Tadmarton's fairways are still running true.
The course was founded in 1922 and the layout has a quiet, settled confidence that comes with age. The heather is kept in check just enough to give it definition without turning every wayward shot into a lost ball. The gorse is another matter — respect it. Visitors are welcome throughout the week, green fees are very reasonable, and the clubhouse has the kind of unpretentious atmosphere you hope for: good food, decent prices, nobody asking where you're a member. The drive out from the cottage takes you through Ledwell and across towards Swerford, and on a clear morning it is one of the nicer twenty-minute runs you'll do in the Cotswolds.
“Tadmarton caught me off guard. You don't expect heathland golf in the Cotswolds, but it's genuinely special — the condition of the greens and the quality of the turf are on a level with courses that charge three times the green fee.”
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.