Despite its name, New College has been here since 1379. Step through the gatehouse on New College Lane and you'll find yourself in one of Oxford's most quietly beautiful spaces: a medieval cloister that feels a world away from the busy High Street just around the corner.
The cloisters are the thing. They're 14th century, barely altered, and when you walk through them on a grey afternoon you can almost hear the shuffle of medieval scholars. The gardens beyond stretch right up to the old city walls (some of the best-preserved sections in Oxford), with a mound that gives you an unexpectedly good view over the rooftops and spires. In spring the borders are genuinely lovely; in autumn the horse chestnuts drop conkers into the long grass along the wall.
Harry Potter fans will recognise the cloisters immediately. They doubled as Hogwarts corridors in The Goblet of Fire, and Draco Malfoy's famous ferret scene was filmed right here. It's worth knowing that the college is open to visitors most afternoons during term and daily in the vacation, but do check the website before you set off. The chapel, with its Epstein sculpture of Lazarus and the original misericords, is worth a slow look on its own. From Well Cottage, you're about forty minutes' drive into Oxford; park at one of the park-and-rides and take the bus in, which saves you the headache of city-centre parking entirely.
“I always tell guests: skip the bigger, busier colleges and head straight to New College. It's the one that actually feels like stepping back in time.”
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.