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Our house is on the right, with the front door behind the rose bush

Wintery picture. Its difficult to get a picture straight on of the house as there's a large mill pon ...

Kitchen and dining table. Balcony outside (just behind the table)

Large oven and hob. Picture taken from the back door

We no longer have the fusball table. There is a working woodburner in the fireplace

A perfect spot at the front of the house to read and relax with a lovely view.

This room has been redecorated and now has a double bed. I will endevour to get a new photo!

Our brown house roof can be seen in this picture centrally behind the two tall trees

Our hens. Sadly, we no longer have a trampoline.

This pond is straight outside our front door and explains why we can't get a good picture of the hou ...

Very close by footpath. Lovely walks all around the village

Ariel view of Blockley taken a 2 min walk from our house

Nearest train station is Moreton-in Marsh, 50 mins to Oxford, 1 and a half hours to London (no chang ...

View of the gardens and pond outside the front door

We are in the middle of the terrace which is an historic Mill that used to make ribbons for ladies h ...

Off road parking. You will be able to use the middle car parking space in the car port.

The large Mill Pond straight outside the front door.

Another view of our pond and house in the background.

My youngest walking away from our home - he likes to travel!

View from the kitchen door of the balcony and beyond. If you look closely you can see the playground ...

View from the bench at the front of the house. The kingfisher often flies here above the pond (behin ...

Premium #12665

Historic Mill cottage (dated 1897) with pond in friendly village in beautiful Cotswolds 🐈 🐓

House • Blockley United Kingdom

4 Guests

2 Bedrooms

2 Bathrooms

Primary home

Exchange types accepted

Simultaneous

Non-Simultaneous

Non-Reciprocal

Hospitality

Statistics

Listed February 2022

General Overview

Wake up in the beautiful Cotswolds, collect fresh eggs from our hens, watch kingfishers dart across the old mill pond and set off on foot to explore rolling hills, woodland and picturesque English villages.

Our home is a converted mill house in the beautiful village of Blockley, in the North Cotswolds. With countryside views from both the front and back, a large mill pond immediately outside our front door and no traffic noise, it's a lovely place to slow down and experience life in an English Cotswold village.

Wildlife is part of everyday life here. Kingfishers fly across the pond, we currently have a resident heron, and squirrels and pheasants are frequent visitors to the garden. We also have a deer in the garden occasionally.  The mill pond, with its pretty fountain, makes a lovely outlook at the front of the house.

We also have five hens in their own fenced area of the garden, providing fresh eggs for breakfast each day.

One of the things we love most about living here is how much you can enjoy without getting into the car.

At the end of our drive is the wonderful Blockley Café, serving fantastic food. We're also just a short stroll from two traditional village pubs and a thriving village shop.

Footpaths lead straight from our door into the surrounding countryside. You can walk through woods and fields, climb the beautiful Cotswold hills for fabulous views or follow paths linking one pretty village with another. Whether you want a gentle morning walk or a longer hike followed by a well-earned pub lunch, there's plenty to explore.

For families with younger children, our contained back garden has a gate and leads directly onto the village green and children's playground, with no roads to cross.

Blockley itself is a beautiful traditional Cotswold village of honey-coloured stone houses, winding lanes and a historic church almost next door. Fans of the British television series Father Brown may recognise it: Blockley has been used extensively as the fictional village of Kembleford in the series.

Exploring the Cotswolds and Beyond

Our home makes a wonderful base for discovering the Cotswolds, but you're also well placed for days out to some of England's best-known historic towns and cities.

You can fill your days with castles and Roman history, explore beautiful villages and gardens, go horse riding, head out for a countryside hike or simply find a traditional pub and settle in for a leisurely lunch.

Some of our favourite outings include:

Stratford-upon-Avon – Explore Shakespeare's historic hometown, stroll beside the River Avon or visit the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Cirencester – Discover the Cotswolds' Roman history in a lovely market town that was once one of the most important settlements in Roman Britain.
Bourton-on-the-Water and the Slaughters – Bourton is often called the Venice of the Cotswolds, thanks to the River Windrush flowing through the village beneath its beautiful low stone bridges. Nearby Upper and Lower Slaughter are among the prettiest villages in the area.
Sudeley Castle at Winchcombe – Explore a fascinating historic castle and its beautiful gardens. Sudeley has centuries of royal connections and is particularly famous as the burial place of Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII.
Cheltenham – Spend a day exploring this elegant Regency spa town, with its gardens, shops, cafés and restaurants.
Oxford – Wander through the famous university city, exploring historic colleges, museums and beautiful streets, or try punting on the river.
London – Even a day in the capital is possible. Our nearest train station is just 3 miles away, with the train journey to London taking around 1½ hours. It's a longer day out, but gives you the opportunity to combine a peaceful Cotswolds stay with London's museums, theatres and famous sights.
Walking and hiking – Some of the loveliest days out require no tickets at all. Explore footpaths through woodland and rolling countryside, walk between beautiful villages and stop for lunch or a drink along the way.

Closer to home, Chipping Campden has a magnificent historic High Street, while Broadway and Stow-on-the-Wold are also lovely places to explore.

Horse riding is available approximately 20 minutes away by car, offering another way to experience the Cotswold countryside.

You can easily have a busy holiday here, but you don't have to. Walk to the café for breakfast, potter around the village, head into the hills, stop for a pub lunch and come home to relax.

At the end of the day, sit on the balcony with a glass of wine and enjoy the view, cook together, challenge each other to a board game or settle down for a film.

We're very happy to share our favourite walks, places to eat, family days out and lesser-known local discoveries to help you enjoy the Cotswolds as much as we do.

The Space

The Space

Our home is a characterful converted mill house, lived in and loved by our family of four.

It's a real family home rather than a show home – comfortable, well equipped, well used and full of the things that make family life enjoyable.

We want guests to feel comfortable here and to make themselves at home.

Sleeping arrangements

We have two bedrooms:

Main bedroom – On the first floor, with a king-size bed.
Second bedroom – On the second floor, with a double bed and its own en-suite bathroom. This is normally a child's bedroom, so it also has books and toys.

We also have very comfortable additional inflatable beds which can be set up for children, including in the main bedroom if a younger child would prefer to sleep with their parents.

There are two bathrooms in the house.

Living and relaxing

Our living room is a comfortable family space for relaxing after a day exploring.

We have Netflix, a PlayStation 5 and a huge collection of board games, so rainy days and quiet evenings are well catered for. There are games for different ages as well as plenty of children's books and toys.

Whether you fancy a family board-game tournament, an evening on the PlayStation or simply curling up together with a film, there's plenty to do at home.

Kitchen and balcony

We love to cook, so our kitchen is fully equipped for guests who enjoy cooking too, whether that's a quick breakfast before heading out or a leisurely evening meal.

The kitchen is on the ground floor and opens directly onto a balcony overlooking the garden.

There are chairs on the balcony, making it one of our favourite places to sit with a morning coffee or relax with a glass of wine at the end of the day while enjoying the view.

And, of course, breakfast can include eggs collected fresh from our own hens!

Working from home

We have two separate office spaces, one upstairs and one downstairs, so there's plenty of room if you need to catch up on work or combine your holiday with some remote working.

Outside

At the front of the house is the large old mill pond, complete with a pretty fountain. It attracts lots of wildlife and is where you'll often spot the kingfishers and our resident heron.

The pond is raised rather than being directly at ground level, but it is open water. Young children therefore need to be supervised at the front of the house.

At the back, the house overlooks our contained garden, which has a gate and provides a more enclosed outdoor space for children.

The garden leads directly onto the village green and children's playground, with no roads to cross.

Our five hens live in their own securely fenced area of the garden.

Guest Access

Guests will have a dedicated parking space in our carport.

Our home is arranged over several levels. The kitchen is on the ground floor, the main bedroom is on the first floor and the second bedroom is on the second floor.

There are stairs between the floors and steps leading down from the kitchen/balcony into the garden.

Because of the number of stairs, our home may not be suitable for anyone with significantly limited mobility.

There is a key safe for your use.

Notes

This is our much-loved family home rather than a purpose-built holiday rental. It's comfortable, well equipped and lived in, with books, games, toys and all the everyday things you'd expect to find in a busy family house.

We live here with our two children, aged 17 and 11, our cat and five hens.

We ask our home-exchange guests to care for our cat and hens while we're away. They're very easy to look after and their daily care takes no more than about five minutes. Our cat is independent and largely does his own thing, while looking after the hens comes with the bonus of fresh eggs!

The Cotswolds is beautiful throughout the year. Spring brings blossom and fresh green countryside; summer means long evenings, walks and pub gardens; autumn colours the surrounding woods and hills; and winter is wonderful for crisp countryside walks followed by cosy village pubs.

There's plenty to enjoy without driving at all, but a car is useful for exploring the wider Cotswolds. Our nearby railway station, just 3 miles away, also makes days out further afield possible.

Our home works particularly well for families who want a mixture of countryside, days out and time together – somewhere you can spend one day exploring Oxford or Stratford-upon-Avon, the next hiking through the Cotswold hills, and another doing very little beyond a village walk, a good lunch and a board game at home.

We love living here and are always happy to share our favourite walks, pubs, restaurants, villages and days out to help you make the most of your stay.

Cleaning 
IMPORTANT: In simultaneous or non-simultaneous exchanges in which the other exchange partner requests the payment of cleaning expenses, cleaning expenses will also be charged at our property, (ONLY in that case).
Our cleaner attends every Wednesday morning which will usually be paid for by us.

Features

Show all features including those not in this home

Fridge

WiFi

Bed sheets

Oven

Towels

Washer

TV

Heating

Hair dryer

Microwave

Iron

Dishwasher

Smoke alarms

Workspace

Clothes dryer

Coffee machine

High Speed Internet

Garden / yard

Bathtub

Air conditioning

Deck / patio / courtyard / terrace

First aid kit

Fire extinguisher

Balcony

Fireplace

Toys

Home cinema

Travel Styles

Weekend

Budget

Family

Romantic

Foodie

Relaxing

Village

Hiking

Golf

House Rules

Suitable for infants under 2

Suitable for children ages 2-12

Pets not allowed

No smoking

Allergens

Dog free

Smoke free

Dates of Availability

This member has chosen to hide this section from Non-Premium members.

Neighbourhood

We live in a small, friendly close that feels like a community within a community. Neighbours know one another, people stop to chat, and there's a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere. It's a very peaceful area where we feel extremely safe and comfortable.

Beyond our close, Blockley has a strong village community of its own. The café, village shop, pubs, church, village green and playground are all close by, so it's easy to feel part of village life even during a short stay.
Despite being in the heart of the village, our home is wonderfully quiet, with no traffic noise and countryside, woodland and footpaths right on the doorstep.

Getting to my home

Moreton-in-Marsh is the closest train station (its on the London Paddington line to Malvern) - is travelling by train you would also need to take a taxi to out home (around £10).

It is better to have a car here as the buses aren't frequent.

Nearest airport

All London airports, Bristol and Birmingham could be used. I find Birmingham airport the quickest and easiest but there are fewer flights to there.

Getting Around

You would preferably have a car. Buses are infrequent. But it is definitely doable to use the train and  a few taxis depending on how much sight seeing you'd like to do outside our own pretty village.