Ashby Cottage

You arrive at Ashby Cottage to find a traditionally built house with a lived-in warmth: ground floor living room with a 42-inch TV, then through to a kitchen and dining area equipped for proper cooking—electric oven and hob, dishwasher, microwave—overlooking the enclosed gravelled garden. Upstairs, a kingsize bedroom and a second room with twin singles (suited to children) share a bathroom with both bath and shower. The essentials—Wi-Fi, electricity, bed linen and towels—are included, and if you've brought a dog, it stays free.

Long Compton sits in the Cotswolds in south Warwickshire, between Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, roughly halfway between Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon. The village itself has a 13th-century church and an award-winning pub built as a coaching inn in 1748, only 300 yards away. The walking is exceptional—the MacMillan Way passes nearby—and the Rollright Stones, dating from around 2000 BC, stand a mile off. For other pursuits, there are two golf courses close by and a riding school in the area; bikes can be hired from Morton-in-Marsh. The surrounding Cotswolds villages—Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden, Broadway among them—make for easy day trips. Parking for two cars is on site. No smoking, please.