The best Cotswold holiday cottages

OK, so this isn't strictly a cottage, but who really cares when you see what's inside: floor-to-ceiling windows, roaring open fires and a proper farmhouse Aga, plus five bedrooms so you can bring the entire extended family if you really want to. You can leave the youth in the games room while you take a long, hot soak in one of the many roll-top baths upstairs. Joyful.

One week, from £1,645
3) Daylesford Farm Cottages

If you stay at one of these quaint cottages set in dreamy Daylesford, you are a Barbour's throw from the BEST farm shop in the land. It's ideal for foodies - spend your days in the cookery school, which hosts courses on anything from artisan bread-making to game, wild food and foraging. Then retreat to the Bamford Haybarn Spa for a massage that will send you to sleep. As for the cottages themselves, think Agas, cashmere blankets and rough stone floors. What more could you want?

One week, from £1,130
4) The Honey Pot

You don't need to step inside this higgledy-piggledy, honeysuckle-scented stone cottage to know it's going to be marvellous - the name says it all. You could just loll around, scoffing scones and drinking rosé in the pretty courtyard garden, but there's plenty to do there too. It's set within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - the walks are gobsmackingly good, as are the boutiques in nearby Burford.

One week, from £950
5) Pollyanna

You know those days when the city smog and ceaseless car alarms really take their toll? When you finally plot your country escape - to a little thatched cottage with a wishing well, roll-top bath and orchard heaving with juicy apples and pears that you can pick right off the tree? Welcome to Pollyanna, my friends. Bring the small people, if you can bear it. They'll disappear. DON'T PANIC - they'll just be pootling around in the pastel-painted Wendy house or bouncing on the giant trampoline.

One week, from £1,030
6) The Folly

Do not be fooled by the traditional stone and olive-coloured windows of this 16th-century farmhouse, because inside it's a whirlwind of old and new. Jewel-coloured sofas, velvet throws, copper baths and vintage knick-knacks fill the rooms (the property is owned by interior designer Jo Berryman). For those with ants in their pants, there's a whopper of a tennis court, and mountain bikes are on hand for whizzing around the Gloucestershire hills.

One week, from £1,800
7) New Church Cottage

If being in the sticks isn't for you, let us swing you into the direction of New Church Cottage - slap bang in the middle of the devilishly charming town of Tetbury. If you can tear yourself away from the cosiest sitting room in town (with its roaring fire, Lewis & Wood wallpaper, and books and games galore), make sure you nip into local foodie haven Quayles, nab a seat in the window and play a game of Spot the Bentley.

One week, from £525
8) Water Meadow Cottage

There are a million and one reasons to stay at the idyllic Water Meadow Cottage. But what trumps them all is the fact that it sits in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, so you can wander around, past the grass-nibbling sheep and unassuming tourists, and casually pretend it's ALL yours. We have to mention the cottage's dreamy summerhouse, overlooking the meadows and river, plus the fully stocked honesty larder.

One week, from £2,525
9) Cope Cottage

There's a pretty cluster of properties peppered around Bruern Abbey**,** and Cope Cottage is one of them. It was made for those who want to hide away with a lover. There's an adorable Osborne & Little**-** wallpapered bedroom with high-beamed ceilings and gleaming wooden floors. But the best bit? The downstairs terrace overlooking the gurgling river - an awesome spot for a nightcap.

One week, from £840
10) Fox End

Fox End is the sort of cottage that will knock your wellies off, no question. The stone wall! The thatched roof! The treacle-coloured beams! Spend your days roaming around nearby Chastleton House or watching cows parading up and down the cobbled lanes, before knocking back a G&T on the patio, gazing at the glorious British countryside.

One week, from £1,800
11) The Brewery Burford

If you fancy being in the hub of a bustling market town, you'll fall for the just-renovated Brewery Burford. Everything is whimsical-chic and very, very grey - from the squishy velvet sofas and antique French dresser to the cashmere throws and orchid vases. And, if you fancy a walk, you're only a hop away from the high street's tearooms and boutiques.

One week, from £3,000

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