Estelle Manor exterior

Estelle Manor: The New English Countryside Hotel Everyone Wants To Book

two historic buildings in an english small countrytown's center, one has the british flag flying on a flagpole from the roof 

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Top Shops: Best Stores in the Cotswolds

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Top Tables: Best Restaurants in the Cotswolds

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Indagare Picks: The Most Romantic Hotels in the World

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Summer Vacation Ideas: The Jetsetter's Guide to Long Weekends Around the World

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From City to Country: Exploring the Cotswolds with Fashion World Darling and Farm Girl Amanda Brooks

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Home At Last: Heckfield Place, A Stunning New Hotel in Hampshire, England

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Finding Family Through Travel

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Cotswolds: Look Local

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First Look: Soho Farmhouse

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The birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace is well worth a visit. This sublime Baroque masterpiece was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh (who was also responsible for Castle Howard), and boasts a multitude of exhibits and tours. The Churchill Exhibition, dedicated to the life of the former Prime Minister, is especially interesting.

Exterior View - Blenheim Palace ,Cotswolds, England

Blenheim Palace 

The recipient of dozens of national and international awards, Daylesford Cookery School is a must-go for foodies visiting the Cotswolds. Housed in a restored stone barn, the school is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and is surrounded by acres of working farmland. With a plethora of courses, ranging from the art of foraging to artisanal bread making, students utilize the bounty produced by Daylesford Organic Farm. Helmed by Steve Brown, who cut his teeth in several Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe, the school emphasizes seasonal cooking with sustainable ingredients. There are also classes for children, where budding chefs get the chance to hone their skills.

Vegetables At Daylesford Cookery School,Cotswolds, England

Daylesford Cookery School

Culture vultures should head to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare and home of an excellent theater, where you can see clever contemporary productions of all the classics.


Auditorium At Royal Shakespeare Company,Cotswolds, England - Copyright Peter Cook

Royal Shakespeare Company

A castle that seems to have been pulled from the pages of a fairy tale, Sudeley has an illustrious history. During Tudor times, it served as a royal household of Queen Katherine Parr (the sixth wife of King Henry VIII), who is buried here, and meticulously restored during the 1830s, the castle also served as a favorite meeting spot for the Victorian era’s great politicians. Today, Sudeley is the home of Lady Ashcombe and the Dent-Brocklehurst family, including Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, fomerly head of Gagosian’s London gallery. Check Sudeley’s website for upcoming exhibitions, which always look incredible within the backdrop of the castle’s beautifully landscaped grounds. Children will enjoy the castle-sized and styled playhouse tucked away in the gardens.


Exterior Veiw - Sudeley Castle , London, England

Sudeley Castle

Since 1980, the Prince of Wales has worked to transform the Highgrove Gardens into one of the most creatively inspired gardens in the UK. Using organic and sustainable principles, HRH has helped create a rich and varied natural landscape. The gardens include a wildflower meadow, Beech trees and Hostas as well as vegetables and fruits. The gardens are open from April though October and tickets for tours must be purchased ahead of time.


Exterior View - Highgrove Gardens ,  Cotswolds, England - Courtesy Marianne Majerus

Highgrove Gardens

See & Do

An immaculate 18th-century estate-turned-countryside-hotel in Hampshire, England, the Heckfield Place sits on 400 acres, with restaurants by Skye Gyngell.

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Heckfield Place

The 40 farmhouse-chic cabins dotted around 100 acres range in size from one- to three-bedrooms (some with bunk beds) and feature kitchenettes or full kitchens, comfy lounging areas, board games and picnic supplies. Upon booking a cabin, guests' shoe sizes and heights are asked, so that their rooms can be equipped with seafoam-green Foffa bikes and wellies for use during their stay.

But the property is equally perfect for a couple's getaway, as certain cabins are particularly romantic, with fireplaces, outdoor bathtubs, a four-poster bed and record players. Certain areas in the public spaces are deemed "adults-only," including two great lofted lounges set above the Main Barn's restaurant. The spa, too, is an oasis, featuring nine treatment rooms, steam, sauna, ice bath and mudrooms, plus a soaking tub for two.

Nick Jones, the owner and visionary behind the brand, seems to have put his everything into this project, and was personally responsible for many of the design elements and thoughtful inclusions. There was no water on the property, so a lake was put in, the pedestrian-only plot is sprawling, so vintage milk carts patrol the lanes offering rides to guests and the design is so inspired that there is a store selling the very same bowls, blankets and rain jackets provided in guest rooms.

Dining options abound, and are all spectacularly delicious, being overseen by British chef extraordinaire, Tom Aikens. There is the Main Barn, which serves food all day (and well into the night), the more intimate Boathouse, which boasts a pizza oven, and a deli, where guests can find small bites as well as snacks. The Pickle, Cheese and Charcuterie rooms are here, too, and are marvels. The Cotswolds in general, and Soho Farmhouse in particular, will inspire you to tie on an apron, and they have built a specialty space for cooking classes, which utilize vegetables, fruit and herbs from the adjacent kitchen garden.

There are four tennis courts, a football field, gym and cycling studio, as well as an indoor/outdoor infinity pool that seemingly flows into the lake. Soho Farmhouse is also home to a dozen ponies and horses, and offers lessons as well as casual trail rides. So while the place is geared towards the more grown-up Soho House members, it nevertheless maintains an offering of amenities and activities that will suit actual children as well as the kids inside us all.


Exterior View - Soho Farmhouse, Cotswolds, England

Soho Farmhouse

Set on 100 acres of pasture and woodland, Raymond Blanc’s English manor house is for couples looking for a traditional English getaway .

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Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons

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Exterior View - Le Champignon Sauvage, Cotswolds, England

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Interior - The Wild Rabbit, Cotswolds, England

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Exterior View-  Highgrove, Cotswolds, England

Interior View -  Lorfords, Cotswolds, England

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London cherishes its duality: it fully embraces history and stiff upper lip traditions alongside the cutting-edge and the new, whether through its clubby residential five star hotels, its dynamic art and architecture or its buzzy theater and restaurant scenes. This should come as no surprise, as its name is derived from the Celtic word Londinios, which means the place of the bold one. (All hail, Queen Elizabeth II) Carry on now, indeed.

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London

The golf club in St Andrews is called the Royal and Ancient, and this, too, could apply to the country of Scotland. At every turn, whether in majestic cities like Edinburgh or lush landscapes in the Highlands, lies vestiges of ancient history and royal traditions.

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Scotland

From Dublin’s stunning Georgian architecture and the scenic Ring of Kerry to the rugged coast of Donegal and the country's pastoral interior, Ireland is as varied as it is striking. Whether one’s passion is history, hiking, cozying up with a novel or unwinding at the spa, Ireland delivers on all fronts, a destination as suited for adventure as for leisure.

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Ireland

Great Combinations

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Corie Tappin, member since 2007

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