Little Cote a pretty C16th Farmhouse with 3 acres of wildflower meadow

A Very Pretty and Historic Farmhouse Little Cote offers five lucky guests a high level of quality and space in a real luxurious, countryside cottage... And, with 3 acres of wildflower meadow to enjoy. The Experience Little Cote is a charming 16th century Grade II listed farmhouse surrounded by countryside. This cosy Suffolk house has been lovingly restored and provides spacious accommodation for five guests. The enclosed garden leads through to the private three acre wildflower meadow with pathways and seating areas cleverly placed to get the best views to the countryside beyond. The owners welcome their guests with a lovely Breakfast Hamper containing Eggs, bacon, tomatoes, butter, milk bread, fruit, real coffee, tea and olive oil. Cottage Walk Through The beautiful antique furniture and oriental rugs are blended with handcrafted modern furniture, creating a very comfortable and relaxing atmosphere in this romantic holiday cottage. The owners Cherry and Stephen have both worked in horticulture and have created a fragrant all year round garden for guests to enjoy.  The doorway into the cottage takes you straight into the farmhouse kitchen which has a lovely light atmosphere, framed by the beautiful ancient beams. This is the heart of the house and a great place to sit around the table and open a bottle of wine.  Off this dining area is a well-appointed modern kitchen, perfect for preparing meals. To the right there is also a shower room and loo, and a small utility room with a washing machine.  To the left there is a study which has a full sized single bed for a fifth guest, and on the other side of the staircase is the large sitting room. This room has a comfortable sofa and armchairs and an impressive inglenook fireplace with wood burning stove. Upstairs there is a large double bedroom, a separate bathroom with a pretty Victorian roll top bath and a large second bedroom which has comfy twin beds.  Little Cote offers guests a high level of quality and space in a very pretty and romantic cottage not far from London. If you are a larger group of up to nine guests, then both Skylarks and Little Cote, which is adjacent, can be adapted to accommodate you as a group, they back on to one another and do not normally disturb each other’s privacy, but there is closed off interconnecting hall that can be opened up. Please note that this cottage can only accept up to two infants that fit into our supplied Travel Cots – please do not book in more infants as we will have to decline the booking – sorry. We supply highchairs and travel cots but ask you to bring bedding for the cots. Please also note that if you have been offered a lower price for just 2 guests staying in this cottage (this happens out of high season) - then it is based on you using just one bedroom. Up to two well behaved doggies are welcome in this cottage - dog charges apply at £25 pw per dog or £15 less than a week - this payment can be taken after booking. The Gardens There is a large, sunny garden, that wraps around Little Cote, with lots of places to sit, relax and enjoy the birdsong. The garden is not dog fenced. Little Cote has an outstanding three acre wildflower meadow next to the cottage that you are welcome to enjoy, The owners have cut walkways around it for you to get the best views. There are also tables and chairs for you to enjoy a picnic looking out onto the wildflower meadow and beyond that, to the Suffolk countryside. This a great spot for bird watching. Outside This cosy romantic farmhouse sits in a quiet single track lane surrounded by farmland and is a perfect place to relax and unwind. This part of Suffolk has a subtle beauty and the gently undulating countryside and quiet country lanes make it perfect for cycling and walking – bikes are provided for guests to explore the pretty lanes and nearby villages.  The nearest village is Old Newton which is a small agricultural community, with a village shop, the nearest Pub is The Kings Arms in Haighley. The ancient market town of Stowmarket is three miles away. Green Credentials "When we opened Little Cote, an Elizabethan farmhouse built sometime around 1590, we knew it should reflect its natural environment. It sits in three acres of gardens, wildflower meadows and is surrounded by a gently rolling agricultural landscape. Our house style is ‘relaxed country comfort’ and we hope guests will feel at ease wearing anything from welly boots to high heels! Our rural style honours the lime plaster and mighty oak beams which have created this special place. And from the beginning, our ethos has been to use the garden and countryside as our inspiration; I hope you agree that our décor and furnishings (often refurbished auction finds) reflect this. Like a lot of people in this area, we try to live in a ‘sustainable way’, so our welcome basket includes whenever possible local, organic food. For example, freshly baked bread from Woosters near Bury St Edmunds or Palmers of Haughley.  Our free range bacon comes from Shelly Brand (the young owner of the smallholding half a mile away in Finningham).  Eggs often come from our own, free range hens and for everything else, including Ecover cleaning products, which is all we use,  from Alder Carr Farm in Needham Market. Mid Suffolk is a ‘Green’ area, an echo perhaps of the work done by Eve Balfour in the 1920’s, one of the original founders of the Soil Association, whose ‘Haughley Experiment’ took place a short walk from Little Cote, at New Bells Farm, Haughley. Unlike Eve, we are not farmers, but we do grow vegetables, fruit and flowers AND without resorting to nasty chemicals.  This is because the gardens and wildflower meadow provide such a wonderful habitat for animals and plants of all kinds. In spring, we enjoy a carpet of Cowslips, which are then followed by Orchids and Oxeye daisies; irresistible to bees, moths and butterflies. The longer summer grasses, Purple Vetch and Knapweed are home to field mice and voles, which in turn attract Kestrels and Barn Owls. And all year, we are visited by the iconic Brown Hare, Roe and Muntjac Deer.  A guest who worked for the RSPB once counted 27 different species of birds at Little Cote and I haven’t even mentioned the amphibians and reptiles: who knew there was so much going on?  In autumn, we feast on Apple and Blackberry pie and at Christmas time toast the New Year in with Sloe Gin made with fruits from the Blackthorn in our hedgerow – not too bad a life is it? But look back a few months at one of the highlights of early summer, the return of the Swifts in late May, early June.  They nest in the roof eves of Little Cote, just above the bathroom window.  If you are relaxing in the bath and looking out, you can easily see them flying back and forth to their nest at unbelievable speeds.  The other highlight is the Barn Owl hunting in the meadow at dusk, always thrilling, always magical and if it is the first time you have seen it, unforgettable. Our main road is called Silver Street, a single track lane, big enough for one car, which is on average what you might see each hour.  So, cycling around here is easy and we ride what is called an ‘Elephant Bike’. They are refurbished Royal Mail Postal Bikes, saved from landfill and given a new lease of life by a company who support a charity in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa.  So a very, very good cause, sustainable, but most importantly great fun to ride; pack a picnic and take off.  You can follow the Elephant Bike story at www.cycleofgood.com And although we are not far from Stowmarket, the A14 and the modern world, one criticism levelled at this part of Suffolk is that it is very nice, very peaceful, but nothing ever happens! Great isn’t it, long may it continue!" Local Area Little Cote is situated three miles from the lively little town of Stowmarket with its Street Market every Thursday and Saturday. The excellent Museum of East Anglian Life is based in Stowmarket and really worth a visit. Helmingham Hall, the World famous gardens surrounding the Tudor Moated Hall in a 4oo acre deer park are a 20 minute drive away. The Historic town of Bury St Edmunds is also just a 20 minute drive away and there are some lovely places to visit there like the famous Abbey Gardens, The Cathedral, Moyes’s House Museum, the Theatre Royal, The Green King Brewery and the beautiful pedestrian centre with its bustling market on Saturdays and beautiful architecture. The town is bursting with interesting cafes and restaurants. West Stow Country Park and Anglo-Saxon Village is a very interesting place to visit and just a 20 minute drive away Ickworth ‘An Italianate Palace in the heart of Suffolk’ is about 25 minutes away as are the famously preserved Medieval villages of Lavenham, Long Melford and Kersey. The unspoilt Suffolk Coast is under an hour’s drive away, where you can discover Shingle Street, Orford, Dunwich, Aldeburgh and Southwold. Standard Inclusive Features The Cottage is a complete little home and facilities include modern central heating, refrigerator, hobs, oven and / or microwave, toaster, crockery & serving dishes, cutlery, many utensils, fire-extinguisher, lots of pots & pans, glasses & mugs, kettle, coffee maker, teapot, kitchen towels, oven gloves, olive oil & vinegar, salt & pepper, sugar, herbs, tea, fresh and instant coffee, washing up liquid, cloths, general cleaning materials, etc. "Welcome Pack": Contains all the freshest ingredients for a 'Proper English breakfast': eggs, bacon, butter, some tomatoes, fruit, a lemon, a litre of milk and a loaf of fresh local bread. Bathroom: Soap, fluffy cotton towels, bath mats, toilet brush, toilet roll. Bedroom: Cotton bed linen, wardrobe with coat hangers / chest of drawers,  hairdryer. Utility Area: iron, ironing board, Living room: Your cottage has a lovely woodburning stove and a bask