Pretty English Country Cottage but close to London

Summary Midsummer Cottage is a grade 2 listed building. It is our home in winter and is where our children grew up. It is comfortable, fully furnished and equipped for a long stay or a holiday. Guests have sole use of the house and garden and are welcome to use all the facilities but should expect to find a living home rather than a depersonalised hotel style property. Nestling in the valley of the River Chess, surrounded by fields and woods and set in about an acre of garden, Midsummer Cottage has a position of unrivalled beauty. The oldest part of the property dates from the 1600s and is built in traditional style. At one time it was an Inn, then a small farmhouse. Later it was divided into two semi detached cottages. We are one of those cottages and you would be living in a little piece of English history. Sarratt village, with shop and pubs is a mile away and Chorleywood, with both Metropolitan Line and fast Chiltern trains to London, is a 15 minute drive away. Do you want to see the sights or have a night out in Central London? The fast train takes 30 minutes to Marylebone. In the oldest part of the house, there is a cosy sitting room with an ingle nook fireplace and a dining room with table, chairs and a fine china dinner set. There is large kitchen with dishwasher, range cooker, built in oven and a family sized table. A laundry room has a washing machine and tumble dryer together with a freezer. There is also a study and a second lavatory downstairs. Upstairs: The cottage has three double bedrooms, each with a comfortable double bed. Please note that the bed in the small bedroom is set against one wall. There is a family bathroom and a separate shower room. The stairs are potentially dangerous: rather steep, narrow and windy. Please take care. The house is equipped with wifi which has a useful download speed of 13mps. The garden is special. It is south facing with beautiful views, safely enclosed and not overlooked. There are apple trees, grassy slopes and secret woods to delight the children, and secluded corners where you can enjoy wild flowers or sit with a book. A barbeque, table and garden chairs are all provided. Sunsets over the Chiltern Hills can be spectacularly beautiful. The cottage is approached from Sarratt village by a single track lane with limited passing places. You may need to reverse to allow other cars to pass. Please respect the fact that the right of way to our drive runs behind our neighbours’ cottage and you should only park on our land. There is parking for two cars. Access to the cottage from the parking at the back of the house is down 4 stone steps. Take care! Mobile phone signal is very limited in Sarratt Bottom but if you can enable "call over wifi" on your mobile, you will have overcome this problem. Sarratt Bottom is a hamlet of half a dozen houses and cottages down by the River Chess. The immediate neighbourhood is rural and quiet, with horses, sheep and geese for company. The Chess Valley footpath is outside the garden gate. Enjoy the peace and the fresh air. Sarratt village is one mile up the hill with a shop and three pubs. There is parking for two cars. It is a mile to the village and 15 minutes by car to one or other of the local stations which can get you to London in 30 minutes. There are lots of pubs nearby, some of which have a fine reputation for their cooking. Take advantage of the location to go on walks around the Chilterns or visit one of our local towns, Chesham or Berkhamsted on market day. We are hoping that the cottage will appeal to couple or to a family who will appreciate living in an amazing and beautiful old property which is also a family home. Our ideal renters would, like us, be prepared to make some allowances for the age of the house…be careful of low beams, ignore bulges in the lath and plaster, turn a blind eye to some very uneven floors and worn carpets, and don’t notice that the doors are not all tight fitting. In fact, if you can cherish the quirks of the cottage as attractive features, you will have a most memorable stay.