To mark five years with Middleton, Gemma Maclaran, our lead advisor for the Cotswolds, identifies five characteristics that ensure the region remains the hottest of property hot-spots.
Architectural perfection.
If you asked ChatGPT to create an image of ‘the perfect English country house’, it would come back with a Cotswolds vicarage or mansion – all honey-coloured stone, steeply-raked gables, arched doorways and mullion windows. Inside there would be thick stone walls, fireplaces and oak beams, while the immaculate exterior would feature a mix of wild flowers, hornbeam hedges and a kitchen garden.
Cotswolds – plural.
The 2,000 km2 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty contains several subregions. The countryside bordered by Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Norton and Burford is considered the ‘golden triangle’ – close enough to London for a quick commute, yet truly rural. The Stroud Valley area, originally made famous by the Laurie Lee novels, has a more bohemian vibe. For the perfect mix of city/rural life, choose one of the larger towns such as Cheltenham, Bath or Oxford.
Lots to learn.
The huge choice of excellent schools is often a key factor in a buying brief. In the Cotswolds, you’ll almost certainly find one to suit your preferred mix of academic, cultural and sporting ethos. If you are moving out of London, you are sure to feel the allure of the wide, open spaces with which most Cotswolds schools are endowed.
Join the club.
With many young couples plotting their move out of London before, rather than in response to starting a family, the market influence of the Soho Farmhouse bio-trend and the Daylesford hub is well-documented. And so it’s unsurprising there are more Cotswold ‘honeypots’ emerging. Estelle Manor in Eynsham Park near Oxford really does have it all, while there’s much excitement about the transformation of Barnsley House Hotel into the latest member of the Pig family.
Gold standard value.
The combination of these factors ensures that demand always outstrips supply. If you’re fortunate enough to acquire that perfect manor, vicarage or country cottage, you’re very likely to pass it down through the generations. But, should you regard it as an investment, you will not be disappointed.