Interest piqued?

A grand old manor is all very well, but when it comes to living the rural dream – kitchen garden and all ­– can you really beat a cottage? Diminutive in size but big in charm, these cosy dwellings offer the chance to live a life of Laura Ashley loveliness… or, if crafting and crocheting isn’t quite your thing, simply to enjoy some pretty period features without the intimidating footprint of a country house. If such a pastoral paradise has thus far eluded you, look no further than the clutch of cottages across the country currently for sale, from a sweet stone house set in the Shropshire hills to an Edwardian number in the suburbs – the perfect solution for those that think going full farmhouse might be a fairytale too far…

We could hardly present a collection of cottages without including a thatched number, could we? In fact, 

 is one of a handful of buildings in the village of the same name with fringed with reed roofs, including the local boozer, The Swan, which is just a few minutes’ walk away. This two-bedroom house, built in the 18

 century, is on a quiet street in the middle of the settlement, whose houses and churches sit scattered among fields. And while Lawshall might feel rural, there’s a busy and brilliant local school and a vibrant produce market that runs every Wednesday – perfect for all the pears, plums and posies you’ll be picking from the house’s orchard and meadows. This is village life at its best.

Cheney Longville, Craven Arms, Shropshire

There’s nothing common or garden about this pretty 

 in Shropshire – not least its utterly enchanting landscaped grounds. There are veg patches in which to plant potatoes and coax carrots into being, and raised beds filled with floribunda, all of which have been lovingly tended by the current owners. We can smell the sweet peas you’ll grow already… And, when autumn arrives, the orchard fills with fruit, perfect for crumbles.

The house itself is as good in summer – when you can throw open the large glazed doors of the timber-clad extension – as it is in winter, its log burners aglow. And, no matter the season, the views of the undulating landscape that surrounds this remote beauty – visible from almost every window – never fail to make the heart sing as they shift from green to gold and back again.

The time of every small settlement having a local butcher, baker and grocer may have passed, but thanks to the tireless dedication of some to preserving our architectural history, British village life lives on. 

, in placid Mersham, is an exquisite example. As its name suggests, the building was in Victorian times home to the settlement’s bread-maker – hence the impressive cast-iron ovens found in the downstairs rooms, and the pretty glazed shopfront windows. The building’s history, however, extends well beyond the 19

, when it formed part of a Wealden hall house in the Kentish vernacular. Overlooking Mersham’s green and with a pretty private garden behind – remarkable for its mature sycamore tree – the Baker’s House manages to feel both wonderfully quiet and in the very middle of village goings-on.

readers will doubtless already know from our 

, the development of Ewell, near Esher in Surrey, came about as a consequence of the garden city movement spearheaded by Ebenezer Howard in the late 19

 is just over an hour’s drive from London, thanks to the mature garden in which it sits, it couldn’t feel less suburban. It’s no accident: Linden was constructed in 1929 in the Arts and Crafts style, and its hand-built elements and vernacular details speak to the anti-industrial tenets of the movement, which placed a strong emphasis on the importance of nature in everyday life. For those seeking a certain style of country(ish) living that doesn’t compromise on more cosmopolitan elements, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Homes

You’ve got the flowing floral frocks and the cake-baking down pat (maybe). Now all you need is a rambling rose-covered cottage for all your georgic dreams to come true…

Cottagecore: four idyllic homes from which to live out your arcadian fantasy

You’ve got the flowing floral frocks and the cake-baking down pat (maybe). Now all you need is a rambling rose-covered cottage for all your georgic dreams to come true…