Special Places to Stay - More than a bed for the night

The bocage undulates around you... and from your comfy bed you gaze on hills and cows. This pretty 18th-century farmworker's cottage with the reed-thatched roof is a sweet, secluded retreat. Lovingly restored 30 years ago, it has had plenty of time to mellow – and you'll find a warm, unassuming welcome from the owners who live up the lane; Madame has lived here all her life. Step in to an open-plan space furnished in traditional Normandy style – rustic pieces, a few antiques – dominated by a great stone fireplace with logs on the house. The kitchen has all the essentials for a family stay; for homely nights you have chess, scrabble and satellite TV. Upstairs is the double room, its walls painted soft yellow to give a cosy glow; the shared shower room is next door, and up the open-tread stair is the family room: dark beams under the eaves and a lovely armoire filled with bedding and quilts. Fire up the barbecue as the children run free in the hedged gardens; fill your baskets with fruit. Acres of rhododendron-rich, cycle-trailed parkland lie up the road, and the village shops are a walk away. Beautiful, and so peaceful.