The impossibly unspoiled Cotswolds village of Stanton owes its enduring allure to a Lancastrian mill designer.
After amassing his fortune, Sir Philip Sidney Stott moved south at the start of the 20th century and bought up most of Stanton’s properties, then dedicated his time to restoring them.
He also provided the village with a reservoir, cricket field and public swimming pool, improved the church, extended the school and added distinctive street lamps that still light the way for its lucky residents.
Stott lived in Stanton Court, a 10-bedroom mansion that was on the market in 2023 for £14m. An understated engraving at its entrance commemorates the ‘‘benefactor to the village’’.
Today, tranquil Stanton has changed very little since Stott’s time (although the school and pool are long gone) and its honey-coloured medieval, Tudor and Jacobean buildings are a joy to behold.
Among them is The Old Forge, a charming three-bedroom, cottage that’s a new addition to the Cotswolds Hideaways portfolio, where our family had the pleasure of booking into for a weekend.
Grade II listed, it boasts exposed beams, a wood burning stove, mullion windows, window seats, exquisite furnishings, large marble surround bath, luxurious bedrooms, an Aga, double ovens and two fridges.
And then there’s the delightful wrap around garden with its rambling roses, herbaceous borders, shading cedar tree, manicured hedging and topiary, all enclosed within a Cotswold drystone wall.
We were spoilt for choice for places to enjoy our coffees: the sun room, the garden furniture (including a lazy hanging swing-chair) or the bench on the village green, just across the lane from the back gate.
From the garden we would often hear the toots of trains on the Gloucester and Warwickshire Steam Railway, which travel between nearby Broadway and Cheltenham Racecourse.
The Old Forge sits directly on The Cotswold Way, a 102-mile trail from Chipping Campden to Bath. Our visit coincided with an ‘ultra’ race along its entire length and we did our best to encourage the runners, who had just 90 miles to go!
We walked the 1.1 miles along the trail to Stanway House (open summer only), a Jacobean manor famous for having the world’s highest gravity-fed fountain.
For those with more stamina, the route continues – via the romantic ruins of the 13th century Hailes Abbey – to Winchcombe, home to Sudeley Castle, which is the last resting place of Henry VIII’s surviving wife Catherine Parr.
Heading in the opposite direction from The Old Forge, the Cotswold Way follows Stanton’s High Street up to The Mount Inn, which boasts pretty terraces with views over village rooftops.
Putting my family to shame, I decided to work off my pint of Donningtons on a 2.5-mile circular walk from the pub up Shenberrow Hill, from where the limestone to build the village was quarried.
I was hoping to see the remains of the Iron Age hill fort near the top of the hill but it somehow escaped me.
From the 100ft hill’s summit you can take a detour to the National Trust’s Snowshill Manor, which is packed to the rafters with quirky objects collected by the eccentric former owner.
Or you can continue to follow the Cotswold Way to Broadway, just over the Gloucestershire border into Worcestershire, which has, in my humble opinion, the most beautiful high street in Britain.
The footpath continues up Broadway Hill to Broadway Tower, an iconic 18th-century Gothic folly with a cafe, deer park and, perhaps surprisingly, a nuclear bunker you climb down a ladder into.
However, we were more than happy to spend all our time in Stanton. The village is so peaceful you’re just as likely to hear the tapping of hiking sticks or the clip-clopping of horses from local stables as you are car engines.
At night, we found ourselves walking down the middle of the High Street and talking in very hushed voices so as not to disturb the residents, which include, by the way, Sue Barker.
We know this because in 2017 the former tennis champion turned TV presenter upset some neighbours by raising the roof of her home 1.5m – after her husband knocked himself unconscious on its low ceilings.
As for The Old Forge, a cottage with this much charm in such an idyllic location does not come cheap, but if it’s within your budget you won’t be disappointed.
And I’d suggest you book sooner rather than later, before Stanton – possibly the Cotswolds’ best kept secret – finds itself firmly on the tourist trail.
Travel facts
Cotswolds Hideaways offers a large range of luxury self-catering cottages. Short breaks at The Old Forge (which is dog-friendly) start from £1,278. Seven-night breaks start from £1,934. Visit www.cotswoldshideaways.co.uk
