Have we reached peak Cotswolds? Not if the queues outside Diddly Squat Farm Shop near the village of Charlbury are anything to go by. Locals bemoan the traffic jams around Jeremy Clarkson’s estate as fans flock from far and wide to take home a bottle of the ‘cow juice’ from the Clarkson’s Farm TV series.
Clarkson’s tongue-in-cheek product is a wry nod to the area’s reputation for rural chic, forged by the likes of Lady Bamford’s Daylesford Organic farm shop – where a scented candle will set you back £49 – and Nick Jones’s Soho Farmhouse, where a stay in a luxury ‘piglet house’ costs £395 a night.
These luxury brands have helped to mythologise the Cotswolds as a sort of rural utopia – a place where the great and the good come to live out their country fantasies without sacrificing any of the glitz offered by the city. House prices have soared as a result. In the so-called golden triangle between Chipping Norton, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold, a relatively modest four-bedroom period cottage will set you back £1.65 million. More exclusive still is the polished patch of countryside surrounding Great Tew, where the Beckhams have a pad and Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall were rumoured to have bought a manor before their divorce. Properties rarely come up in the village itself. But this two-bed cottage in nearby Little Tew, with its own copse, is on the market for £850,000.
A slight air of Disneyfication surrounds some of these villages. Every hedge is trimmed to perfection; every sash window wears its uniform coat of Farrow & Ball Vert de Terre. Great Tew school – ostensibly a state primary – looks like it has fallen out of the pages of an Enid Blyton novel.
Over the past year alone, property values in the area have risen by 13.7 per cent, with the average price almost double than the rest of the UK. Housing stock is so low in the most desirable spots that even cash buyers can face stiff competition.
‘Established Cotswold homeowners and London buyers alike are increasingly turning to the area, largely due to the excellent schooling and communication links’
So where can house hunters go for affordability and – dare I say it – more authenticity too? Well, look no further than Warwickshire. Sitting on the doorstep of the Cotswolds, it offers a low-key approach to country life and, with the area having stayed in the shadow of its glamorous neighbour, buyers can bank on their money going further. Indeed, according to Savills, prices rose by only 0.6 per cent between May 2021 and May 2022. And it seems existing Cotswolds homeowners are already cottoning on to Warwickshire’s appeal.
‘Warwickshire has a variety of highly regarded schools, including grammar schools in Stratford-upon-Avon, which boast large catchment areas. Established Cotswold homeowners and London buyers alike are increasingly turning to the area, largely due to the excellent schooling and communication links,’ says Catherine Scandrett of Savills. ‘The local architecture has more Georgian and Victorian influences, which combined with attractive countryside and cultural amenities enhances Warwickshire’s appeal. Famous for its Regency houses, Leamington Spa is Warwickshire’s answer to Bath.’
So if you crave high ceilings and country vistas, Warwickshire could be for you. Shipston-on-Stour, on the edge of the Cotswolds, offers a solid set of rural amenities and is a useful starting point for a house search. Villages such as Barton-on-the-Heath and Darlingscott are a stone’s throw from the official Cotswolds boundary and have already felt the ripple effect of the popularity of Chipping Camden – but this five-bedroom property built in traditional Cotswold stone still offers more space than you would find for the same price tag in Burford or Stow-on-the-wold.
But look north and east and you will start to discover areas so far untrammelled by departing Londoners. Whichford (famous for its pottery) and Tysoe and Kineton directly south of Leamington Spa are proving popular. Tysoe and Kineton, although retaining a rural feel, are still in the catchment area of the Stratford grammar schools.
Those looking for a fast link into London would do well to consider the countryside to the south of Rugby. Trains take under an hour into London Euston and the villages to the southwest of Daventry, such as Priors Marston, boast the same traditional ironstone cottages that you would find in Great Tew and North Oxfordshire.
For buyers less concerned about travel connections, to the west of the county lies the attractive market town of Alcester, which has a similar feel to Herefordshire. Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon are appealing alternatives to the traditional Cotswold bookends of Oxford and Cheltenham, with trains from Warwick Parkway taking one hour and 12 minutes to London Marylebone. This substantial four-bedroom country house in Sherbourne just south of Warwick (£1.6 million) gives you a sense of how much further a budget can go in Warwickshire.
The Cotswolds will always retain a certain cache amongst house hunters keen to buy into its distinct brand of country glamour, but those prepared to look a touch further afield will escape the premium that often comes with being within reach of Soho Farmhouse – and find their money goes further as a result.
Four more Warwickshire country houses to consider
Luddington Manor, near Warwick, has eight bedrooms, a separate two-bedroom cottage and an indoor swimming pool – and was once occupied by relatives of William Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway. It’s on the market for £3.95 million with Savills.
This four-bedroom country house with substantial gardens near Newbold-on-Stour is listed for £1.25 million by Butler Sherborn,
A former home of the Profumo family in Avon Carrow, Southam, this property comes with stone carvings, turreted staircases and a roof terrace, and is on sale for £1.1 million through Knight Frank.
For £750,000 you could get this five-bedroom Grade II-listed Georgian residence in Rugby. It has a separate workshop and is on sale through Mr and Mrs Clarke.
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