Songthrush
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£875–£1895 / week
About the home
Songthrush is a spacious, family-owned contemporary home on the private Lower Mill Estate nature reserve in the Cotswolds Water Park. A fabulous property set in a quiet cul-de-sac location and overlooking a small reeded stream, you have miles of scenic walks from the front door and an abundance of local sporting, sightseeing and relaxing activities.
The House
The house is a firm favourite with families and friends alike. Open plan living spaces make the property a very sociable option. The design mixes the warmth of wood floors with the clean-cut simple style of contemporary furnishings. Families are particularly welcomed; there are plenty of activities for all ages (see below). Children are well catered for with toys, games and books, and you are welcome to bring your well behaved dog.
The Spa
You have free, unlimited access to the award-winning spa a mere 50m stroll away, with slate-lined, naturally filtered heated indoor and outdoor pools. You can swim among the water lilies in the eco plunge-pool, and relax in the sauna, steam room. There is a well-equipped techno-gym and adult-only relaxation room. A wide range of Pevonia spa treatments are also available (extra cost).
| Size: | Sleeps up to 9, 5 bedrooms |
|---|---|
| Nearest beach: | Cotswolds Country Park and Beach, 1.5km |
| Will consider: | Short breaks |
| Access: | Car advised |
| Family friendly? | Suitable for children of all ages Suitable for people with restricted mobility |
| Notes: | May take pets - please enquire No smoking at this property Self-catering |
Facilities
| Luxuries: | Gym, Sauna, Log fire, Internet access, DVD player |
|---|---|
| Pools: | Shared indoor Pool, Shared outdoor pool (unheated), Shared outdoor pool (heated) |
| General: | Central heating, TV, CD player, Table tennis |
| Standard: | Kettle, Toaster, Iron, Hair dryer |
| Utilities: | Dishwasher, Cooker, Microwave, Fridge, Freezer, Washing machine |
| Rooms: | 5 Bedrooms, 4 bathrooms of which 1 family bathroom, 2 en suites and 1 shower room |
| Furniture: | Single beds (1), Double beds (3), Cots (1), Dining seating for 10, Lounge seating for 8 |
| Other: | Linen and towels provided Highchair available |
| Outdoors: | Shared outdoor pool (unheated), Shared outdoor pool (heated), Balcony / Terrace, Shared garden, BBQ, Bicycles available, Shared tennis court on site, Climbing frame, Swing set, Trampoline |
| Access: | Parking space |
Further details indoors:
Songthrush offers a very high standard of accommodation throughout:
Ground Floor comprises a hallway with cloakroom (WC/washbasin), opening into a spacious living, dining and kitchen area. The living area has a wood-burning stove as a central feature, and is furnished with two sofas, leather chairs, flat screen TV with Freeview and a DVD recorder. Dining area has seating for 10 +high chair.
The kitchen is large, and as we use it a lot ourselves (and are a foodie family) it is well equipped with plentiful crockery, cutlery, utensils and serving bowls, it has things like decent knives that you don't always find in a rental property. There is a large fridge/freezer, microwave/oven and full-sized oven, kettle, toaster, blender and expresso-maker. There are spices and salt and pepper supplied - as those are the things that it is easy to forget about when organising a self-catering holiday.
Floor to ceiling windows bring the outdoors in, and you step out onto wooden decking with dining furniture and a bbq, with a view over a (unfenced) reeded brook and meadowland. This is the perfect place to sit out and eat breakfast in the sun.
On the 1st floor there are 4 bedrooms: 1 double (with en-suite with bath), two further double bedrooms, one single and a shared bathroom (shower). Two of these bedrooms have floor to ceiling windows opening onto balconies.
On the 2nd floor there is the 5th bedroom: a huge master suite (king-sized bed) which also works fabulously as a family room, with plenty of room for cots or children’s beds. It has its own en-suite shower room.
Further details outdoors:
The 550 acre Estate is a caringly developed nature reserve. The 7 lakes and meadows are home to a myriad of wildlife, including otters, deer, bats, birds and the UK’s only wild beaver population.
Songthrush is located a stone's throw away from the Artspa, a beautiful building housing a heated indoor swimming pool, steam and sauna, gym and treatment rooms. There is also an outdoor heated pool, and a eco-plunge pool (yes - very cold!) set amid landscaped grounds and decorated with water-lillies. Book at the Artspa to use the tennis court too. Your rental includes access for all guests to the Artspa facilities. (Treatments are payable locally).
With restricted car access it is a haven where your children are able to play freely and ride bikes around the estate. There are playground areas, trampolines, a football area and table-tennis, as well as tennis courts.
A small shop and café (open from Easter, limited opening hours) is about 200m walk and sells fresh croissants, newspapers, home-made frozen meals and other essential supplies for the house. It also serves coffees, light breakfasts and lunches. Bikes and canoes can be hired for use on and around the Estate.
Further details
Friday changeovers only, or Mondays for Short breaks (to Friday). Other dates will be considered at short notice.
Bed linen and towels are included. Please bring your own swimming towels or hire them from the Spa.
Conditions
A £250 deposit is required to confirm a booking and final payment is due six weeks before the start of your holiday. A 'Damages Deposit' of £250 is also taken.
Songthrush is a no smoking property. Please note that Stag and Hen parties are not permitted on the estate.
Photos
The Central England / Cotswolds / Gloucestershire region
Lower Mill Estate is located 5 miles south of Cirencester, and 8 miles north of Swindon. It is an excellent base for exploring the Cotswolds, and the spa towns of Cheltenham and Bath are within an hour's drive.
Our guests tell us that it is a really accessible point for far-flung family members to get to easily - making it perfect for family and friends get-togethers.
Our nearest town is elegant, Roman Cirencester. A lively, attractive place full of smart shops, cafes and restaurants, a ‘real’ market, and a great arts centre in the old brewery building. It also has a Waitrose and Tesco – both of whom will deliver to the estate to take the ‘self’ out of catering.
Lower Mill is also convenient for Cheltenham (including the Festival in March), and very close to RAF Fairford which hosts the Royal International Air Tattoo (July)
The Cirencester / Somerford Keynes area
There are many beautiful Cotswold villages to explore (by car or bike), each with picturesque local pubs – many of which serve extremely good food - we are building a pretty good list in our Welcome Pack which we send to you when you book.
For the hyperactive, there are comprehensive water-sports centres nearby, as well as jet skiing, cable skiing, waterskiing, paintballing, sky diving, hot air ballooning, riding and golf.
After all that activity the Artspa at Lower Mill offers relaxing and reviving spa treatments to help you recover!
For families, 10 minute walk, or a short bike-ride from Lower Mill is The Cotswolds Country Park & Beach, where you can hire cycles and boats, have a sailing or windsurfing lesson, fish, play on the sandy beach or test your climbing skills at “Head 4 Heights” ariel adventures. 10 minutes drive is Butts Farm, for baby animals and an award-winning farm shop and butcher. A little further a field, near Cheltenham, is a rare breeds Cotswold Farm Park. For more exotic animals, try the Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford.
For quieter types of activity, there are also numerous wildlife parks and gardens to explore; antiques in Tetbury, William Morris’s house at Kelmscott, and the Abbey at Tewkesbury.
If you need to get your shopping fix - Cirencester has a high proportion of individual shops, including clothing, crafts, homewares and specialist suppliers, and has a charming market-town feel. Also worth a visit is the Swindon Designer Outlet Centre which has a vast range of well-known brands' outlet shops, offering up to 60% off standard retail prices. It also hosts a farmer's market every Sunday.
How to get there
Click map icons for more information
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| Nearest Travel Links | |
| Railway: | Kemble: 5 km |
Our nearest railway station is Kemble (approx 3 miles), or Swindon (approx 10 miles). Both have direct trains from London Paddington.
1.5 hours drive from London on the M4/A419. Easy access from the M5.
Activities near Cirencester
Tennis in town
Watersports
Waterpark
Horse Riding
Golf within 30 mins drive
Fishing
Walking holidays
Rural / countryside retreats
Beach or lakeside relaxation
Cycling holidays
Reviews
 30 May 2012 |
Songthrush totally exceeded our expectations. We were gathered for an 80th birthday party and the house coped with the numbers really well. Even when day visitors took the number to 17. It was spotless on arrival with good decor. The house is extremely well equipped from kitchen equipment to bedding. The lounge opening up to the garden with big patio windows and great garden furniture made for a huge living space. The house is right next to the outdoor and indoor pools with sauna and steam room plus gym. Our dealings with the owner have been excellent with prompt and helpful replies to every query. Highly recommended. |
29 Mar 2012 |
Stayed at songthrush for a long weekend with the family, 9 of us in total, 4 generations from 2 to 87 years old, to celebrate my mum's 60th birthday. The house is lovely, modern decoration, spotlessly clean and well equipped. Size was just right, the open plan living space on the ground floor is ideal for a family gathering. Location is great too, peaceful, great views and very close to the spa. Access to the lovely spa was included, the kids loved the swimming pool, and the ladies indulged in the spa treatments. the estate itself is also a great setting, lots of nice walks, a play area for the kids, and there's lots of good pubs nearby serving great food. Bonus was being able to take the dogs to such a nice house, would love to stay again. |
21 Mar 2012 |
We booked to meet up with some friends for my sisters Birthday. 8 adults and five small children. The house was perfect and in a great location with lots to do. Liz was very helpful and sent through lots on the local area. I would recommend a visit. |
Guestbook for Songthrush
Just returned from a lovely relaxing weekend here and can thoroughly recommend it for all ages. We chose it as a surprise for my husband's 60th birthday and he was thrilled to bits and it was very easy to organise with Liz as we did it all by e-mail. It is in an ideal position for families such as ours that are scattered over England to meet up in a lovely spacious house with all amenities. We have all decided that we would like to return on an annual basis as we felt so chilled out!!! Wonderful! Gillian & Steve - Bolton September 2010
Dear Liz, Just wanted to drop a line to say we had a wonderful week in your fabulous home. Many thanks for being so well equipped, it really made my life so much easier, especially with a 6 month old. We will definitely be coming again. Many thanks. SD May 2010
We are a family of 4 plus a dog (2 children, ages 7 and 9) and we stayed at Songthrush for 10 days in April 2010. The house itself itself is very spacious, well equipped and it took us no time at all to feel completely at home.
If we felt like relaxing and staying close to the house, there were no shortages of activities to choose from; cycling, trampolining, walking to any one of a choice of gastro pubs for lunch, swimming, kayaking - you name it!
When we decided to venture further afield there were many beautiful places of interest to visit and I can't recommend enough the rare breeds farm - we fed newly born lambs (obviously dependent on what time of year you visit), collected eggs from the ducks and hens, made friends with some very affectionate goats and generally had a great day out.
Delicious BBqs in the evenings, sitting out on the decked patio area, watching herons and ducks in the reeds which surround the stream at the back of the house - idyllic! Nadim, Fulham April 2010
A lovely safe area for walking & cycling which the children enjoyed. We walked to the local pub for an evening meal (great food). Take a torch for the country lanes. H&P White Kettering Northants Date of Stay: Feb 2010
Rental prices
| Rental prices originally quoted in: British £ | Convert to: |
| Prices for group size 9 | ||||||
| Period | From | To | Weekly | Nightly rate | Minimum stay | |
| Weekday | Weekend | |||||
| Early Spring | 18 Feb 12 | 31 Mar 12 | £ 990 | - | £ 275 | 3 Nights |
| Easter Holidays | 31 Mar 12 | 21 Apr 12 | £ 1040 | - | - | 1 Week |
| Spring | 21 Apr 12 | 31 May 12 | £ 1250 | - | £ 330 | 3 Nights |
| Early Summer | 31 May 12 | 14 Jul 12 | £ 1350 | - | £ 350 | 3 Nights |
| Summer Holidays | 14 Jul 12 | 1 Sep 12 | £ 1675 | - | - | 1 Week |
| Autumn | 1 Sep 12 | 27 Oct 12 | £ 1250 | - | £ 350 | 3 Nights |
| Autumn Half Term | 27 Oct 12 | 6 Nov 12 | £ 1300 | - | - | 1 Week |
| Autumn/Winter | 6 Nov 12 | 21 Dec 12 | £ 875 | - | £ 250 | 3 Nights |
| Christmas & New Year | 21 Dec 12 | 4 Jan 13 | £ 1895 | - | - | 1 Week |
The property's weekend rates apply to: Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights
NB: Prices may be subject to change at the advertiser's discretion.
Monday and Friday are change over days for arrivals and departures. Other weekdays may be able to be accommodated dependent on bookings/demand.
Bank Holiday weekends may be extended to cover the additional day. Please ask for rates.
Arrivals: any time after 4pm
Departure: Please vacate the property by 10am
Weekend breaks are 3 nights. Sorry we do not do 2 night stays at weekends.
NB Well behaved dogs are welcome. However we charge a £25 flat fee to cover the additional cleaning required.
Availability
See below for next 9 months' availability - to see the next 24 months click here
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Availability notes:
The estate is closed between 5 Jan and 5 Feb each year.
Contact the owner
* Required fields Please check the following errors: | 2 years listed You are contacting Liz Wren
Languages spoken   The owner is based in the United Kingdom and has advertised with Holiday Lettings since 2010. This house has received 9 reviews from previous guests.  |
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