Far End Cottage

Type: Self-Catering

Far End cottage is situated in the pretty village of Montacute, close to the magnificent Elizabethan mansion, Montacute House is now owned by the National Trust and often used as a film location. The cottage, built in the local golden hamstone, is at the end of a small terrace of cottages in a quiet part of the village.

The cottage has a spacious lounge, with colour television, video recorder, radio and DVD player. There is an open fire and plenty of comfortable seating. The kitchen was completely renovated last year and is fully equipped, with a dishwasher, washing machine, gas hob, electric oven and microwave. Four to six people can be seated in the dining area. A small front porch provides plenty of storage room for walking boots and coats.

Upstairs there is a main bedroom with a double bed and a second bedroom with twin beds. The bathroom is spacious and, again, was newly refitted last year with a modern bathroom suite and a separate electric shower cubicle. Full gas central heating ensures a warm stay, whatever the time of year.

The back garden is particularly attractive with a sitting area with patio furniture by a small garden pool with fountain. A few yards from the cottage is a small pergola covered in honeysuckle and jasmine for a shady spot and beyond that a lawn and flower beds leading down to the back gate and the parking area. The cottage enjoys totally private parking for three cars, a rarity in a small Somerset village.

There are wonderful walks directly from the cottage over the fields to the neighbouring villages. Much of the land is owned by the National Trust and provides superb views of the local countryside and wildlife. Ham Hill, the source of the honey-coloured stone from which the cottage is built, can be reached by car or foot. At the top of Ham Hill is a large Iron Age and Roman Hill Fort, which uniquely has an inn, The Prince of Wales, within it.

The village has two pubs, the Phelips Arms and the Kings Arms, which provide excellent food, a small post office/saddlery, which stocks some food and a garage, which also sells foodstuffs and newspapers. There is a small tea room and the Montacute Radio and TV museum in the village. A larger supermarket can be found in the neighbouring village of East Stoke, about half a mile away and Yeovil, a far larger shopping centre, is about three miles away.

The cottage is also close to many other National Trust properties, cider mills, classic gardens, and the Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton and Sparkford Motor Museum. The Dorset coast is only twenty miles away and Lyme Regis, famous for its fossils, can be reached in about thirty minutes by car.