Helpful Information for your stay at Kingham Cottages
Arrival and check out times
We ask our guests to arrive at, or after, 4pm and we have to say goodbye at 10am at the end of your stay.
Map of Kingham Cottages, Kingham Lodge & Garden
To view a map showing the locations of all the Kingham Cottages properties in the grounds of Kingham Lodge and the 5-acres of landscaped gardens, please click here.
Welcome Pack
You will find a welcome from us waiting for you in your cottage including a loaf of homemade bread, butter and jam along with tea, coffee, milk and sugar. If you want to make sure you have some basics ready for your arrival, we suggest you arrange a supermarket delivery to your cottage. Alternatively an early expedition can be a walk to the village shop or Daylesford farm shop.
Towels
We supply both bath towels and pool towels for you. To reduce our environmental impact from unnecessary laundry we have stopped offering hand towels to each bed, we found most guests left these unused. Tea towels are provided in the kitchen.
Kingham Village Stores
We like to support our village shop; owned by Brian, they are open from 6am-7pm all week (Sunday closing is at 5pm).
Daylesford Organic Farm
Needs no introduction, they offer wonderful quality food, their own butter, meats, fish, cheese and bread, pastries, salads and much more. The food is fantastic. The farm shop is a 3 minute drive from us.
Pet Policy
Due to the high standard of furnishings we do not accept pets to stay in any of our holiday properties (except for assistance dogs).
Kitchen Facilities, Baby Facilities & Disability Access
All the kitchens include the usual modern-day conveniences. The kitchen in Ryeworth Cottage has a 4-oven Aga as well as an electric double oven, hob and microwave, so large parties can gather and eat together. A cot, cradle, stair-gate, high chair and pushchair or pram are available on request.
The cottages have level access from the gravel parking areas, bedrooms are on the first and second floors. The Loft is accessed via an external flight of steps and then all rooms are on the same level.
Berry Pen Cottage has been designed to be suitable for guests with disabilities and is wheelchair accessible throughout the ground floor including a ground floor bedroom and en-suite wet-room.
Extra things to pack for your stay at Kingham Cottages
We suggest you pack walking shoes and wellies (if it has been raining) as well as your swimwear for the pool and Hammam. You will also need to bring your tennis racket, balls and tennis-shoes if you want to use the all-weather hard tennis court.
Group Bookings
If multiple cottages are booked by one party it is possible to all eat together either in Ryeworth or Berry Pen, both of which have been designed for large groups to dine. If you are interested in booking Kingham Cottages on an exclusive use basis, please contact us to discuss your specific requirements and we will do everything we can to make your stay with us a memorable one.
Cycle Storage
Bikes can be stored with us in a secure location during your stay. Do ask us about this when you book. However, this is a good place to remind guests that all personal possessions are the owners responsibility and these will be left on the premises at your own risk. We cannot accept liability.
Interior Décor & Bathrooms
Our bathrooms all have high-pressure showers in wet room style, and each property also has a bath. We have furnished the properties to be stylish, comfortable and timeless using antique furniture, arts and crafts pieces and sumptuous fabrics from Colefax & Fowler, Nina Campbell, Sanderson, Romo and many other well-known fabric houses. All the sofas have been made in the village and we have sought out good independent English makers for the beds and mattresses. Bedrooms have a wardrobe with hanging for long dresses.
Construction Techniques used at Kingham Cottages
We have used local craftsmen and traditional materials together with modern technology to create beautiful buildings that fit into their historic surroundings and appear ageless, but inside benefit from the highest levels of insulation, underfloor heating and air recycling.
The older properties in Kingham were built with stone from two quarries on adjacent hills (red quarry and white quarry); the houses show a mixture of stone, sometimes arranged in strong alternating bands, sometimes solely of one colour and often a mixture of the two, apparently randomly. When designing our holiday cottages we have tried to emulate this mixture using stone from three different quarries.
We have used English oak throughout the cottages on some of the floors and all skirting boards, staircases and doors. We found a source of reclaimed oak in Sussex that has supplied lintels and beams in the cottages and The Loft as well as for the Loggia behind the pool.
The double glazing and insulation exceed the highest standards of the new Building Regulations.
The Inspiration for the Cottage Names
We have chosen names for the cottages after reading up about village history. Kite’s Gate refers to the old name of the bridle path leading from the front door to Daylesford. Ryeworth is the name of an ancient field behind the cottages. Berry Pen is the name of the field behind the cottage, between Kingham House and the football field. Together with The Loft over the new coach house these luxury cottages are a home away from home and make up ‘Kingham Cottages’.
Wildlife at Kingham Cottages
During the spring the gardens are alive with the sound of the birds. Around the cottages you will see Blackbirds, Thrushes, Robins, three varieties of Tits, Sparrows, Starlings, Collared Doves, Wood Pigeons and House Martins and Swifts. Nesting in the gardens or adjacent fields you may also see: Wrens, Goldcrests, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Nuthatch, Green and Spotted Woodpeckers. Over the past couple of years wild Mallard hatched a brood of ten ducklings on the island in the garden and most days you are likely to find a hopeful heron eyeing the goldfish.
Golf Courses
There are three local golf courses, all good and all different. The nearest is The Wychwood Golf Club only five minutes in the car. Fifteen minutes will take you to Chipping Norton Golf Course or Heythrop Park, the newest course to open in the local area.
Walks and Cycling Destinations
Kingham is an excellent place from which to do a range of Cotswold walks and cycling routes. Twice a month the Kingham walkers set off to explore a new area and guests are welcome to join them for their strolls. Details of their plans are published in the Kingham Newsletter, which will be in your cottage for you to read. From the front door of the cottages the road becomes a bridle path leading to the Daylesford Organic farm shop and café. In the Sequoia Room (next to the swimming pool) you will find a selection of maps and guide books to help you explore the local area.