A Wonderful Return to Cats Abbey Cottage – Just as Lovely as Ever Thanks for a lovely stay, below is my review for you to use, please feel free, to adapt if you wish, we hope this is ok, We recently returned to Cats Abbey Cottage, having stayed here four years ago, and we’re happy to say it was every bit as lovely and relaxing as we remembered. Jim and Susie, along with the ever helpful Lisa, are fantastic hosts, warm, welcoming, and easy to chat with, yet respectful of your space so you can truly unwind. They’re always available if needed, which adds to the relaxed, homely feel of the place. A real treat is the generous welcome pack they provide — delicious homemade scones, locally sourced bread, muesli, and other thoughtful goodies that help you settle in right away. It’s those extra touches that really make a difference. The cottage itself remains clean, cosy, and well kept. As a small piece of constructive feedback for Jim and Susie: a few areas could benefit from a fresh coat of paint just to keep everything looking as immaculate as the rest. That said, it’s still a truly charming and inviting place to stay. One of our favourite things about Cats Abbey is the location — it’s perfect for long countryside walks right from the door. This time, we tackled a beautiful nine mile route to Yanworth and back to Northleach, a quaint and characterful village. We also revisited The Wheatsheaf pub, where we enjoyed good food and a lovely garden room table, then back to the shared pool with steam room and sauna to relax. The cottage is ideally located for exploring the Cotswolds. We spent time in picturesque Burford, stopped by Daylesford Organic Farm Shop (as delightful as ever), and made a final stop in Bourton-on-the-Water on the way home. Until next time, Cats Abbey Cottage and the Cotswolds — we hope to return again soon, maybe one day even to our own little cottage nearby.

Cats Abbey Cottage offers very high quality self catering accommodation. The owners clearly take great pride in doing things properly and so provide spotlessly clean accommodation, top quality towels and bed linen, extremely comfortable beds, spacious and luxurious bathrooms, bathrobes, a delightful and well tended garden and plentiful access to the lovely pool and steam room. The extra touches often make the difference and with a generous welcome pack, fresh cut flowers, toiletries in each bathroom and a good stock of herbs, spices, condiments and cooking oil along with a wide range of books, games and DVDs there were many offered here. Congratulations to the owners; if we offered self catering accommodation then we would like to think that this is the way we would do it too.

A self-catering pet-friendly cottage, with kerb appeal and a pool is a rare find. So we were already off to a good start. We were able to book before the half-term peak kicked in and close enough that our child was free to join us and the price was reasonable. When we actually arrived we were blown away. The secluded, cosy spot is nestled out of the wind at the end of a impressive tree-lined driveway. Inside the house was spotless and beautifully decorated. Outstanding views were available from Helen's Ditch - an unfortunate name for the very scenic bridleway that crosses the end of the drive. Along the drive you see ponies, hares, wild birds and - in April - blossom on the trees. The Ditch leads off across the hilltop before joining a footpath two fields from Northleach. From the hilltop the view over the village is like an oil painting. The stunning village wraps around the historic church, with bird of prey soaring overhead. Blue skies, fluffy white clouds are not guaranteed, of course., but we got them. For children, the third field from the Ditch is actually the town's recreation ground which is popular with children and dog walkers and well kept. The town itself has everything needed. Shops, butcher, and choice of places to eat and drink, we even saw some live music advertised. Returning to the cottage, the kitchen is well stocked with crockery and cookware. The knives are freshly sharpened, clearly deserving the warning sign they do have. Deep sofas and arm chairs surround the fire place. This was laid, with an ample stock of bone-dry logs. There are books, games and DVDs for rainy days, and a Smart Netlfix compatible TV too and decent Wifi. Knowing the pool was small allowed us to find a swimming tether and our son - nearly at county level - was able to top up his training by swimming on the spot. This facility could have been provided, I would say, but the small pool is likely good enough for a splash around or to cool off after the spell in the steam room. The only wrinkle in the whole stay was an ants-nest under one of the pool machines. A minor annoyance I'm sure they will deal with. I want to highlight the well appointed hamper also. Often these things are useless, or just contain items sponsored by businesses looking for exposure to guests. This hamper had fresh cheese, fresh scones, fresh crusty bread, butter, clotted cream, jam, coffee and wine. If you did not shop before you arrived this would tide you over until you did . Even if you did shop, these luxuries make a material difference to your stay and are a real bonus. So, a rare find with unexpected luxuries throughout. Brilliant.

Stayed at Cats Abbey with family over New Year, the warm and friendly welcome from Jim and Susie was the start of a thoroughly enjoyable week. The cottage was immaculate and well presented with a fabulous welcoming hamper on arrival. Though connected to the owners property, it is very private with its own spacious parking area and only a short walk into Northleach where a couple of good pubs and all essentials can be found. The pool and steam room provided a great retreat, especially on rainy days. Would definitely return to the cottage, when hopefully better weather would enable greater use of the private garden area.