A story book cottage is usually reserved for grandmas, farmers or families of bears - essentially anyone who doesn’t need to commute to an office.
Yet that needn’t be so. There are some picture perfect country cottages, complete with thatched roofs, rambling roses and crooked beams, within that prized one-hour commute to London, putting that idyllic rural lifestyle within reach for even a full-time 9-5er.
“For many buyers, the dream isn’t just about leaving London, it’s about upgrading their lifestyle without losing touch,” explains Theo James-Wright, director at country-house specialist Blue Book Agency.
See also: The best tiny homes on the market now
“Think long walks through ancient woodland, pottering around weekend farmers’ markets and settling down for cosy evenings beside the fire – all just a short train ride from the city.
“Places like Shere, Chiddingfold and Haslemere in Surrey, or Lingfield, Cuckfield and Rye in Sussex, are packed with beautifully-preserved cottages, winding lanes and proper community spirit.”
Jonathan Harington, founder at Haringtons UK, the buying advisor for London and the country, adds: “There’s something undeniably irresistible about picture-perfect cottages with roses around the door, low beams and wood-burning stoves, but still being able to get into town.
“Unspoilt villages with pretty high streets, excellent schools, and thriving food scenes with fast connections nearby mean you can wake up to birdsong, take the dog for a walk along the river and still be at your desk in London by 9am – with a bit of luck!”
He continues: “With hybrid-working here to stay, these commuter-belt idylls are hotter than ever with buyers looking for more than just a house – they want a lifestyle, character and a real sense of escape. And the right cottage, in the right spot, offers exactly that.”
Here, we’ve rounded-up the prettiest cottages little more than 60 minutes from London to live out your countryside fantasies.
Yew Tree Cottage, East Hagbourne, Oxfordshire
Tell only who you must, but you can get to Didcot in Oxfordshire via a fast train in around 50 minutes, making this part of the world within spitting distance of the Cotswolds unbelievably commutable.
Listed with Savills for £850,000, Yew Tree Cottage is a charming thatched cottage in the nearby chocolate-box village of East Hagbourne that dates back to 1640.
Secreted-away off a no-through lane within a conservation area, peace and quiet is pretty much guaranteed, while the enchanting garden is accessed through a pretty arched gate and comes with gravel path, trickling brook, pergola wound with roses and wisteria, and a wooden bridge.
Inside, there’s charm aplenty with slate-tiled floors and a vaulted-beamed ceiling across a 30-foot kitchen-living-dining space with a decorative fireplace.
Double glazing and a garden office mean it works just as well for city slickers as it does country bumpkins.
See also: Is this the ultimate Cotswold cottage?
Amelia’s Cottage, Rolvenden Layne, Kent
With its clapperboard front, this two-bed cottage in the rural hamlet of Rolvenden Layne – just an hour and four minutes (to be precise) from nearest station Rye into central London – could be mistaken for being in New England.
The Grade II-listed property is full of old-world character, from its welcoming sitting room complete with a log-burner to its country-style kitchen featuring a Range cooker and its cosy breakfast room with a stable door that opens onto the garden – surprisingly long and pretty with an outbuilding at the end currently used as hobby space.
There are two double bedrooms and a bathroom with a traditional claw-footed tub upstairs, while beyond the idyllic white picket fence there’s an all-important gastro pub for pints and plates (not small like in every Soho eatery – hurrah) to please even the most discerning city foodies.
Yours for £400,000 through Warner Grey.
Rose Cottage, Turville, Buckinghamshire
Yours for £1.1m (via Savills) in the Chiltern village of Turville, Grade II-listed Rose Cottage is a sight for sore eyes indeed with a gorgeous timber frame, old tile roof, eaves-lined dormers and leaded windows that set a remarkably picturesque scene.
A stone path and a rose-covered porch lead the way inside where vaulted ceilings, two open-brick fireplaces and stripped floorboards provide a charming backdrop.
There’s a dual-aspect sitting room with original bread oven, from when the cottage was a bakery, together with a Shaker-style kitchen and a spacious cellar for storing all the bottles you just can’t find room for in your London terrace (although it could easily be repurposed as a home office).
But the best bit? Uninterrupted views of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang windmill in the distance – the ultimate bragging rights for the movie buffs among you.
Post Office Cottage, Upper Froyle, Hampshire
Listed for £875,000 with Hamptons, this Grade II-listed thatched cottage believed to date from 1490 is just an hour from Waterloo and offers plenty of bang for your buck.
It was formerly two cottages and a post office before settling on its current guise – a surefire conversation starter at your first dinner party in residence – and features exposed beams, leaded windows and inglenook fireplaces, amongst other covetable period details.
There’s a drawing room, snug, dining room, kitchen and cloak room on the ground floor, plus three bedrooms with plentiful storage and a bathroom upstairs, but arguably the real draw here is the elevated view over the pretty garden – featuring lavender beds, mixed hedgerows and vegetable patch – to the wide-open countryside beyond.
Sure, it needs a spot of updating inside, but don’t they all?
Maythorne Cottage, Southwell, Nottinghamshire
Fancy a wildcard? Just 20 minutes from Newark station in Nottinghamshire, where you can catch a direct train to London and be in line at a Pret within the hour, is this five-bed Georgian cottage in the market town of Southwell, for sale for £950,000 through Gascoines.
Unlike most traditional cottages, this one’s been modernised whilst retaining its original charm, from exposed brick to an Inglenook fireplace and wooden beams, but has all the mod cons (and more) you might not expect – gated driveway and heated swimming pool included.
Its 3,520-square-foot of living space is huge for something billed as a cottage still and includes six reception rooms, mezzanine dining room and seven bedrooms – meaning you’ll be inundated with guests – while outside the detached property sits on an enviable one-acre plot with beautiful garden and woodland lawns that offer views for days.
Thatched Cottage, Nasty, Hertfordshire
Just quarter of an hour’s drive from the town of Ware, serviced by an unusually reliable connection to Liverpool Street, the ironically named, actually very pretty hamlet of Nasty is home to equally pretty Thatched Cottage.
The clue’s in the name with this one, starring its namesake thatch, which sits on top of Grade II-listed bones on sale for £900,000 with Fine & Country.
An oak front door opens into a charming dining room complete with flagstone floors and cooking stove set into the chimney breast.
Elsewhere, you’ll be treated to Instagrammable features such as walnut and maple kitchen with slate and timber worktops, an oak-panelled hallway, red-brick fireplace, French windows, vaulted ceilings and exposed timbers, to name just a handful.
Plus, there are four bedrooms and four receptions rooms, depending on how you configure things, as well as a self-contained annex to WFH or Airbnb.
But the pièce de résistance? A large veranda that’s more like a ‘fifth’ room with a hot tub from which to enjoy the best views in the house.
