Midwyche Cottage

Our sixteenth century cottage is the middle of three, located near the North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and backs onto open land which was once a fruit farm. Our cottage has three bedrooms and is situated up a private track in a semi rural situation. The cottage was originally one dwelling, but was divided into two at some point in the past: a smaller beamed cottage is attached on our other side.

The four hundred and fifty year old cottage has plenty of character, with ancient oak beams and an open fireplace but with also a roomy and spacious Sunroom which overlooks our garden, which is stocked to the brim with perennial cottage garden flowers.

The cottage has a lounge, kitchen, downstairs bathroom and a Sunroom. Upstairs the main double bedroom overlooks the garden, next door is a bedroom with two single beds, and it has lovely exposed beams. There is a small toilet on the landing which includes a niche of a previous bread oven. A further flight of stairs takes you to our second spacious beamed double bedroom, which is equipped with a sofa, coffee table and has an en-suite bathroom. The sofa there converts into a double sofa bed, although we haven`t had to use it as such for a while.

We live in a very homely style and the walls are covered with mementoes of our adventures in Africa, Nepal and New Zealand. There is something for everyone here!

About the location

We are up a private track off the A228 in a semi rural situation, and there is a field in front of the cottage and we are not overlooked at the back. We are in the middle of three old beamed Kentish farm cottages. The surroundings at the bottom of the farm track are busy, but we are in a little haven of our own, in what used to be pear orchards and strawberry fields. It is possible to follow a footpath and walk over the fields to the pub in Birling. Our cat once followed us there - and all the way back!

While we are located up a private farm track it is but two minutes from the nearby junction 4 of the M20 motorway, from where Dover is but a 40 minute journey away and in the opposite direction, a drive to London is about an hour.

A short five minute walk takes you to our local landscaped Leybourne Lakes which has a new cafe selling coffees and ice creams. Within a five minute to quarter hour drive there are many pretty Kent villages and delightful countryside. Beautiful Leeds Castle is a 20 minute drive away, Winston Churchill`s Chartwell, Hever Castle and many other places of interest are about 40 minutes away. The famous sandy beaches in east Kent , of Margate, Minnis Bay, Ramsgate and Broadstairs are reachable in approximately an hour.

We are near the estuary of the River Medway at Rochester which is a beautiful Kent town with impressive Norman castle and Cathedral, and there are shingle beaches further east along the north Kent coast about 35minutes away, the beach at Tankerton or Whitstable is worth a visit if you don`t mind the shingle beach, as Whitstable is a quaint harbour town with character. If you are prepared to drive further the beaches around Margate are wonderful , and there are little bays with chalk cliffs and golden sand between Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, which are all at the furthest easterly point of Kent. If you drive SE from us there are plenty of sandy beaches, Camber Sands has a really extensive sandy beach and the nearby old town of Rye is absolutely delightful. But all in all if you want a sandy beach it will be about an hour`s drive away.

Just in case you were interested in coming to our part of Kent I thought I would give you some links to the nice beaches around Kent, and also our `Top Ten` sort of things to do, and we have folding chairs and windbreaks, sun umbrellas etc that we could lend you.

Have a look at these websites, it will give you an idea of the scope!

http://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/family-things-to-do/Kent/best-beaches

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2960774.stm

http://www.kent-life.co.uk/out-about/guide_to_the_best_kent_beaches_1_1570779

Kent is then renown for its very pretty villages, magnificent country houses and castles and plenty of stately homes as well.

http://www.visitkent.co.uk/top-10s/10-iconic-attractions

http://www.visitkent.co.uk/things-to-do

https://leeds-castle.com/

Do get back to me if I can be of help in any way.

Conditions of exchange

Facilities

Nearby