As promised, here is the second cottage review this week for a nice New Year’s eve in the countryside. After having praised Court Farm, I am equally happy to share good thoughts about Mead Cottage. It is in the same Cotswolds area in the picturesque village of Castle Combe, where many movies, including War Horses, were filmed.

Now, if you want to make your life really easy, Mead Cottage is quite a find as they have arranged with the nearby Manor House Hotel to have room service delivered to the cottage. Yes! You can arrive in the evening, pick up the menu from the hotel reception and voilà, diner sorted ! We tried it once and it was really good and so convenient.

The owner adds lots of Christmasy touches to the house when you go at that season, which makes it very welcoming. You have an open fire with lots of logs, a nice vaulted dining room which can looks quite sparkly for the New Year, a well equipped kitchen and good living room. Upstairs are two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

All in all, a very lovely place to relax and welcome in the New Year.

My tips for your family holidays

• The stairs leading up are a bit tricky so the place is probably better for families with children who can confidently walk.
• Both bedrooms have flat TVs so indulge and put CBeebies on the TV in the kid’s bedroom in the morning and have a bit of a lie-in.
• At two minutes each way from the cottage you have, on the left, Manor House, where you can have a lovely afternoon tea (and a toys’box for the children) and a pub with nice heartwarming food.
• You are only 10 min by car  from Lucknam Park  so it might be worth checking if you can get a spa day there and take the kids to the pool or try the very good food at the brasserie.