Lapworth is a green-belt village on the Stratford Canal, with two good inns, a Norman parish church, a village hall, and a railway station with hourly trains to London Marylebone. Its lanes are quiet enough that a passing car is news.
Around it spreads the Forest of Arden — Shakespeare's forest, in name at least — a soft, rolling country of hedged fields, ancient oaks, canal locks and bridle paths. Two National Trust houses, Baddesley Clinton and Packwood, sit within a short drive. Both are worth a morning.
Two of the better village pubs in the county, both within walking distance. The Boot for a Sunday lunch; The Navigation for a pint by the lock on a summer evening.
A moated medieval manor house, kept by the National Trust. Priest holes, panelled rooms, a walled garden, and one of the most atmospheric houses in Warwickshire.
Tudor in origin, theatrically restored in the early twentieth century. Famous for its yew garden — twelve apostles, four evangelists, and a crowd known as the multitude.
Shakespeare's birthplace, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and a riverside that draws the world. Best visited on a midweek morning, before the coaches arrive.
One of the great medieval castles of England, set above a town of cobbled streets, antiquarian bookshops, and tea rooms that take their cake seriously.
The northern edge begins twenty miles south. Chipping Campden, Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold — all within an hour's drive, and noticeably quieter on the way in than on the way out.
There is a public footpath running along the eastern boundary of the property — through it lie miles of green-belt walking, much of it along the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal.
A favourite three-mile loop runs from the cottage south to Lapworth Locks, along the towpath to the junction with the Grand Union, and back via Kingswood. A longer day takes you to Hatton Locks — twenty-one of them in succession, each with its own gate and its own century. Bring boots, and a flask.
Two miles to the M40 at Lapworth Hill, with direct links to the M42, M5, M1 and M6. Approximately ninety minutes from London, an hour from Manchester.
Lapworth station is a fifteen-minute walk down the lane, with hourly services to London Marylebone in around ninety minutes, and frequent trains to Birmingham Moor Street.
Birmingham International is twenty-five minutes away, with the NEC and Birmingham International station immediately adjacent for European and domestic connections.
The country around the cottage rewards an unhurried pace. Most guests stay three nights. Many wish they'd booked four.
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