Our cottage is set in a peaceful corner of the village of Minstead, in the heart of the New Forest. It is a Victorian farmhouse overlooking fields with some beautiful original features and has been in our family for over 60 years. It comfortably sleeps up to 6 people with a large mature garden, perfect for families, friends or even couples. It's so tranquil here, hardly a car goes by, but you will see ponies, donkeys and cows roaming up the lane while the wild forest itself is 10 mins walk away.
The space
The cottage, a former Victorian farm house is situated in Minstead, one of the New Forest’s most stunning villages with a renowned pub, The Trusty Servant, community village shop and beautiful ancient Norman church within 15 minutes stroll and 5 minutes drive. There is also a local farm shop 10 minutes walk away at Acres Down, one of the most beautiful parts of the Forest.
The beautiful beaches at Highcliffe and Mudeford are only 25 mins drive away, and there are plenty of day trips within short driving distance including Isle of Wight, Salisbury and Winchester.
Newtown Farm House was originally the heart of a fruit farm spread across all the surrounding fields, but these were divided and sold in 1938. Today it sits in a large garden and sheep, horses and cattle now graze the fields. The garden is full of birds and there are plenty of butterflies in the summer. It’s a peaceful place - outside hardly a car goes by and ponies, pigs and donkeys roam up the lane. Just ten minutes walk up an unmade track is the wild open Forest, with miles and miles of countryside for walking and cycling.
The cottage is ideally suited for families, friends and dog owners, but we do offer a discount for bookings of only two people – message us to ask about this. Although the cottage sleeps up to 6 people comfortably, a couple on their own will also feel at home.
Description:
The cottage is approached across the lawn and you enter through the back door to a small glass conservatory and utility area with space for boots, shoes and coats. Just by the back door is an outside eating area with table and chairs and there is a large Weber barbeque for guests to use. It’s a lovely sunny area first thing and ideal for breakfasts in the garden.
Kitchen and Dining:
The kitchen is in a modern extension with a well equipped cooking area - we love to cook when we are here and have tried to think of everything you might need for your preparing meals during your stay.
Appliances include a 90cm Smeg electric range cooker, microwave, coffee machine, slow cooker and dishwasher, fridge freezer and washing machine. Instructions and manuals are in the grey material covered box on left on top of the white cupboard as you go into the first long reception room.
There will be some teabags, coffee, condiments, cooking oils, herbs and spices available for your use.
The adjoining open plan dining area has a large farmhouse table and beautiful oak bench with huge picture window overlooking the garden. The table comfortably seats 6, and can seat 8 at a bit of a squash!
Downstairs Cloakroom and Bathroom:
There are pegs for additional outdoor clothing and there is a large freestanding shower (step in), toilet and basin.
Living Rooms:
There are three living rooms on the ground floor which all run from one to the other.
The first sits at the back of the house and looks out over a rose garden and ancient cherry tree. It has a sofa and drop leaf table with chair and is a peaceful place for reading, working or studying. The sofa can be made up into a comfortable pocket sprung small double bed (120cm) and is useful for someone with limited mobility. As the room leads from the kitchen and dining areas into the other living rooms, it is not particularly private but does have a curtain to pull for privacy. The bathroom is adjacent, just across the hall.
This room leads into a snug lounge room with a large corner sofa, plenty of cushions with 40” smart Android TV with Chromecast and a huge inglenook fireplace. The original front door is here and opens onto the front garden, a lovely sunny spot for a coffee in the morning.
The snug in turn leads into the main living room which was built on in the 1970s where large French doors overlooking the garden. On the patio outside is an area for seating, ideal for an evening drink. The room has an enormous sofa, two armchairs and a small sofa loveseat – room for everyone staying!
The stairs are part of the old cottage and are rather steep. They are located are behind a cottage door so young children would need this opened to get upstairs and we have a safety gate that can be installed at the top. Other child friendly additions are a baby bath, sink step, high chair, Bumbo seat and a travel cot – please just ask us to prepare these if you need them!
Bedrooms:
Upstairs are simple but thoughtfully furnished, comfortable bedrooms. The main bedroom with a king size
double bed (150cm or 5ft) is double aspect overlooking the fields and beyond to the church in the centre of the village. There is a small saniflo toilet and basin located just next to this bedroom
There is another peaceful bedroom with standard double bed (135cm or 4ft6") at the back of the house entered through an adjoining dressing room with armchair and sofa bed. This sofa bed is a small single bed (75cm or 2ft6"), ideal for toddlers and small children.
In addition the third bedroom at the back of the cottage is an airy room with two comfy single beds (90cm or 3ft) to which an additional single sofa bed can be added.
Bathroom:
The family bathroom upstairs has a bath, separate walk in shower, toilet and basin and overlooks the rose garden and out over the fields.
Upstairs are a couple of hairdryers and a fan for guests to use. Bath and hand towels will be left in the bedrooms and bath mats in the bathroom. But please bring your own towels to take to the beach.
The cottage has super fast 500mbps WiFi, and a TV. There are some toys for younger children and plenty of board games for everyone. In all of the bedrooms are a selection of books, with age ranged books for children too.
Garden:
The cottage garden is about a third of an acre with a few slopes – great for rolling down! However please also be aware that at the bottom of the garden behind the drive is a stream so children must not be left unsupervised in the garden.
There is a summerhouse and old stables so we have room for bike storage – please ask.
Please do not let children climb on or play in the green house by the stables.
Guest access
The whole of the cottage and its third of acre garden are exclusively for guests to use.
ACCESS:
We would like to welcome as many people as possible to Newtown Farm House and are aware that different families and groups can have different needs and access requirements.
The paths that approach the house are slightly sloping and are comprised of stepping stone and there are two steps up to the back entrance door at the glass conservatory, although the door at the side of the house can be accessed without steps.
Inside in the old part of the cottage there are some low doorways, and some have slightly raised thresholds and as mentioned the stairs are steep and narrow, although there is a rope handrail. There are two steps between the cooking and dining areas as
they are on different levels. The house is therefore sadly not ideal for wheelchair users, but can accommodate people with limited mobility as there is a comfortable sofabed although this is not in a
separate bedroom. There is a bathroom downstairs – although the shower does require a step into it but it is roomy and we can arrange a shower chair if needed.
Although we usually use the back door which is accessed across the garden, for those with limited mobility, one can use the garden gate and enter through the side door. This however is not wide enough for a wheelchair and there are a couple of shallow steps on the path up the garden. Please let us know if you would like a key left for this door.
Please message or call us if you have any questions about access.
RISK DETAILS:
As with any old property, despite modernisation there are hazards which include the steep narrow stairs to the 1st floor, uneven flooring, low doorways overhead and steps between some rooms. There is a child safety gate available for the stairs if you have young children.
The spacious garden has wild plants including some brambles, gooseberry bushes, stinging nettles and potentially poisonous plants for both children and dogs such as foxgloves and euphorbia - that means we normally have lots of bees and butterflies in the summer!
There are also a couple of open water butts for birds and wildlife and at the end of the garden, behind the drive is a ditched shallow stream. Please therefore do not leave children unsupervised in the garden at any time.
Fire arrangements and exits:
There are smoke alarms throughout the house which are tested before every guest arrival. In the kitchen, there is fire extinguisher and fire blanket opposite the oven, please do look out for them when you arrive.
In case of a fire, exits downstairs are possible through the back stable door (where you arrive), the French doors on the patio and the original front door in the snug. These three doors have the keys kept in the locks so please do not remove them after locking.
Upstairs, in the room with two beds, there is an outward opening window with escape onto the flat roof outside. The window (as all of them) is a casement opener with a simple key lock, so please do not remove this. The other bedrooms also have casement opening windows big enough to allow exit by ladder outside.
Please let us know about any queries or special requirements we will do our best to
accommodate them.
HOUSE RULES:
There are four main rules:
1. Please keep the gates closed at all times.
Leaving them open can cause a risk of poisoning to the ponies if they enter the garden.
2. We have our own drainage system in the garden as we are off mains drainage. Please do not throw anything down the toilets apart from paper, even biodegradable wipes.
Place any sanitary products, baby wipes and nappies in the bins.
3. Please kindly consider our neighbours and keep outside noise to a minimum at night and do not park in front of their gates. Thank you.
Other things to note
Please message me with any questions at all about staying at our cottage in Minstead, New Forest. Thank you!
