Thyme

Thyme is as country hotel as you’d expect, a cluster of honey-stone cottages in postcard-pretty Southrop, about eight miles from Burford. It’s a “village within a village,” says owner Caryn Hibbert, who has made it a dreamy retreat in another world. It’s made up of several elements, a former rectory, an old farmhouse, cottages and barns, all beautifully transformed. Inside awaits a cooking school, spa, farm and vegetable garden, a small garden shed for botanical cocktails and afternoon tea, tennis courts, in short, you definitely won’t get bored here and on the doorstep you can take wonderful walks in the Leach Valley. The only to-do at Thyme is to book early, because the whole London fashion world is crazy about this place since a certain supermodel celebrated her wedding here.