Five minutes by car from the famous ‘picture-postcard’ village of Broadway, in the ancient hamlet of Buckland, lies HPB Buckland Court, a delightful cluster of Cotswold stone cottages. Said to date back to the seventh century, Buckland nestles in a quiet valley set against a scenic wooded backdrop. Once a collection of old farm buildings, the Bond’s cottages have been superbly converted and refurbished to create, arguably, the most peaceful setting in the portfolio.

Although it is only about 30 miles from Birmingham, the Cotswolds remains largely unspoilt - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty made up of mile-upon-mile of rolling upland, wooded valleys, pretty villages and bustling market towns built of the distinctive honey-tinted Cotswold stone.

Bourton on the Hill, with its steep cottage-lined street leading to the Church, is one of many artists’ delights in the area. Then there is Sezincote, with its Indian-style architecture, beloved of John Betjeman. A former centre of the wool industry, Chipping Campden has an impressive 15th century church and a fine Jacobean market hall. And traditional crafts are kept alive at the pottery, and the Campden Weavers.

Just west of Chipping Campden is Dover’s Hill, with its dramatic views and natural amphitheatre, where the Cotswold ‘Olympics’ are held every summer.