How do you feel about renting a thatched cottage for a holiday? A rural retreat, a nostalgic glimpse of the past, a sense of history?
Why do people love renting thatched cottages for a holiday?
There are enough people who love thatched cottages to maintain the tradition. It is expensive to rethatch a roof and skilled craftsmen are few and far between but a well thatched roof can last for up to half a century. Any thatched building will more than likely date back more than a hundred years. People like to rent them, especially the spacious farmhouses because they have lots of character, huge fireplaces, interesting nooks and crevices and period features of their time.
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View some of the prettiest thatched country cottages to rent as holiday homes
Not a cheap choice of holiday accommodation but utterly lovely
Ownership of thatched properties tends to be restricted to the wealthy who can afford to purchase these desirable homes in the first place. Having to change the roof every 40-50 years means additional ongoing expenses that many, even if they admire thatched houses, could not afford to maintain. Hence, rental rates for thatched holiday homes are going to be that much higher. You may consider the price worth the experience.
Rural chic from the outside but pure comfort within
Any thatched holiday homes will have been renovated and upgraded inside to suit current standards of living. They will have modern kitchens and appliances, a bathroom with modern bathing and showering equipment and central heating. Some people love the internal features such as exposed timbers, heavily beamed ceilings, stone flagged floors and bedrooms with sloping walls under the eaves.
The majority of thatched holiday homes are in East Anglia and the West Country
The reeds used for thatching mostly came from reed beds in Norfolk and to a lesser degree, the West Country. Nowadays, the reeds may be imported from various countries abroad. Because of original supply of reed, the largest numbers of thatched cottages were built in East Anglia and the West Country, closest to the source of material for the roof. That is not to say that they were not built at all in other areas, there are quite a few in the Cotswolds, which was always an affluent part of England.
Take a look at these fabulous examples of thatched cottages around England:
Cambridgeshire
There are quite a few charming thatched homes in Cambridgeshire, in the hamlets and along country lanes. This particular one is painted in ochre.
Isle of Wight
A small island off of the south coast of England, the Isle of Wight is largely rural and has a few picturesque cottages around. This one is in a street of thatched cottages in the village of Calbourne. The village has become a tourist attraction because of this pretty thatched row of cottages and others about the village.
Suffolk thatched cottages
Thatched buildings are common in Suffolk. Just south of Norfolk where the reed beds are, Suffolk is a county brimming with beauty and fascination. It is the details that capture the imagination. Note the three ornamental foxes on the ridge of the roof of this thatched cottage in Stoke by Clare:
The West Country is always associated with thatched holiday homes
There is a hamlet in Devon called Broadhembury which mainly consists of thatched houses and shops. Even the pub is thatched. The hamlet is a photographer's delight and has appeared in many a calendar. There are several thatched holiday homes in the vicinity.
The thatched cotttages and buildings of the New Forest, Hampshire
A few thatched buildings made it to Hampshire and the New Forest. They look especially charming there when set in woodland. The next photograph is of a thatched pub in the New Forest but there are also many thatched homes around. A few houses have been turned into quaint tea shops serving refreshments to tourists.
