CHARISMATIC COTTAGE

A 16th-century dwelling has been sensitively refreshed, resulting in a home brimming with original character, while boasting an easy-to-live-with, modern sensibility

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Horses frolicking in the paddock, ducklings waddling about the pond, boys scrumping for apples in the orchard. .. these were a few of the daydreams Vlada Barratt began to enjoy when she discovered she was expecting twins. Vlada and her husband Andrea, living in London at the time, decided the moment had come to find a countryside home in Kent. 'I had a good feeling about this property from the moment we turned onto its crunchy, gravelly drive,' says Vlada.

That was in 2015. The twins are now 10 and the couple are still thanking their lucky stars. The 250-year-old farm cottage on a six-acre plot, came with an outhouse-cum-garage, as well as stabling. 'I ride and keep horses, so the fact that the house offered just the sort of extras we needed made putting in an offer a no-brainer,' recalls Vlada.

The cottage nestles close to Goudhurst, a Kentish village considered one of the county's most beautiful. Sitting atop a steep hill, tumbling streams crisscross the area, abundant woodlands and fruit orchards can be found here, and oast houses, once used for drying the hop harvest, stand as a reminder of a bygone age. It's delightful; an enclave that has maintained its bountiful, rural charm through centuries. Vlada and Andrea were right to be enchanted.