INVITATION TO RELAX

This lockdown project 'pandemic buy' became the perfect antidote to city life for Rachel Southern

- ALICE HUMPHRYS

 The cottage reminds me of my grandma's house - I know she would have loved it,' says Rachel Southern of her Cotswolds bolthole, an idyllic property that dates from the mid-1600s. Originally a barn adjoining the next-door farmhouse, it was later converted into two simple one up one down' cottages. Then in the early 1900s, it was knocked through to create a single home.

Rachel describes it as 'a pandemic buy'. Having purchased it in February 2021, building work commenced in March and the interior was completed by the end of September. 'Our main home is in London but we wanted somewhere closer to family that all of us could enjoy, but which would also generate some income by renting it out occasionally,' says Rachel. 'Lockdown gave me the time and space to do it.'