My husband and I are looking for recommendations of cottages to rent in the Cotswolds in the early summer. We have the National Trust holiday rental guide and also have heard of a hamlet called OWLPEN which has a manor house and cottages for rent by the week. Any recommendations or comments on your experiences would be appreciated!

I found this in my file: <BR>rent a cottage in the Cotswolds, based in Burford. The agency will coordinate airport transportation and rental cars as well. Recommended on Fodor's forum Oct 2000. Website: welcome.to/manorcottages.

A company I highly recommend from experience is www.ruralretreats.co.uk--they're based in the Ctoswodls and have a wonderful collection of nice, quality cottages; they are sometimes slow in replying but they have a great service. Berochure on request. <BR>Another company I never tried but which seems to have beautiful cottages is www.premiercottages.co.uk--again, brochue on request. <BR>I guess by "National Trust", you meant www.landmarktrust.co.uk: they rent out listed building which their organization restores. They're not always very comfortable because some of them are very old but they offer a unique experience, eg. living in a 11th century tower!

Oooops! Apologies for the type-ooohs...sent too fast while drinking a cup of tea!

You mentioned Owlpen Manor...this is a really 1st class place that's worth visiting even if you don't stay there. It's a little south of Stroud and you can look at the cottages & manor house on http://www.owlpen.com <BR>