A priceless piece of rural England …

We don’t like to sound snobby, but frankly, we think Lower Mill Spa is in the most select part of Gloucestershire.

And that’s not just because it happens to be no more than an hour and a bit from London and have the massively envied and sought-after GL7 postcode!

The Estate is a reassuring few miles from the twee ‘honeypot’ Cotswold show-villages, where coach parties of tourists and pensioners swarm over souvenir shops and breathe air polluted only by the delicate odour of frying chips.

It’s no surprise that our smarter end of the Cotswolds is where royalty and the better kind of celebrity hang discreetly out.

Our nearest town is elegant, Roman Cirencester, the gateway to the Cotswolds and a lively, attractive place full of smart shops, cafes and restaurants yet that still manages to remain ‘real’. Especially on market days, Cirencester has a lot of the feel of a small French town.

And, of course, as well as a plethora of interesting speciality shops and delis, it also has that ultimate mark of discriminating, well-to-do Britain, a jumbo-sized Waitrose!

Tetbury, our other near neighbour, is famous, of course, for its Royal residents, but is mercifully free of gawping hordes – and as a result, it’s easy to park and enjoy some of the best antique shopping in Britain, perhaps topped off (and it’s OK to be a tourist some of the time) with a cream tea.

In our part of Gloucestershire, you’re also close by several Michelin-starred and similarly rated restaurants.

While for the hyperactive, there’s as much-as-you-can eat jet skiing, cable skiing, waterskiing, paintballing, sky diving, hot air ballooning, riding and golf.

For the quieter type of activity, there are also numerous wildlife parks and gardens to explore.