Flax Cottage is an elegant self catering Cotswolds holiday rental in the picturesque village of Painswich, also known as the "Queen of the Cotswolds". Flax Cottage, built c1860, is a former weaver's cottage that offers very comfortable self-catering accommodation for up to five guests in three bedrooms, and offers a perfect mix of traditional character with modern facilities and a contemporary fee
l. With walks directly from the front door, this Cotswolds stone cottage is an ideal self-catering base for Cotswolds walking holidays, and is well positioned for visiting the charming Cotswold towns and villages, and cities such as Bath, Cheltenham and Cirencester. Painswick, once a prosperous wool town, displays some fine examples of Cotswolds stone architecture with a good mix of elegant old houses and pretty little cottages. Many of the buildings feature south-facing attic rooms once used as weavers' workshops. The village has an impressive churchyard with 99 yew trees and unusual tabletop tombs. Legend has it that the churchyard will never have more than 99 yew trees and that, should a 100th grow, the Devil would pull it out. The countryside around Painswick, with large areas of National Trust Woodlands, is ideal for bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts. Undulating areas of pasture land fall to the Wick stream which supplied the power for the woollen mills, some of which can still be seen along its length. The famous Cotswold Way footpath, which runs from Bath to Chipping Campden, goes through the village. Painswick is about halfway along its 100 mile length. Painswick Beacon has magnificent views across the Severn Valley and on a clear day the Welsh Mountains can be seen. The outlines of the Iron Age Fort can be seen around the summit.