If you are planning on staying in the UK but looking for something a little different, take a look at some of the properties in the Premier Cottages brochure. Deborah Penn lands on her feet in the Cotswolds.

Searching for a holiday cottage is a lottery. You find you either land on your feet or you end up in a dive.

Will it be clean? Will it be a home from home? Will there be enough plates, forks etc?

All too often the dream picture in the brochure can be misleading. Whose heart hasn't sunk when discovering that the idyll is tarnished?

But, sigh no more. Help is at hand with award-winning Premier Cottages.

Their selection of 1,000 holiday properties are all four and five star rated which means that they do what they say on the tin. There's something for all as properties sleep from two to 40 people.

I have proof. We stayed in Walnut Cottage, one of a small complex of converted outbuildings at Heath Farm, near Chipping Norton.

No attention to detail had been spared. Flowers decorated each room and there were even chocolates on the huge dining room table which was made from an impressive single slab of wood.

There was ample kitchen equipment while the whole place was spotless.

There were logs in the fireplace, replaced at no extra cost.

Properties in the colourful brochure are located all over the country from Cornwall to Scotland and Ireland and all points in between. As we could only spare a long weekend we wanted somewhere within easy driving distance and the beautiful Cotswold fitted the bill.

It only takes a couple of hours to drive there, motorway hold-ups excepted, and so we arrived at our destination unfrazzled. We took the opportunity to stop off at Oxford on the way, parking at one of the many park and drive sites around the city to avoid snarl ups.

The university town is an appetising hors d'oevre to the Cotwolds with its mellow stone colleges and punts on the Isis. Visitors can take an open bus tour, with helpful commentary, which takes in such splendours as the Bodleian Library.

Then it was on to Walnut Cottage with its splendidly equipped kitchen and stunning vaulted roof over the sitting room. The two bedrooms can be found up the stairs to a curtained off sleeping platform.

Saturday proved a day of discovery as we hadn't ventured into the Cotswolds before. Chipping Norton provides an excellent starting off point for the picturesque Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water and Upper and Lower Slaughter and the like.

Chocolate box cottages and rolling green countryside made for an invigorating day out while the following day provided an opportunity to visit the splendours of Blenheim Palace only 10 miles down the road in Woodstock. The admission price of £16.50 may seem steep but there's so much to see that you can easily spend all day looking not only at the Duke of Marlborough's palatial quarters but also an educational exhibition on Churchill who was born here. The immaculate grounds are beautifully landscaped, complete with lake, by Capability Brown.

Monday, deep sigh, was departure day. The relatively short homeward journey meant we had plenty of time to stop off the M40 at Bicester Shopping Village with its designer outlets which include Jaeger, Jimmy Choo, Timberland and Cath Kidson among others.

We found that Premier Cottages actually lived up to its name!

Details

A one-week stay with Premier Cottages (www.premiercottages.com) at Heath Farm Holiday Cottages starts at £465 in Walnut Cottage in low-season, rising to £817 at Christmas. Three day breaks are also available.

Contact Heath Farm on 01608 683270 or Premier Cottages' brochure line on

01271 336050. Properties are booked direct with the owner. Call 01608 683270 for Heath Farm Holiday Cottages.