13 Homes For Sale Where ‘The Holiday’ Was Filmed

Bag a country cottage before winter sets in. You may even find love!

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The quintessentially English village of Shere, where the Christmas movie The Holiday was filmed, has become synonymous with snow covered rolling hills, country walks ending at the village pub next to a cosy fire, and perhaps a little romance with a Jude Law lookalike if you can find one.

But, actually, if you’ve ever considered visiting the now infamous village and the surrounding area, summer is one of the best times to do it. There’s no chance of being snowed in for days on end (although that might be a good thing if you bag a hottie), so you can get out and about and enjoy the beautiful countryside. The countryside of Surrey that is, it was not, I repeat NOT set in The Cotswolds!

Back in November, I wrote one of my most-read posts ever: The Truth About The Holiday Cottage, which will give you all the facts and gossip you could ever wish for about the film. It even got mentioned in The Sunday Times!

I used to live a stone’s throw from where they built Rosehill Cottage, that perfect idyll of a picture postcard country home. It was so realistic that people swarmed from miles around to try and buy it. Alas they were all severely disappointed to discover it was just a Hollywood set and would soon be demolished.

So what’s the reality? I made a note after I wrote that article to follow it up with a summer post showcasing the real estate in the area and what you get for your money. If you’ve always dreamt of living in an English country village surrounded by fields with the very slight possibility of meeting Mr or Mrs Right, then now is the time to do it. If you’re lucky you’ll be ensconced by Christmas, just in time for the first snowfall. Be warned though, it’s going to cost you a pretty penny! Teaser: one of my old homes is amongst the contenders, so scroll down.

Location

Shere is nestled in the heart of The Surrey Hills, a picturesque landscape far enough away from the hustle and bustle of a big city to truly feel at one with nature, but close enough to still be able to pop into London on the spur of the moment. It’s the perfect location for someone who can’t quite decide.

It was one of the first places to be designated an Area of Outstanding Beauty back in 1958, and is now a National Landscape. I fell in love with the area when I was a young student in nearby Guildford. After I met my partner, we settled there again for nearly 14 years, some of the best times of my life so far.

The village of Shere is part of a parish with the same name and also includes the villages of Gomshall and Peaslake (many of the locals, rather pretentiously, call the first three “The Golden Triangle”), plus Holmbury St. Mary and parts of Abinger Hammer. This is where I will concentrate my search.

The Surrey Hills

Just show me the houses!

Okay, okay, we are in a hurry aren’t we. Politeness costs nothing. I have scoured through the multitude of homes to only give you the best, based on my knowledge of the area and what I consider value for money. You know what internet house shopping is like, the estate agents use a spoon lens on everything and what they don’t tell you is that it’s next to a bus depot, so I have left any deceitful little pretties out.

1. Typically, there is only one home for sale in the centre of Shere. It’s a pretty good one though if you want to be right in the thick of it. Backing onto and with access to the Tillingbourne stream, which believe me is dreamy, 2 The Square, Shere, will set you back £850,000. Carols in The Square, every Christmas Eve is right outside your door, you won’t need to leave the house. The famous village church, featured in The Holiday as well as Bridget Jones’s Diary, is just around the corner.

2. This is actually called Rose Cottage. I know! Dream come true, right? A charming semi-detached sweet little house that just oozes happiness. It’s on Holmbury Hill in Holmbury St. Mary, with that all important village pub and easy access to the forest for walks.

3. 2 Rooks Hill Cottages - This is a bargain at £600,000. It’s a small, but perfectly formed modernised two bedroom cottage with stunning views and a separate barn for extra accommodation in the village of Bramley.

   

   

4. Japonica Cottage is on the market at £745,000 and is just over 1000 sq ft, which is rather small, but it does come with outbuildings giving you another 500sq ft that you could perhaps convert. It’s in need of restoration, but it’s a good buy as it’s detached.

   

   

5. Hazelbank is in the village of Peaslake, which has to be my favourite village in the hills, with its adorable shop and friendly pub and hotel. It’s on the market at £849,950 for a semi-detached of some 1,315 sq ft, and views across fields from the back.

6. 1 The Coppers, Beatrice Webb Drive, Holmbury St. Mary (if that’s not an E.M. Forster address I’ll eat my hat if I can find one) is a very unusual semi-detached property, but you get 2337 sq ft for your £900,000. It needs work, but the bones are heavenly. By the way, E.M Forster did actually live for a time in nearby Abinger Hammer. As I have written before, the skinny-dipping scene in Room with a View was based on a small group of ponds in The Hurtwood, near Holmbury St. Mary, on which Summer Street was based. The ponds can still be seen to this day.

7. Wayside Cottage, Peaslake is on the market at £925,000, for which you get 1,561 sq ft. It’s right in the heart of the village, which I believe has the best community and many of my friends still live there. It is another semi, which I know is astonishing for coming on for a cool million, but it’s The Surrey Hills darling and look at those views!

8. The Cottage, Goose Green, Gomshall is in need of a huge amount of work, but could be spectacular once completed. It’s right on the village green, with the pub just along the road. Fireworks here come November 5th are a delight. We lived just around the corner. This one is worth clicking on just to see the groovy wallpaper and retro mustard bathroom suite. It will set you back £975,000 for 2623 sq ft.

   

   

9. Ok, now things are really hotting up at £1,395,000 and guess what? It’s my old home! Lavender House between Abinger and Peaslake, used to be a rather ugly 1920’s detached with a hell of a lot of scope for improvement. We extended it substantially to 2700 sq ft during our seven years there and transformed it into the New England dream you see before you. The internal decor has changed somewhat since we lived there, but it still has the very warm, inviting feel it always had with views and gardens for days. If you’d like to read more about the renovations of this home, then start here.

   

   

10. You’ll need over £1.6m to buy Hawthorne Cottage in Peaslake. With over 3000 sq ft, just under half an acre of land and planning permission to extend even further, it’s a great property.

    

    

11. The Old Barn in Gomshall is just across the road from our first home in the area and just a field away from where that pretty little cottage was built for The Holiday. It’s on for £2.35m. Just need to find my piggy bank.

    

    

12. Field House is in one of the best locations in The Surrey Hills: Franksfield in Peaslake. It’s far enough away from the centre of the village to be secluded, but close enough to walk for a bite to eat at the local. It comes with 4,000 sq ft of accommodation, private gardens and an acre of paddock. It’ll cost you £2.5m.

    

    

13. Finally, we have a majestic home, which I think belongs to an ex-client and friend of mine, but I never actually went to her house, so can’t be sure. The home is split into separate dwellings, with this one being the commanding portion. Burrows Cross House, near Shere is a whopping 5,725 sq ft and private gardens of 2.3 acres. Built in 1885 and designed by renowned architect Richard Norman Shaw, it comes with a tennis court, three-bay garage, six bedrooms and four bathrooms.

The vast majority of these homes are on with my old friend Nicola Cooper, owner of Terracotta Estate Agents in Shere. Which one would you go for if you could?

Coming up nearer the festive season I have Part 3 of this little Holiday series and oh my goodness it’s going to be juicy!

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