Stay in a Kent cottage for the Olympics

Olympic ticket holders are being urged to swap expensive London hotels for a cottage in Kent – which is only a one hour train journey away from London and the Games.

According to Freedom Holiday Homes, A good selection of charming VisitEngland-graded homes – handy for railway stations and local attractions – still have availability during the Games.

Whilst many hotels in London may be raising their prices according to extra demand from the Games, the holiday rental company have signed up to the VisitBritain Fair Price Charter – to ensure that self-catering accommodation will remain good value for money.

Among them is a delightful old cottage sleeping five, tucked away in a peaceful spot in picturesque Cranbrook, Kent. Full of character and with a pretty flower-filled garden, three-star John’s Cottage is handy for shops, pubs and excellent restaurants and costs £609 per week in August. It is ten minutes from Staplehurst Station, from where trains to London take an hour. Within easy reach are Sissinghurst Gardens, magical Leeds Castle and many National Trust properties.

Trains run to France as well as London (from 35 minutes) from Ashford International Station, which is only a ten-minute drive from Munday Manor, a fabulous 16th-century house with a five-star grading in the village of Mersham. Featuring original fireplaces, beams, antique furniture and a three-acre garden with moated island, orchard and summer-house, it sleeps eight and costs £1,260 for seven nights. A gorgeous old barn conversion in the grounds, sleeping three, is also available at £551.

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