This cosy cottage is the ultimate country escape for autumn

And then there’s the art. Heckfield’s owner, Gerald Chan, an art and sustainability enthusiast, takes pride in his collection and proudly displays it throughout every room on the estate. The entrance hall is notably impressive, with a selection of bucolic oil paintings and portraits adorning the wall, including a Van Gogh-esque sunflower piece by John Bratby and a Sargent-inspired ballerina portrait by David Abercrombie Donaldson.

After some time spent gawping at interiors and gazing at the views beyond the windows, we’re whisked to our home for the weekend. Keeper’s Cottage is another example in a series of seriously sensational rental homes unveiled by iconic UK hotels this year (Hollyhock at Estelle Manor and Wisteria Cottage at The Grove, to name a few), offering guests the opportunity to embrace all the amenities of a hotel stay with the peaceful seclusion of a private home.

A soothing, muted colour palette sets the tone throughout Keeper’s Cottage – gentle creams, soft browns, hushed green shades nod to the wooded wilderness outside. Sofas and chairs as fluffy as those in the main house provide ample, cosy nooks for reading and soaking in the views from the windows, each looking out to a different corner of the Walled Garden. Textures soften the colour scheme further, with rattan rugs, heavy draped curtains framing windows so picturesque they could be paintings, and red-brick floors echoing the main house’s majestic exterior. Blankets and throws are slung over the backs of chairs, logs are stacked by the woodburner, and fresh flowers cut from the garden perch atop every flat surface, filling the room with that sweet, heady scent of the English countryside. It feels comfortable, snug and intimate.

As I entered the kitchen, my eyes were immediately drawn to the teetering tower of apples picked fresh from the orchard, delicately balancing in a bowl on the kitchen table, before skimming past a plate of the biggest tomatoes I’ve ever seen and a board of just-baked bread, fruit compotes and berry jams. Throwing open the fridge, I discovered it was packed full of more foodie farm delights – fresh milk, butter and cream from the cows; jars of olives and pickled vegetables from the garden patch; cured meats; ciders, IPAs, cordials, all made from orchard fruits and pressed at a brewery down the road.