THE HOUSE Kate built Fashion superstar Kate Moss has taken this luxury Cotswolds design-meets-country-living concept to a whole new level, Chairman John Hitchcox shows Emma Johnson around
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OHN HITCHCOX is everything you’d expect from someone who counts Simon le Bon, Kate Moss and Jade Jagger amongst his friends – charismatic, mischievous, very cool – but also down-to-earth and refreshingly pragmatic. He came up with the concept for The Lakes, he tells me, after finding himself trudging around Regent’s Park, two young children in tow, thinking, ‘There has to be something better than this’. “I wrestled with where I wanted to raise my children. I was a total urbanite, but I wanted the kids to be brought up in the country – somewhere they could play outside, explore woodland, go sailing. For years I had a real jostle about where we should live.” The answer, it seems, was The Lakes – a place where parents could come with their children, at weekends and during school holidays, and pick up as much country living as they could, while enjoying the benefits of a life in London too. “The idea was to create somewhere you could come and get all the luxuries you were used to in a hotel or an urban environment, but in the country.” 44
BritishTravelJournal.com
Hitchcox found the site in 1999, and in 2008, after numerous years of planning machinations, work began. It was no small venture. Over the past decade the team have taken what was previously a barren 850-acre gravel pit expanse to a beautiful secluded setting, complete with a wealth of natural wildlife and stunning scenery. There are today 160 luxury, contemporary, designer 4, 5 and 6 bedroom lakeside and woodland homes, and managed 3 bedroom luxury apartments, (their newest investment opportunities) nestled amongst over 500,000 indigenous trees. There's also the Orchard Spa with a glorious 17-metre heated pool, Elsa’s - a relaxed and informal restaurant - not to mention numerous on-site activites including paddle boarding, zip wiring, yoga, fishing, canoeing, kayaking and bike hire. A little bit reminiscent of parts of north America, or even the Scandinavian forests, The Lakes feels very unique. Plots are available to purchase both on the lakes and woodland areas - and houses are designed from a range of layouts and à
