Four must-visit thatched cottages
![Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Gardens Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Gardens](https://www.discoverbritainmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/VB34141447-1-700x466.jpg)
Thatched cottages are one of the highlights of the English countryside, perfectly crowning sweet cottages that peek out from behind flowering gardens. We take a look at the straw-topped dwellings that are as much a part of the rural idyll as rolling fields, tolling church bells and quaint pubs.
Hardy’s Cottage, Dorchester
![Hardy's Cottage, Dorchester](https://www.discoverbritainmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/157103.jpg)
The birthplace of Thomas Hardy, the Victorian author of Far from the Madding Crowd, Hardy’s Cottage was built and thatched by his own grandfather.
Stembridge Tower Mill, Somerset
![Stembridge Tower Mill, Somerset](https://www.discoverbritainmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BDX34J.jpg)
Built in 1822, Grade II* listed Stembridge Tower Mill is the last remaining thatched windmill in England and underwent a major restoration in 2009.
Pencil Cottage, Shanklin Old Village, Isle of Wight
![Pencil Cottage, Shanklin Old Village, Isle of Wight](https://www.discoverbritainmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/832-123430.jpg)
With its own tearoom, gift shop and garden overlooking Chine Hollow, Pencil Cottage, the Grade II listed 1820s cottage is a popular tourist destination.
The Museum Inn, Farnham
![The Museum Inn, Farnham](https://www.discoverbritainmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Museum-Inn_5707.jpg)
In a Dorset village dotted with thatch, The Museum Inn, the 17th-century, Pitt Rivers-built inn, has eight double rooms and a separate thatched cottage that sleeps 16.
For more on the art of thatching and the beautiful buildings crowned by them, see the April/May issue of Discover Britain, on sale now.