Christmas is just around the corner and plenty of Brits are snuggling up under blankets to watch their favourite festive films.
Anyone who’s a fan of a cheeky love story around the most magical time of the year will probably have switched on The Holiday by now.
After all with a cast including Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black, it's a festive classic – and nobody can watch it without wishing they could escape to a pretty English cottage for the winter.
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Well, it seems that now you can…
Film buffs who desperately want to emulate the romantic vibes of a countryside cottage with a roaring fire can now do so on Airbnb.
Jon Bromley, 58, and his wife, Cressida, 52, live in the house which inspired Cameron Diaz's rural retreat in the 2006 festive flick.
The cottage itself wasn’t filmed in as the producers chose to use a set made to look just like the duo’s home.
However, Jon and Cressida had no idea their house was the classic cottage featured in the film until they saw a news piece about the sale in a property magazine.
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Now, the pair claim they regularly see movie lovers turning up to their home to take photos outside.
Luckily for those obsessed with The Holiday, Jon and Cressida listed their popular cottage to rent on Airbnb a few weeks ago.
The average cost for a night in the home is £295 a night – and they’ve already got bookings scheduled for Christmas, New Year and summer.
In the classic film, Amanda Woods – aka Cameron Diaz – is newly single and spends two weeks in a home swap from California at Rosehill Cottage in England.
During the break she falls in love with the owners bother – played by Jude Law.
When doing research for the classic Christmas film, film workers thought the cottage, which is in Holmbury St Mary, Surrey, was too far from cast and crew back in London.
So they recreated the gorgeous home in a studio.
However, the set was an exact match for Jon and Cressida’s quintessentially British home.
It even has the pretty garden fence, gate, garden and a rural dirt track outside.
Jon, a sports photographer, said: “I had bookings straight away. Our first guests were a few weeks ago for two nights. They were scientists from Cambridge and really enjoyed it.
“It's one of those getaways where you go and hide yourself somewhere in a little village. There's nothing here but a pub next door – no shops.”
He added: “I still live in the cottage but I have four lettings so far – Christmas, New Year and two in summer for weddings locally.
“I’m just really proud of it. It’s a very lovely house and we're very lucky."
Jon and Cressida bought the £625,000 home in 2019 and continue to live in it alongside any guests.
The three-bed cottage boasts an AGA stove and underfloor heating, surrounded by a landscaped garden and flagstone laid terrace, with views over the Surrey hills.
To add to the festive feel, the pair have added fairy lights, a Christmas tree both outside and inside and decorations by the fireplace.
But, when they bought the home they had no idea of its significance.
Jon said: "I came to see it on my own to begin with and just literally fell in love with it straight away.
“Just everything was beautiful – low ceilings, it's beamed, it's got a massive inglenook fireplace with a log burner in.
“Then we saw it in Country Life article saying something like 'the inspiration for 'The Holiday' cottage is back on the market'. I thought 'bloody hell!'"
Production designer for The Holiday, Jon Hutman said on the DVD commentary he was looking for the "cutest, smallest, most English cottage that we could find" when he stumbled on the real-life home, reports the BristolPost.
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