Julian Lloyd Webber tells Angela Wintle about growing up and his beloved cottage

Julian Lloyd Webber, 72, is a solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. He grew up in South Kensington and bought his first property, in Northamptonshire, when he was 25. He and his cellist wife Jiaxin Cheng and their 12-year-old daughter, Jasmine, now divide their time between a cottage in the Cotswolds and a flat in south-west London.

WHY THE COTSWOLDS?

I had always loved visiting Elgar’s beloved Malvern Hills, which took me through the Cotswolds, so I got to know the area well and felt comfortable here. I also needed a detached property because I was living in a cramped South Kensington flat and getting complaints from the neighbours about my endless cello practice.

Initially though, in 1976, I bought a cheap, detached house in the quiet village of Upper Boddington, north of Banbury, Northants. By 1989 I was earning well and started looking for somewhere larger and more secluded. When I saw my current home, in a pretty village near Chipping Campden, Glos, It was perfect. Plus, the village had a pub. I enjoy a pint of real ale.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SURROUNDINGS?

The house is situated along a no- through lane that quickly turns into a track used by farm vehicles, so there is little traffic. The garden runs along the front of the cottage and there are tall trees on one side. Between two of the trees you can see right across the valley – it’s pure countryside for miles.