There is a particular pleasure in a cottage that has been made ready for winter. The wood is stacked, the shelves are full, the draughts have been hunted down and dealt with. None of it takes very long if you work through it in October and November, before the first hard frost arrives and turns a small job into an urgent one.

Know Your Plumbing Before the Cold Bites

Every cottage dweller should know where the stopcock is and be able to turn it without a torch and a struggle. Find it now, while the ground is soft and your hands are warm, and check that it still turns. If it has seized, a little easing oil and patience will usually free it. Do the same with the isolation valves on outside taps, and shut off and drain any outdoor tap that is not frost-proof.

Walk the house with a critical eye and note where pipes run through cold spaces: loft, cellar, garage, a north-facing utility corner, the cupboard under a sink set against an outside wall. These are the places that freeze first, and a burst pipe at midnight is a miserable way to learn that lesson.

Lag, Insulate and Keep a Little Warmth Moving

Lagging is inexpensive and quick to fit. Choose foam lagging sized to the pipe, slide it on, and press the joints closed so no bare metal shows. Wrap awkward bends, elbows and valves, which are the weakest points, and pay particular attention to any pipe running along a loft floor or against an external wall.

Fit a jacket to the cold water tank in the loft, and insulate the loft hatch itself, but leave the hatch slightly open on freezing nights so that a little warmth can drift upwards. Other practical measures:

• Set the heating to run at a low background temperature — around 12 to 15°C — rather than switching it off entirely when you go out or away.
• Open the doors of sink and basin cupboards during cold spells so warm room air reaches the pipework.
• In severe frost, let a tap on the coldest run trickle very gently overnight.
• If you leave the cottage empty in winter, drain the system or ask someone to check it daily.

Paths, Steps and the Daily Walk to the Gate

More winter injuries happen on the doorstep than anywhere else. Clear the leaves from paths and steps before the frost arrives, because a layer of wet leaf under snow is genuinely treacherous. Check that handrails are secure and that the outside light works, and put it on a timer so it is already on when you come home in the dark.

Clear guttering and downpipes while the weather is still mild. Overflowing gutters send water down walls and onto paths, where it freezes into a sheet of ice exactly where you need to walk.

Keep a shovel by the door and a bucket of grit, coarse sand or ash from the wood burner within easy reach. Grit the step and the first few metres of path before you need them, not after. A sturdy mat inside the door and a pair of wellies with a decent grip will save the floor and your footing. In the depths of winter, salt and grit work best used sparingly and early.

Laying In the Pantry Shelves

A well-stocked larder is not about hoarding; it is about not needing to drive six miles down an untreated lane because the bread ran out. From October onwards, add one or two extra items to each shop and let the shelves fill quietly.

• Staples: flour, yeast, sugar, salt, oats, rice, pasta, dried pulses, cooking oil, stock cubes and dried herbs.
• Tins and jars: tomatoes, beans, tuna, soup, vegetables, fruit, honey, jam, peanut butter and pesto.
• Dairy and drinks: UHT or powdered milk, long-life juice, tea, coffee, cocoa, squash and a bottle or two of something warming.
• Practical extras: candles, matches, batteries in the sizes you actually use, a first aid kit, pet food, toilet rolls and bottled water.

Store everything in a cool, dark, dry place, decant flour and grains into airtight containers, and rotate the oldest to the front. Label anything you have opened. A tidy pantry is far easier to cook from when the light is poor and you are hungry.

Fuel, Light and the Possibility of a Power Cut

Rural supply lines are long and exposed, so treat a power cut as likely rather than unlikely. Have the chimney swept before the season starts, and order or split firewood in good time so it has weeks to season properly. Stack it with air moving around it, keep a day's worth indoors, and lay in kindling and firelighters.

Keep torches where you can find them in the dark — one by the bed, one in the kitchen drawer — and check the batteries. A head torch is a revelation when you are dealing with a fuse box or a fire. Have a battery radio, a charged power bank, and a paraffin or oil lamp with a spare wick. Keep the freezer shut, and know which cupboard holds the candles and matches.

Small Comforts Worth the Effort

Finally, see to the things that make a cold evening feel generous rather than grim. A draught excluder at the back door, thermal linings on the curtains, a heavy curtain over a boot room doorway, a basket of blankets by the fire, hot water bottles, and slippers kept by the stove. Test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms while you are at it, and put a fresh battery in each.

Do all this on a bright, dry afternoon and the cottage will meet the winter as it should: warm, provisioned and quietly ready.