Imagine strolling down a country path beside a sparkling stream, in the dappled light of a gentle sun, a path lined with cow parsley and corncockle and bluebells. The only sound is happy birdsong above you in the rustling silver birches. Welcome to the Cotswalds! If this is your idea of heaven, come along for a tour of this most charming region of the English countryside.
Friends nearby in Oxfordshire (another great destination, for a future post) pointed us toward the best sites, so we had expert advice.
An overview: there are many fabled villages full of charm in this pastoral paradis, which were at the top of my list. There are several medium-sized towns, with their historic architecture, good for shopping. Then there are a variety of gardens to visit and a castle or two to tour. Walking is great here because there are many marked paths and low rolling hills.
Mid-May was a good time, with the roses just coming out but tourism not yet in full bloom. This was the shoulder season. I wouldn't advise a trip in full summer, unless you are fond of mingling with the masses.
Even the place names in the Cotswalds are charming and enigmatic: Nether Worton, Hook Norton, Oddington, Waterly Bottom.
We started in Great Tew and Little Tew. Great Tew is a small village of great perfection, and so a favorite for celebrity second homes: Kate Moss and the like, and a princess or two. We loved the historic Falkland Arms there, which our friends wisely told us we mustn’t miss. There was a classic pub, the ceiling lined with the clients’ own mugs and tankards hung on hooks. And also a thoroughly modern organic bakery and lunch spot (it’s also a hotel).
Then on to the Slaughters, Upper and Lower. Named not for that brutal word but for the Old English word slothre, which means: muddy (it's not). We made Lower Slaughter our home base and stayed at The Slaughters Country Inn. If you really want to up your game, stay at the Slaughters Manor House next door, but only if your budget is bottomless. But our hotel couldn’t have been more perfect, and Lower Slaughter turned out to be my favorite village. A pretty brook runs through it (see photo at top), and there was a beautiful walk through sheep fields, full of sleepy lambs, to nearby Upper Slaughter. There;s another grand hotel there, called Lords of the Manor Hotel. A different 30 minute trail walk took us to Bourton on the Water, a larger, lovely town, sadly much taken over by tourists and souvenir shops.
In general we preferred the villages over the towns: Chipping Norton was just OK, but with great views around it. Stow on the Wold had some good shopping and we loved eating at The Old Butchers.
Bibury is a village famous for having the most photographed street in England--the homes are the oldest inhabited houses in the country. It was tiny and pretty, and we had a traditional English afternoon tea at The Swan. Of course there were tourists in town, shooting that famous lane, but not enough of us to be obnoxious.
The most brilliant thing we did was to visit two gardens (conveniently within a mile of each other). Hidcote is a magnificent garden composed of a series of outdoor “rooms” divided by hedges. Kiftsgate Court Garden is a “woman’s garden”, designed and maintained by three generations of women. Do visit both, it would be impossible to choose between the two. And both offer a “cream tea”: tea and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, which of course you must do.
If you’re looking for nightlife in this rural area, don’t forget the pubs. You’ll find trivia nights, games, music, tastings… they are always up to something!
If you go: We took (multiple) trains from Burgundy to get there, then rented a car to get around. We thought our 3 day tour of the Cotswalds was just about right, though to do it all you would need two or three more days. Note that Bath, Stratford on Avon, and Oxford are all close by, so add some time for those if you like.
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