Cotswolds - Land of Honey Colored Homes

Hues of honey colored homes and manicured landscapes. Yep, you have just entered the Cotswolds.

Over the Christmas break I was going a bit stir crazy. I wanted to explore an area close to home, but not packed with tourists seeking Christmas markets. I broke the trip into the Northern Cotswolds and the Southern Cotswolds. Not really referred to as this, but two distinct areas with so much charm.

Day 1 – Northern Cotswolds 

Chipping Campden was great for a nice morning stroll through the famous market town. The town is most known for its wool and market square. Many of the well-known sights are right along the High Street. If you follow the “Cotwolds Way” signs towards the bottom of the village you will come upon Hoo Lane. The houses along this historic street were picturesque. The thatched roofed architecture seen in many of England’s oldest villages.  I am sure you can spend hours gazing through the boutique shops, but we headed up the road to Stow-On-The-Wold to get a glimpse at one of the oldest Inn’s in England.

Stow-On-The-Wold was quite compact with many of the 1500 and 1600 century sites right in the main quarter. If you plan to visit The Porch, which is said to be the oldest Inn in England, I highly recommend booking in for lunch. We were lucky enough to try the pubs namesake beer the 947 AD. The service and cuisine did not disappoint on a cold winter day.  The fireplace set in the middle of the pub brought a warm and cosy vibe to building. Have a peek around the venue as numerous signs share a bit of the history around the Pub and the local village. A quick photo stop around the town and we headed to one of the more famous villages Bourton-on-the-Water.

Bourton-on-the-Water was by far the busiest village we visited. I highly recommend coming early and parking down at the miniature museum at the end of town. The village has a series of bridges connecting the two banks with some of the most wonderful views. We spent an hour or so strolling through the various alleyways and streets. The village had an auto museum and a handful of pastry shops. We stopped into the Bakery on the Water for some fresh bakes sweets for an afternoon snack.  

Just a few villages away from finishing the day, we started our way towards Bibury. Bibury is one of the more well-known villages, known for its postcard picture-perfect Arlington Row. A stopover in Burford to see another picturesque village filled with medieval homes and historic buildings. I have to admit that Burford was well worth the stop. Take a stroll down Sheep street towards The Lamb Inn, a view not to be missed. The bustling market town is set out on a hill; making the architecture different from many of the other Cotswolds villages. We made it to Bibury right before sunset. The iced over roof tiles and smoke coming from chimney’s truly made the moment spectacular. Many of the tourists were nearly gone, which enabled us to get some amazing photos. A trip up to St. Mary’s Church and we called it a day. We stayed the night at the most incredible B&B, The Priory Inn of Tetbury. If you want the most incredible pizza, then this is the place. People come from all over the world to try some of their brick oven pizzas. All ingredients for the restaurant are bought within a 30 mile radius, even down to the grain for the dough. The prices were reasonable allowing me to splurge on the England cider sampler and salted cookie dough ice cream and caramel cake. The day was done and I had officially eaten my way through the Northern Cotswolds. 

Day 2 – Southern Cotswolds

https://goo.gl/maps/68VpFdsrGko

Another early morning start before heading home. If you have not been to Bath, I would highly recommend you add this in to the day and either spend less time in Bradford-on-Avon or miss it altogether. Bath has far more things to offer, but a quick stop over in Bradford-on-Avon to see the Old Saxon church was fun.

Our day did not go as planned due to a fog advisory. Starting our way to Lacock Village to only find out that Lacock Abbey (Where some of harry potter is filmed), did not in fact open for quite a few hours. The church was also closed, but we took a stroll around the village trying not to bust our behinds on the thick ice all over the roads and walkways. We walked alongside the Abbey down the main road in order to grab some photos from a distance with the grazing sheep.  

Just a few miles up the road and we reached Castle Combe. The photos online did this place no justice. Catching it before lunch we beat a lot of the crowds along the road. This town has limited parking due to most of the roads being too narrow. There are numerous walking trails from this town along the river. If you have time stop into Ellen’s Cottage across from town market stall and pub. She has fresh backed cakes out front, all paid for on the honor system. Torn on decisions I had both the carrot cake and coffee cake, to which neither disappointed.

An attempt to see a few more places was unsuccessful due to winter closures and visibility. A small stop over into Bradford-on-Avon for a stroll along river. The churches, market square and an old Quaker meeting house are worth a visit. It was quaint, but felt more of a city than a village. Again if you have not been head to Bath for a day in the Roman Baths and stroll along the medieval streets.

A last minute effort to make the most of the day, we headed back north to see Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill. The Palace puts on a Christmas lights event in the evening. It was more geared towards families with small kids, so a great day out if you are in the area. Highly recommend having afternoon tea in the main hall of the Palace. It was divine and every little piece of food was made to perfection.

 

Happy Traveling,

 

Katrina 

Essential Websites for Things to do in the UK

Well, there's no exuse for staying home and being bored. Get out and explore the UK. A lot of these sites have current things to do if you check back regularly.


Travel - All of UK:

Days out in the UK (mainly London area) - http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk

Day out with KIDS - http://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk

With DOGS - http://www.dogfriendlybritain.co.uk/

Beaches - http://www.goodbeachguide.co.uk

Best 50 Beaches - http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/the-50-best-uk-beaches-125-480372.html

Plan a pub crawl - http://barcrawl.co.uk

Castles - http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk

Castles - http://www.castleuk.net/list.htm

Free things to do - http://www.frommers.com/slideshow/index.cfm?group=315&cat_cd=ARTCULTURE&p=1#slide

UK Travel - http://www.picturetheuk.com

Holidays in the UK (mainly outdoorsy) - http://www.holidayuk.co.uk

National Trust (England and Wales) - www.nationaltrust.org.uk


Travel - England:

Quite things in London - http://www.timeout.com/london/features/1607/The_A-Z_of_Quiet_London.html

London - http://www.frommers.com/destinations/london

The Lake District - http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk

Tour Norfolk - http://www.tournorfolk.co.uk/index.html

Norfolk Broads Cycling - http://www.norfolkbroadscycling.co.uk

Great Yarmouth - www.great-yarmouth.co.uk

Hunstanton - http://www.norfolk-on-line.co.uk/hunstanton/pages/index.php

Cambridgeshire - http://www.familiesincambridgeshire.co.uk

Cambridge - http://www.visitcambridge.org

Cambridge - http://www.cambridge.co.uk

East Anglia - http://www.eastanglia24.co.uk/wp

Ipswich - http://www.visit-ipswich.com

The Midlands - http://www.visitheartofengland.com

Northeast England - http://www.visitnortheastengland.com

Suffolk - http://www.suffolktouristguide.com

English Heritage - http://www.english-heritage.org.uk


Travel - Wales:

Wales - http://www.visitwales.co.uk

Cardiff - http://www.visitcardiff.com


Travel - Scotland:

Scotland - http://www.visitscotland.com

Scotland - http://www.welcometoscotland.com

Scotland top 10 - http://scotland.costasur.com/en/ten-must-see.html

Edinburgh - http://www.timeout.com/edinburgh/features/220/20-great-things-to-do-in-edinburgh

Edinburgh - http://www.edinburgh.org

Physical Activities/Sports (all of UK unless otherwise noted):

Walking/Cycling/Horse riding - http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk

Hiking guides - http://www.contours.co.uk

Walking and hiking guides - http://www.walkingandhiking.co.uk

Biking - http://www.cycle-route.com

Mtn biking trails - http://www.moredirt.co.uk

SEASONAL

Christmas:

UK Christmas Markets - http://www.christmasmarkets.com/UK.html

Bury St. Edmunds Christmas market - http://www.burystedmundschristmasfayre.co.uk

Other:

Pick your own - http://www.pickyourownfarms.org.uk

Pick your own - http://www.localfoods.org.uk