I am planning to spend a week in the Cotswolds in March/April 2010. Can someone please tell me:
1. Will it be freezing cold and wet or might I get a bit of sunshine?
2. Will the ground be snow covered or lush and green?
3. Will the trees be bare or have leaves?
4. Will the spring flowers be out yet?
5. Which villages would be central to the area to use as a base?
6. Will there be a lot of tourists about at that time of year?
I would like to find a warm, comfortable B&B and stay there for 7 nights, taking day trips by car to visit the various towns, villages and beauty spots in the area.
My hobby is very much photography, so seven days indoors while it pours with rain outside would be my idea of hell

I'll have a go.

1. Might be all of these things.
2. Might be either of these.
3. Some will.
4. Early bulbs, croci, daffodils should be.
5. Flanner will be along shortly to advise you, I'm sure.
6. Possibly, when is Easter next year? Shouldn't be heaving with them though.

Have you been to the UK before? Weather here, like Easter, is a moveable feast. We've had winters with no snow and then snow in June. If you want guaranteed good weather, wrong country at wrong time of year. Could be fantastic though...

March/April covers a wider range of weather than almost any other time in England. But:

1. Will it be freezing cold
Very unlikely
and wet
Sometimes. Sometimes not
or might I get a bit of sunshine?
Almost certainly. Also, practically certain to be times there's not much sun

2. Will the ground be snow covered
99% likely not at all. 1% likely for a couple of hours in March
or lush and green?
Yes-ish. March grass isn't that lush. Countryside here's never bleak: but
or muddy
Yes

3. Will the trees be bare or have leaves?
Yes. To both Changes hourly from March to end April (when almost everything's out)

4. Will the spring flowers be out yet?
We're WAY beyond daffs (which are fully out by March 1, St David's Day. Why else would they be the national flower of Wales?) By April the garden's chocker

5. Which villages would be central to the area to use as a base?
Distances are pretty short.If you don't need public transport, the usual recs are Chipping Campden, Burford, Northleach, Stow, Tetbury and whichever I've forgotten. Crucial thing isn't centrality: it's being able to walk back from the pub at night and having a few places to eat. So it's towns (which we define as 4,000-6,000 pop, and a charter dating from 1400 or earlier)

6. Will there be a lot of tourists about at that time of year?
No. Except for the weekend of March 14 in pubs (Mothering Sunday, when you can't get a Sunday lunch anywhere), the next two weekends if they're fine and sunny - but only on the footpaths, where on a busy day you'll pass at least five people in a three-hour walk - and over Easter weekend (April 2-5) in the tourist traps.

Otherwise, 95% of the Cotswolds just don't get tourists, and 100% don't get any before 11 or after 5. The "crowds of tourists" crap comes from those tourists who only ever go to tourist traps - where, amazingly, they see other tourists.

Many thanks for your kind responses. I love that sense of humour. I am still chuckling
stfc: I have been to the UK a number of times. I lived in London for 2 years in the 60s and I have been visiting the UK annually for the last 6 years (my daughter lives in Surrey). I usually visit in about August/September but my daughter wants me there very early next year in order to be rid of me before the summer
My memory of March/April conditions is 40 years old and a little hazy. I remember visiting Castle Combe 40 years ago but otherwise I am unfamiliar with the Cotswolds.
Thanks for the heads-up regarding Easter. I will do my best to give that a miss. My preference would be for the last three weeks in April (one week with my daughter, one week in the Cotswolds and one week in the Lake District) but my daughter will dictate the actual timing and I may have to settle for the last three weeks of March (I remember March as being coldish in London).
Flanneruk: Thanks for your valuable information. It is so useful to get advice from the resident expert on the area. I will start researching accommodation in the towns that you have suggested.
My travelling companion is heavily into photographing quaint cottages (preferably with thatched roofs) so it would be nice to know the best places to find these. Also some recommendations on nice gardens to visit would be appreciated.

For thatched cottages visit Great Tew and stop at St. Michael and All Angels...nice wall paintings.

Oh - I'm looking forward to your plans for this trip. I remember the planning/posting for your trip to Scotland (last year?)

This one seems much slower/low key.

Since you'll have a car, Burford or Chipping Campden would be good choices. Both are still village-y but large enough to have a choice of pubs/restaurants/shops.

But really - you could stay <u>anywhere</u>. You say you prefer a B&B - but for a week, have you considered renting a flat or small cottage? It would be cheaper for the two of you and you'd have tons more space.

In England spring comes much earlier than in the northern half of the US. Freezing temps are very unlikely as is snow (these are unlikely there even in midwinter never mind March/April).

You may get some chilly temps and I'm sure will get some rain - but winter weather would be a real surprise. At that time of year I wouldn;t even take a winter coat - but a lighter weight jacket and some sweaters for layering if necessary. But you will need comfy waterproofed walking shoes and a sturdy folding umbrella.

Yelpir, thanks. Your questions seemed black and white which is why I asked whether you had been here before. Clearly you are familiar with our weather.

If you are a keen photographer, then you will have ample opportunities to display your skill in April. Spring and autumn here offer a huge range of lighting conditions, but you sometimes have to seize the moment. It wasn't until I had spent time in the Middle East, where it is either blazingly light or dark, that I began to appreciate the conditions here. But be prepared for wet weather.

My wife and I spend a few days away, in the UK, walking, every November. We're off to the Lake District next week. We've had, what, two really wet days in five years? Your plan sounds excellent, hope you have a great time.

Ok, folks, based on your kind advices I have been busily researching the Cotswold area and holiday cottages in particular. It has been long and hard as I alway seem to have unusual requirements that don't match what is available. By far the majority of cottages have double beds and finding one with twin beds is like trying to find the proverbial needle in the haystack. Finally I have had to settle for cottages with two bedrooms, which is stretching my budget somewhat. I fancy a cottage on a farm somewhere in the Stow-on-the-Wold area. I love the idea of waking up at the crack of dawn and wandering around the farmyard of a working farm, camera in hand. I have not yet found what I am looking for but I will let you know when I do. If anyone can save me some time by pointing me in the right direction, I would be most grateful. I have already put in probably 80 to 100 hours of searching.

here are two good agencies:

http://www.manorcottages.co.uk/
http://www.cottageinthecountry.co.uk/

Some examples at moderate rates w/ either 2 bdrms or 2 beds:

http://www.cottageinthecountry.co.uk/properties/C045 (this one has 1 bdrm/2 beds, looks really nice, and is VERY inexpensive)

http://www.cottageinthecountry.co.uk/properties/C251
http://www.cottageinthecountry.co.uk/properties/C356A
http://www.cottageinthecountry.co.uk/properties/C459
http://www.manorcottages.co.uk/cotta...n-cottage.html
http://www.manorcottages.co.uk/cotta...e-cottage.html
http://www.manorcottages.co.uk/cotta...s-cottage.html


You may not find one on a working farm -- but just about ANY Cotswold cottage is w/i walking distance of farms.

Thanks, janisj. Great minds think alike. I fell in love with Turkey Cottage the minute I saw it. I sent the link to my friend in Australia and she liked it to. I immediatedly logged on to book it but in that 24hr period someone else jumped in and booked it for our dates. Unfortunately our flights are already booked so we are unable to change our dates. I am still considering swopping the week in the Cotswolds with the week in the Lake District so that we can get Turkey Cottage. What is preventing me is the long drive to the Lake District on the morning that I land at Heathrow. I would prefer the shorter drive to the Cotswolds for that day.
Thank you for all the other links. I will start investigating them now

I am not an expert here, but just a thought on getting to the Lake District on your first day. What if you took a train or bus to one of the towns/cities closer to the lakes and picked up your rental car there and then returned it to Heathrow at the end of your trip?

You could fly up to Manchester, or take the train to Manchester or Liverpool. From either it is a short distance to the Lakes. There are other places you could fly to - but they wouldn't have the choice of car hire companies that you'd find in the two cities.

Getting from LHR to NW England is a real pain.

It's a sod of a drive, and the trains are a bugger (you need to change tubes to get to Euston from LHR, or get a just airports style car: the bus to Watford doesn't run any more.)

The simplest thing is to fly to MCR (or GLA) from LHR, then hire a car to get to the Lakes. You CAN get a bus to Reading, then a train to Carnforth or wherever (same-platform change at Stafford). But as janisj says, hiring a car at Carnforth or Penrith or wherever might be tricky.

There are few times I'd disagree with someone recommending you go to Liverpool. But, thanks to the absurd way Heathrow's mismanaged by the rapacious Spaniards currently allowed to get away with the best argument against private ownership anywhere in the world, it's almost impossible to get to the World's Greatest City (TM) from the World's Major Airport.

That's why the Cotswolds - which are, sadly, practically Heathrow's ornamental gardens (the crack of dawn round here is more about a million contrails coming in from the Americas and Asia than about cows mooing) - make so much better sense to start a holiday off in.

I have carefully considered the option of heading for the Lake District first by plane or train or coach, but it introduces complications that I would rather not have to deal with right now. Thanks for the excellent suggestions, though. I have narrowed the Cotswolds cottage choice down to two:
1. Stow on the Wold Cottage in Stow-on-the-Wold and
2. Woodbine Cottage in Donnington.
Has anyone stayed in either of these two cottages so that I can get a recommendation?

haven't stayed there but donington - the home of donington ales - would be like being in paradise (well, a bit).
we stayed in ch campden last w/end through campden cottages if you need still more options...flew back from spain for family get together and despite wind and rain it was great to get some real weather. more importantly, excellent meals, esp lunch at the Golden Ball in Lower Swell (a Donington house of course). It's maybe 15 yrs since i tasted it which is why i'm still swooning. left there thinking we should have stayed a week so am envious of you. all that walking, all those villages...temple guiting, bourton on the hill, naunton, swells, even slaughters...sigh...

I'm back to this thread after a bit of an absence. I have not been idle, though. The plan is as follows:
Land Heathrow early morning April 10th. Pick up hire car and head for the Cotswolds. Spend seven nights in Woodbine Cottage in Donnington. On April 17th drive up to the Lake District. Spend seven nights in Fellcroft Cottage in Ambleside. Saturday April 24th drive back to Heathrow and drop off the car.
Woodbine Cottage was booked through Cottages Direct and Fellcroft was booked through Heart of the Lakes. Both agencies were chosen because of their excellent range of cottages and the fact that they allow for online payment by credit card.
That first day driving from Heathrow to Donnington will need a bit of filling, as we can't get into the cottage until 3:00pm so I figure to pass through Bath and spend some time in Castle Combe on the way. Any other suggestions along the road?
Also any suggestions re car hiring in or near Heathrow would be appreciated.

Donnington is just outside Stow-on-the-Wold. LHR > Bath > Donnington would be a hellacious drive off a long haul flight -- or even if you weren't flying in. I know you are very used to the driving, but I definitely would try to avoid a slog on your arrival day.

I'd find something else to see/visit more enroute. (Actually I'd avoid driving that day completely - but I know you won't go w/ that idea)

Depending on your interests -- Windsor, or Oxford, or Blenheim/Bladon, or just walking around Burford/Bourton-on-the/Stow and/or the Slaughters makes more sense than going all the way to Bath and back.

There have been considerable comments on this forum in regard to driving after a long haul flight, and the consensus is that it's not a good idea. If I remember correctly you are from South Africa and, if so, that's a bear of a flight. If coming from Europe, you'll be fine;otherwise do as janisj suggests and only travel as far as Oxford/Blenheim or Woodstock. Trying to take in Bath,Castle Comb and then driving to Donnington after landing at LHR is neither a good plan nor safe one. I realize you can't change your flights, but please reconsider your options once you arrive.

No way I'd drive, either.

Why not stay in Bath (get there by bus or train) your first night and pick up the car the next day?