Cotswold Advice
 

I have been searching on this site and on the internet for Cotswold accommodations for next July. (I keep looking at Bourton on the Water because it appears to be centrally located.) There are so many bed and breakfasts, villages, and towns in that area, that I'm totally overwhelmed. With that said, I'm looking for a bed and breakfast for two nights, for about 70-80 pounds a night totally (for 2 people). We will be in the Cotswolds on Wednesday afternoon and evening, all day Thursday, and then we will be leaving for London on Friday morning. Please help me by recommending two Cotswold towns not to miss and a bed and breakfast in one of those town to spend the two nights. We like to shop, see history, and of course, eat. Thanks. Helene

I'd say Broadway and Chipping Camden are not to be missed, and both are large enough to have B&Bs. Just check the Info Centre on arrival if you don't want to prebook. They're maybe not as central as Bourton-on-the-Water. (further north).
If you want a southern-end option with B&Bs, there's Cirencester.
Lots of smaller villages (probably scarce on B&Bs) are worth a look - Snowshill (near Broadway), Lower & Upper Slaughter, Stow-on-the-Wold, many others. Again, the Info Centres at any of the larger places will have helpful information.

Will you have a car??? If you are, then, I can suggest looking into staying in the medieval village of Stanton. (http://www.cotswolds.info/places/stanton.shtml) There is a B&B called The Vine...
http://www.broadway-cotswolds.co.uk/vine.html
Stanton is peaceful & quaint & just about 5 miles outside of the village of Broadway where you can shop and eat! Sudley Castle is also nearby in the village of Winchcombe!! :-)

Premier travel inns have rooms for around £50 per night. I have stayed at North Gloucester & as a base was excellent. There are others located around the area & one in Oxford. The Civil Service Motoring Association own some houses in Bourton on the Water that are reasonably priced.

Bourton on the water is a lovely village but gets very very busy in summer,and may not the idylic tranquel village you may imagine. In saying that it may be exactly what you want but be aware that there will probably be coach loads of people there.
Best wishes
Muck

My vote is for Snowshill. A girlfriend and I stayed there for a week several years ago and adored it! It was an adorable little village, with great pubs/restaurants and wonderful shopping. Very easy to get around to other places in the area.

The problem w/ Bourton-on-the-Water is that in the day time - almost exclusively between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. - it is TOTALLY overrun w/ tour buses, day trippers and crowds. But early in the morning and in the evening it is an entirely different place. So staying there really isn't a bad idea - since you would be away touring the rest of the area during the day and back "home" in Bourton after the hordes have left town.

BUT - if you want to stay in a quiet village and plan on hanging around during the day - then don't pick Bourton-o-t-W

Thanks! Is there a road map you can recommend of the Cotswolds area?

Helene, We stayed in Bourton on the Water and loved all the activity in the evening but were happy to be away during the daytime. We were there 3 years ago, our stay at Coombe House was 60 gbp per nite. We parked our car and could walk into the town center from the B&B. Have a great trip. It's an easy drive to the Slaughters and other charming villages from Bourton. Deborah

Your best map for driving will be any of the many road atlases you can pick up in any news agent, most garages/filling stations, tourist offices - just about anywhere.

Folding maps really are hard to use on the road - and a motoring atlas makes the navigator's job a lot easier.

I just noticed you posted two threads w/ the same questions. Both threads have several answers so be sure to check both of them. (It usually isn't necessary to start new threads - if you posted because you couldn't find the earlier thread -- click on your name to find all of your posts)

Hi Helene-
my husband and I were just there early June. We spent 4 nights at a wonderful B&B in Broadway called The Old Station House. Broadway was the prettiest village- very central for visiting the area. What I liked about our B&B was that it was a nice 10 minute stroll into town for our nightly pub supper after our day of sight-seeing.Of course, you could drive, but we liked walking. Quite a few different pubs to choose from. It was quite light out until at least 9pm. One of our best day trips was to Bourton-on-the-water.We stopped in town (Broadway) first at the market for sandwiches and drinks, then drove to Lower Slaughter and parked. We ate along the little canal, then walked the Cotswold Way to Bourton-on-the-water. It was probably a 1/2 hour walk. Bourton was very crowded, but we found a seat and had ice cream and just watched the children playing in the water. There were lots of shops to browse. We then walked back and on to Upper Slaughter( by way of the path that Prince Charles and Lady Diana walked- there is a plaque on the fence-ask at the Mill) which is just a charming sleepy little village. On the way back to Broadway we side-tripped to Chipping Camden which was a little disappointing -there was a carnival set up all along the center of town. You could spend all Wed. afternoon exploring Broadway-lovely shops,and just outside town, a park with a tower to climb that is the highest point in the Coswolds. Just strolling up the "broadway", peeking in at residents beautiful gardens, marvelling at the mellow yellow-hued sandstone of the buildings-well, I highly recommend this town as your overnight base.