We will be in the Cottswolds for 2 nights in May. We are planning on Chipping Camden as a base, and then just getting lost to enjoy all the charm. I am looking for lodging recommendations. Also --if there is a more suitable base I would appreciate the suggestions.

Chipping Campden is fine -- other towns are nice too but Chipping Campden is a good base. Did you pick for some specific reason?

What is your Budget?

​​​​​​​(it is Cotswolds BTW)

you'll have a car? janis is a veritable encyclopaedia of knowledge about the area!

Bramley House. Although we stayed in 2013, it still receives stellar reviews. 10 - 15 minute walk into the heart of the town. Fantastic owners. Below is the day leading up to our stay...you can skip to the bottom..and then the next couple of posts are our day trips from there.

Chapter Thirteen: The Cotswold Blitz - Travels With Mai Tai Tom

Chapter Fourteen: Blenheim Palace & Oxford - Travels With Mai Tai Tom

Chapter Fifteen: Towers, Castles, Gardens & Junk - Travels With Mai Tai Tom

Second for Bramley House. Fantastic hosts, wonderful breakfasts, lovely home, close to town.

If never been to Oxford consider stopping there for a few hours or so en route to or from London.

Thank you for the correction --Cotswolds it is!

We will have a car. Our plan is to drive from London to Chipping Campden the first day and then explore from there. We chose it becasue it looks large enough to have a variety of restaurants and pubs. We are definitely open to suggestions if you suggest a different base .

As far as accommodation, I have inquired into Lygon Arms and their deluxe courtyard rooms look nice. Our budget is about $200/ night for 2 nights
. Thanks

Do you enjoy gardens? If so don't miss Hidcote and Kiftsgate, next to each other and about 4 miles from Chipping Campden. We visited in July, it was beautiful. May should be absolutely stunning.

. . . And Snowshill.

re a 'better' base than Chipping Campden, any other recommendation would really just be someone's subjective advice. Burford, Stow on the Wold, Broadway, any number of others would be good bases. Not necessarily 'better' but just as good.

The Lygon Arms (the one in Chipping Campden, not the pricier one in Broadway) would be fine. If you like the look of it and it fits in your budget, then book it. If you are unsure, then look in Burford, or one of the others. But really chipping Campden will be fine and very convenient to all of he northern Cotswolds.

". . . And Snowshill."

I second that. One of my favorite spots we visited.

There are many gardens to visit in the area around Chipping Campden, the 3 mentioned and others. But with just 1 full day in the area I kind of like the idea expressed in the OP's opening post, just driving around and getting lost.

Having a map of the area would be good, though, as the trouble with "getting lost" is that on many of the country roads in England you may keep ending up where you started. I can recommend the OS map of "The Cotswolds" #45 (scale 1/25,000, a very nice size with every lane and even buildings depicted). It shows Chipping Campden very near the top, the north of the map, because the town is at what's considered the north of the Cotswolds. The village of Hidcote Boyce is on the edge making the 2 gardens mentioned by Nelson above, just off the map. But easy to find if they interest you.

Here's the map:
https://www.amazon.com/Cotswolds-Burford-Chipping-Campden-Cirencester/dp/0319242846/ref=pd_cp_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0319242846&p d_rd_r=7TJTNTDZKYQH3KM00J7Y&pd_rd_w=jCVzF&pd_rd_wg =C0FEs&psc=1&refRID=7TJTNTDZKYQH3KM00J7Y

A suggestion for the Cotswolds is to visit some of the lesser known villages along with their churches. Again, the idea of just getting lost has its charms.

What are some thoughts on Bourton on the Water as a base? Dubbed Venice of the Cotswolds and we LOVED Venice.

It has absolutely NO comparison to Venice. It is a small town (large village) with a river running down along the ,
main road. It is a decent base . . . But can be VERY over run with visitors/ day trippers from 10am til about 4PM. Especially if you will be here on a weekend or one of the May bank holidays.

but Venice-like . . . Nope.

no better / worse than 30 other villages (except for the mid day crowds . . . But if you are out getting lost touring around, you wouldn't be there in the middle of the day)

been there MANY times but me personally, I wouldn't choose it over places like Chipping Campden, Burford, Stow on the Wold, Winchcombe, one of the Slaughters, etc.

Good heavens, who dubbed it the Venice of the Cotswolds? One of the silliest comparisons I’ve ever heard.

Yep - it is called bat in more that one (stoopid) guide book

RE: Burton on Water and Venice - I think it is a tongue in cheek expression. Of course it isn't meant to be a literal comparison.
A lot a run of the mill colleges jokingly compare themselves to Ivy schools. Like Podunk U, the Harvard of the Midwest.

Sorry about the typo in my post -where did 'bat' come from should have been 'ts called that . . .'

. . . And it definitely not tongue in cheek. It's been called that for decades in various 'serious' resources - including old British Tourist Authority official brochures. Doesn't make a lot of sense but its not tongue in cheek.

We actually quite liked Bourton-on-the-Water, and yes, we saw that nickname on a number of websites, too I remembered when we went to Colmar, which many dub, "Petite Venice." After visiting Colmar, I thought the real Venice should sue for defamation of character. Anyway, Bourton-on-the Water was not busy at all on the day we stopped by (pleasant diversion and got some great ice cream) on our way to the Slaughters, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden. We loved Bibury, which might have been our favorite, although it doesn't seem you can go wrong with "cute" in the Cotswolds..

Burton-on -the-Water is fine, and I remember the great ice cream. It’s just the comparison to Venice that bothers me. Once again suggest that visitors have a look at some of the lesser known villages.