Cotswolds
Jan 7th, 2005 | 09:48 PM
#2
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,092
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Bill2222 - if you have a rental car, then you can cover a fair bit of the Cotswolds. Four days should be okay. Concentrate on the towns & villages as much as possible, they are more scenic.
There are so many towns & villages to visit, eg. Burford, Lower & Upper Slaughters, Stanton, Castle Combe (southern Cotswolds), Broadway, etc, etc, My advice would be - to read books on the Cotswolds (book store or library), then purchase a good driving atlas map (like the AA Big Road Atlas Map of Britain...invaluable), then make some enquiries through a British Tourist Office, and obtain their book on the B&B's in that region, also what hotels are recommended, then compare prices, locations. Then decide whether you want to stay in the town, or out of town on a farm B&B...both options are appealing, it just depends on what sort of person both you & your wife are.
There are so many towns & villages to visit, eg. Burford, Lower & Upper Slaughters, Stanton, Castle Combe (southern Cotswolds), Broadway, etc, etc, My advice would be - to read books on the Cotswolds (book store or library), then purchase a good driving atlas map (like the AA Big Road Atlas Map of Britain...invaluable), then make some enquiries through a British Tourist Office, and obtain their book on the B&B's in that region, also what hotels are recommended, then compare prices, locations. Then decide whether you want to stay in the town, or out of town on a farm B&B...both options are appealing, it just depends on what sort of person both you & your wife are.
Jan 7th, 2005 | 10:22 PM
#3
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 897
Likes: 0
We spent a week there last fall and loved it. Definately agree that a rental car is the way to go. Pick a nice spot and then head out and explore. There are many charming little villages and the countryside is gorgeous. If you want a great B&B, we stayed at the Yew Tree Cottage which is in the tiny little village of Turkdean near Northleach. The accomodations are perfect. Beautiful country setting and Vivien is a great host. On her recommendation, we ate at the Wheatsheaf in Northleach which was excellent and there is a pub (the only one) in the small village of Ford which serves just outstanding fare. Enjoy.
-Kevin
-Kevin
Jan 7th, 2005 | 11:03 PM
#4
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,399
Likes: 0
A car is definitely a must.
Try to pick up a booklet called The Romantic Road by Janna Trollope (available in tourist info offices there) - she gives 2 great driving routes for touring that will take you to man of the out-of-the-way villages and also includes lots of information tidbits.
I can recommend the Olive Branch Guest House in Broadway. A very nice B&B with excellent hosts.
Try to pick up a booklet called The Romantic Road by Janna Trollope (available in tourist info offices there) - she gives 2 great driving routes for touring that will take you to man of the out-of-the-way villages and also includes lots of information tidbits.
I can recommend the Olive Branch Guest House in Broadway. A very nice B&B with excellent hosts.
Jan 8th, 2005 | 03:58 AM
#5
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
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Don't waste time or energy trying to see a lot.
The Cotswolds are unusual among the world's visitor attractions in that there's no one big thing to see, but most of the many minor pleasures offer levels of accessibility to English-speaking visitors unparalleled anywhere else. Nowhere calls out for Slow Travel as much.
One thatched-cottage village is pretty much the same as another, and the best known (the ones listed above) can be downright unpleasant between 11am and 4pm between May and August. Plan to avoid them then: there are much better things to be done.
What the area has, apart from these chocolate-box tourist traps, are:
- First, a glorious collection of medium sized medieval or Roman towns (especially Cirencester, Fairford, Chipping Campden, Northleach, Burford and Stow) each crowned by spectacular churches (Stow's not as good as the others). Each of these churches contains a thousand years or more of continuous community investment, and you really should devote several hours to going through the church in depth. How on earth did Henry 8's barber get so rich as to afford his spectacular memorial in Burford church, and why is it the first depiction of Americans anywhere in the English-speaking world? How do you feel about the monument to Sir Lucius Cary when you learn that 400 years later, his gt..gt...grandson, also Sir Lucius, is running a venture capital firm for high-tech start-ups a few miles away? This isn't great, kings, queens and mega battles history. It's a gazillion minor remnants of how ordinary, moderately affluent, people went about their daily lives.
- Second, England's uniquely accessible landscape. It sometimes feels as if all of our 120,000 miles of rights of way across private property are here in the Cotswolds. However crowded it gets in a tourist village, there's utterly empty bliss 200 yards away up the footpath and onto someone's farm. Understanding how our landscape came to be made is easy, as so much (like the medieval ridge and furrow system of ploughing) is still visible almost everywhere. By far the best way to see the area is on foot. You'll see fewer villages than charging round in a car - but no sight of any village ever matched the view from the hill just over it, looking down towards the church. And walking down the pre-Roman path, into the village (and the sure knowlege there's a pint of Hookey or Breakspear's waiting for you in the pub) is infinitely more pleasant ythan driving round the car parks looking for an empty spot. Or tag onto a lierate organised walk
- Third, some of the most heavily researched territory anywhere. Every town and most villages have both a decent bookshop and a reasonably-stocked library, full of background on how the place comes to be the way it is.
- Fourth, we don't have nature. Everything you see has been man-made over the past 2,500 years (yes, there was life before the Roman imperialists enslaved our freedon-loving people, and those early Britons could rebuild landscapes with the best of them). Most energy has gone into our gardens - spectacular at big houses like Hidcote and Rousham, but in many ways the hundreds of thousands of private gardens are even better. The problem is, though, that most of them are at the back of the house and generally invisible to passers-by. So you need to check with the National Gardens Scheme (www.ngs.org.uk) to see who's opening up their gardens while you're here.
It is possible, BTW, to see a lot of the Cotswolds by public transport if you've a few days: email me ([email protected]) if you'd like a spreadsheet timetable of the bus/train links that there are. You're at the mercy of the timetables, so not every tourist trap is covered. But it really isn't a disaster if you never get to see Castle Coombe, however nice it is.
And if you can stretch to following only one piece of this advice: <b> Walk! </b>
The Cotswolds are unusual among the world's visitor attractions in that there's no one big thing to see, but most of the many minor pleasures offer levels of accessibility to English-speaking visitors unparalleled anywhere else. Nowhere calls out for Slow Travel as much.
One thatched-cottage village is pretty much the same as another, and the best known (the ones listed above) can be downright unpleasant between 11am and 4pm between May and August. Plan to avoid them then: there are much better things to be done.
What the area has, apart from these chocolate-box tourist traps, are:
- First, a glorious collection of medium sized medieval or Roman towns (especially Cirencester, Fairford, Chipping Campden, Northleach, Burford and Stow) each crowned by spectacular churches (Stow's not as good as the others). Each of these churches contains a thousand years or more of continuous community investment, and you really should devote several hours to going through the church in depth. How on earth did Henry 8's barber get so rich as to afford his spectacular memorial in Burford church, and why is it the first depiction of Americans anywhere in the English-speaking world? How do you feel about the monument to Sir Lucius Cary when you learn that 400 years later, his gt..gt...grandson, also Sir Lucius, is running a venture capital firm for high-tech start-ups a few miles away? This isn't great, kings, queens and mega battles history. It's a gazillion minor remnants of how ordinary, moderately affluent, people went about their daily lives.
- Second, England's uniquely accessible landscape. It sometimes feels as if all of our 120,000 miles of rights of way across private property are here in the Cotswolds. However crowded it gets in a tourist village, there's utterly empty bliss 200 yards away up the footpath and onto someone's farm. Understanding how our landscape came to be made is easy, as so much (like the medieval ridge and furrow system of ploughing) is still visible almost everywhere. By far the best way to see the area is on foot. You'll see fewer villages than charging round in a car - but no sight of any village ever matched the view from the hill just over it, looking down towards the church. And walking down the pre-Roman path, into the village (and the sure knowlege there's a pint of Hookey or Breakspear's waiting for you in the pub) is infinitely more pleasant ythan driving round the car parks looking for an empty spot. Or tag onto a lierate organised walk
- Third, some of the most heavily researched territory anywhere. Every town and most villages have both a decent bookshop and a reasonably-stocked library, full of background on how the place comes to be the way it is.
- Fourth, we don't have nature. Everything you see has been man-made over the past 2,500 years (yes, there was life before the Roman imperialists enslaved our freedon-loving people, and those early Britons could rebuild landscapes with the best of them). Most energy has gone into our gardens - spectacular at big houses like Hidcote and Rousham, but in many ways the hundreds of thousands of private gardens are even better. The problem is, though, that most of them are at the back of the house and generally invisible to passers-by. So you need to check with the National Gardens Scheme (www.ngs.org.uk) to see who's opening up their gardens while you're here.
It is possible, BTW, to see a lot of the Cotswolds by public transport if you've a few days: email me ([email protected]) if you'd like a spreadsheet timetable of the bus/train links that there are. You're at the mercy of the timetables, so not every tourist trap is covered. But it really isn't a disaster if you never get to see Castle Coombe, however nice it is.
And if you can stretch to following only one piece of this advice: <b> Walk! </b>
Jan 8th, 2005 | 10:06 AM
#7
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 52
Likes: 0
My husband and I will bringing our bicycles to the cotswold's the end of May and riding solo for a couple of weeks. Since some of you sound very familiar with the area, I am interested in your feed back regarding B&B's and small hotels. 50 to 60 Pounds for a room still seems very high to us. That is $100.00 U.S. dollars and in Europe that usually gets you a pretty good room. We are trying to decide if we should book in advance on the internet or wait till we get there and see if we can find less expensive rooms? Any advice??
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Jan 8th, 2005 | 03:18 PM
#9
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,872
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Mr miglia - The Bank Holiday weekend (27-30 May) is very crowded and if you are going to be in the Cotswolds at that time you definitely must book your B&B well ahead. Before and after that weekend, you could book B&Bs as you go from local Toruist information centers in every town The 2nd week in June could also be a bit crowded because there is a school holiday then. But the crowds won't be anything like over the Bank Holiday.
In Fact, over the Bank Hol., I'd even stay off the bikes except maybe on more remote roads. The roads are narrow and the traffic can be bad in a lot of areas.
As for B&B rates - you can find quite nice ensuite rooms for about £42 to £55 double. And do realize you won't be getting a continental B'fast like in much of Europe - you'll have a really large full, cooked breakfast. £20+ to £30 per person for bed/bath/huge breakfast isn't out of line at all. Do note - many places do raise their rates and/or impose a 2 or 3 night minimum over the Bank Holiday.
Have you considered renting a cottage instead? You can rent a nice cottage for less than nightly B&Bs. Of course, they do raise ther rates for the week that includes the bank holiday. But for the rest of your itinerary you can rent a lovely 2 bedroom cottage w/ a kitchen, washer/dryer, garden, etc for between about £250 to £400 per week.
You could rent a cottage for two weeks and use it as a base to ride/tour all over the Cotswolds.
In Fact, over the Bank Hol., I'd even stay off the bikes except maybe on more remote roads. The roads are narrow and the traffic can be bad in a lot of areas.
As for B&B rates - you can find quite nice ensuite rooms for about £42 to £55 double. And do realize you won't be getting a continental B'fast like in much of Europe - you'll have a really large full, cooked breakfast. £20+ to £30 per person for bed/bath/huge breakfast isn't out of line at all. Do note - many places do raise their rates and/or impose a 2 or 3 night minimum over the Bank Holiday.
Have you considered renting a cottage instead? You can rent a nice cottage for less than nightly B&Bs. Of course, they do raise ther rates for the week that includes the bank holiday. But for the rest of your itinerary you can rent a lovely 2 bedroom cottage w/ a kitchen, washer/dryer, garden, etc for between about £250 to £400 per week.
You could rent a cottage for two weeks and use it as a base to ride/tour all over the Cotswolds.
Jan 8th, 2005 | 03:34 PM
#10
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 52
Likes: 0
Janis,
Thank you for the info on the holidays!We were not aware of them. We cannot rent a cottage since we go from place to place on our bikes with our gear.We will make reservations for sure for the bank holidays but I think we will take our chances after that. It just seems like 50 to 55 pounds for a standard room is really a lot. We might be in for a rude awakening!!! Once again, thank you for the helpful info.
Thank you for the info on the holidays!We were not aware of them. We cannot rent a cottage since we go from place to place on our bikes with our gear.We will make reservations for sure for the bank holidays but I think we will take our chances after that. It just seems like 50 to 55 pounds for a standard room is really a lot. We might be in for a rude awakening!!! Once again, thank you for the helpful info.
Jan 8th, 2005 | 03:39 PM
#11
Original Poster
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
Thank you all for the thoughtful and very helpful advice. It looks like we may try to get around by public transport and we will probably walk about 4-5 miles per day. Again, thank you for your excellent comments.
Jan 8th, 2005 | 09:46 PM
#12
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,872
Likes: 0
Mr_millione_Miglia: Are you planning on spending your two weeks touring the Cotswolds (or even just one week there)?
If so, you could rent a cottage even if you want to ride from place to place. You can settle in a comfortable cottage, and then take local buses to far flung corners of the Cotswolds and ride your bikes back to the cottage/village. Doing this would let you see a LOT of the Cotswolds but still have a "home" to come back to every evening.
Unless you just want the experience of packing and moving every morning, a cottage stay would probably be more comfortable.
If so, you could rent a cottage even if you want to ride from place to place. You can settle in a comfortable cottage, and then take local buses to far flung corners of the Cotswolds and ride your bikes back to the cottage/village. Doing this would let you see a LOT of the Cotswolds but still have a "home" to come back to every evening.
Unless you just want the experience of packing and moving every morning, a cottage stay would probably be more comfortable.
Jan 8th, 2005 | 09:55 PM
#13
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,092
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Bill2222 - I have a book, called "Country walks in the Cotswolds"
each one sets out from the village inn, and returns back to the same inn (good thinking). Unfortunately, this book is packed away in storage in my garage, and I will need to go through the boxes to find this little gem of the book. We have used it, and had fun walks, with a couple of pints at the end. Some of the villages that are mentioned in the book, are not that easyh to find.
I will try & find it, and let you know about these circular walks.
each one sets out from the village inn, and returns back to the same inn (good thinking). Unfortunately, this book is packed away in storage in my garage, and I will need to go through the boxes to find this little gem of the book. We have used it, and had fun walks, with a couple of pints at the end. Some of the villages that are mentioned in the book, are not that easyh to find.
I will try & find it, and let you know about these circular walks.
Jan 9th, 2005 | 10:21 AM
#15
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Janis:
Can I challenge you on your cycle/bus suggestion? Is this really practical?
Offhand, I'm struggling to think of any one place with enough bus routes out of it to make a two week holiday work. Moreton does rather limit them to the area immediately round it, and repeatedly cycling into and out of Cirencester wouldn't be a lot of fun.
More importantly, I'm not at all sure it's possible to put bikes onto the buses, especially if they're not folding bikes. Each company will have a different policy, and the practicality will vary between different buses, even in the same company. Unless someone is prepared to say they've actually done it, I'd strongly recommend anyone planning it check company by company on its feasibility. If my suspicions are ill-founded, I'd be delighted - but it's worrying that I've never seen anyone put a bike on a bus round here.
mr milione: You might be able to find low-priced accommodation in those parts of Europe whose economy is still run on medieval lines, with 10% of the population out of work. Here, however, only the architecture dates from the 14th century. The Cotswolds constitute one of the world's most affluent, geographically diversified, micro-economies. With zero unemployment, an undebauched currency and property prices that faze everyone but Londoners, Sydneysiders and HK-ers, most hotels and the like are pitched at City traders spending their annual bonus on dirty weekends. I strongly endorse Janis' suggestion about renting a cottage.
Can I challenge you on your cycle/bus suggestion? Is this really practical?
Offhand, I'm struggling to think of any one place with enough bus routes out of it to make a two week holiday work. Moreton does rather limit them to the area immediately round it, and repeatedly cycling into and out of Cirencester wouldn't be a lot of fun.
More importantly, I'm not at all sure it's possible to put bikes onto the buses, especially if they're not folding bikes. Each company will have a different policy, and the practicality will vary between different buses, even in the same company. Unless someone is prepared to say they've actually done it, I'd strongly recommend anyone planning it check company by company on its feasibility. If my suspicions are ill-founded, I'd be delighted - but it's worrying that I've never seen anyone put a bike on a bus round here.
mr milione: You might be able to find low-priced accommodation in those parts of Europe whose economy is still run on medieval lines, with 10% of the population out of work. Here, however, only the architecture dates from the 14th century. The Cotswolds constitute one of the world's most affluent, geographically diversified, micro-economies. With zero unemployment, an undebauched currency and property prices that faze everyone but Londoners, Sydneysiders and HK-ers, most hotels and the like are pitched at City traders spending their annual bonus on dirty weekends. I strongly endorse Janis' suggestion about renting a cottage.
Jan 9th, 2005 | 01:38 PM
#16
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,872
Likes: 0
flanner - I bow to your opinion re the buses. I have seen folks put bikes on the bus in Burford a few times, but since I have always had a car when in the Cotswolds I haven't paid that much attention.
If the Miglia's won't have a car then moving every day may be their best option. But that does seem like a drag.
However - If they will have a car - then my idea of a cottage would work out just fine. They could drive anywhere out in the Cotswolds in the morning and do a big loop ride back to the car and then drive back to the cottage. And a good, centrally located village would put them w/i reasonable day rides of vast areas of the Cotswolds w/o even using the car.
If the Miglia's won't have a car then moving every day may be their best option. But that does seem like a drag.
However - If they will have a car - then my idea of a cottage would work out just fine. They could drive anywhere out in the Cotswolds in the morning and do a big loop ride back to the car and then drive back to the cottage. And a good, centrally located village would put them w/i reasonable day rides of vast areas of the Cotswolds w/o even using the car.
Jan 9th, 2005 | 02:26 PM
#17
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 52
Likes: 0
FLANNERUK AND JANIS
Your input on this is really interesting. We have cycled in just about every country in Europe-including 6 times in Germany and 4 in France-We have never had luck putting our bikes on
buses except once in Ireland.Flanneruk's explanation of the economy explains a lot since these prices are so much higher than expected. I do understand now,because the "City People" from New York have also driven up the prices in the "Upstate New York" area my husband is from. It is astonishing at the prices they are willing to pay for food and lodging. So, now I may not like it but I do get it!!
We will do as we have always done,which is make a few reservations and take our chances the rest of the time. We ride with our gear and like the freedom it gives us.
Thank you everyone......
Your input on this is really interesting. We have cycled in just about every country in Europe-including 6 times in Germany and 4 in France-We have never had luck putting our bikes on
buses except once in Ireland.Flanneruk's explanation of the economy explains a lot since these prices are so much higher than expected. I do understand now,because the "City People" from New York have also driven up the prices in the "Upstate New York" area my husband is from. It is astonishing at the prices they are willing to pay for food and lodging. So, now I may not like it but I do get it!!
We will do as we have always done,which is make a few reservations and take our chances the rest of the time. We ride with our gear and like the freedom it gives us.
Thank you everyone......
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