Our trip around the Cotswolds
Jul 13th, 2011, 12:17 PM
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Our trip around the Cotswolds
My wife and I have two days to trip through the Cotswolds. Here is an itinerary, realizing we can't stop explore every town.
Starting at Tewkesbury or Chentenham and traveling to:
1) Broadway
2) Chipping Campden
3) Moreton-in-Marsh
4) Stow-on-the-Wold
5) Slaughters
6) Burton-on-the-water
7) Burford
The following day we would send mostly in Cirencester.
Yes, this is a lot of time on the road. Some suggestions wold be appreciated. I don't have to see all of these towns but I understand they are wonderful.
Thank you.
Starting at Tewkesbury or Chentenham and traveling to:
1) Broadway
2) Chipping Campden
3) Moreton-in-Marsh
4) Stow-on-the-Wold
5) Slaughters
6) Burton-on-the-water
7) Burford
The following day we would send mostly in Cirencester.
Yes, this is a lot of time on the road. Some suggestions wold be appreciated. I don't have to see all of these towns but I understand they are wonderful.
Thank you.
Jul 13th, 2011, 12:33 PM
#2
realizing we can't stop explore every town.>>
or any of them. Have you used a site like viamichelin.com to find out how long that's going to take you?
i like the idea of the day in Cirencester. where are you thinking of spending the night?
or any of them. Have you used a site like viamichelin.com to find out how long that's going to take you?
i like the idea of the day in Cirencester. where are you thinking of spending the night?
Jul 13th, 2011, 01:34 PM
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Well, I suppose you could say Broadway was "wonderful". I visited twice and, both times as I left, I "wondered" why I'd bothered.
T'were me, I'd drop the first four on your list and add Winchcombe and either Stanton or Stanway.
A day seems a long time for Cirencester. I'd do a half day and then visit Painswick or Chedworth Roman Villa.
T'were me, I'd drop the first four on your list and add Winchcombe and either Stanton or Stanway.
A day seems a long time for Cirencester. I'd do a half day and then visit Painswick or Chedworth Roman Villa.
Jul 13th, 2011, 03:16 PM
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Hi tttman,
I don't know how far along you are in your planning, but one idea may be to drive to Cheltenham, stay at the George Hotel (wonderful hotel), and drive/bus to Broadway (pretty little village with a very old coaching inn, maybe do the walk up to Broadway tower), or to WInchcombe (wonderful old church, Sudeley CAstle) or do Stanton and Snowshill. I thought all these villages were wonderful.
I didn't have much time in Cirencester, but seemed a nice place to explore for a 1/2 day. If you like walking and have the time, in your "near Cirencester" day, you may want to drive to Bibury and do the walk that brings you down by the river. If you click on my name, I've written a trip report about Bibury.
Good luck with your planning.
I don't know how far along you are in your planning, but one idea may be to drive to Cheltenham, stay at the George Hotel (wonderful hotel), and drive/bus to Broadway (pretty little village with a very old coaching inn, maybe do the walk up to Broadway tower), or to WInchcombe (wonderful old church, Sudeley CAstle) or do Stanton and Snowshill. I thought all these villages were wonderful.
I didn't have much time in Cirencester, but seemed a nice place to explore for a 1/2 day. If you like walking and have the time, in your "near Cirencester" day, you may want to drive to Bibury and do the walk that brings you down by the river. If you click on my name, I've written a trip report about Bibury.
Good luck with your planning.
Jul 13th, 2011, 08:18 PM
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Hi tttman,
We had an extended stay in London last fall and while we were there, we spent a couple of days in the Cotswolds. Below (below the asterisks) is part of the post I wrote then which you may find helpful.
I'd suggest that you stop at one of the tourist offices early on in your trip and pick up a copy of the Cotswolds Visitors Guide which costs only a pound. It was very helpful in describing the towns and it had a good map. You might even be able to get one sent to you before you go.
Enjoy your trip!
*****
Well, we're back from the Cotswolds and had a lovely time. We've been traveling with our Washington DC friends who we rarely get to see but feel lucky that this is our second visit this year.
They flew into Heathrow and we met them there early Wednesday morning and the we picked up the rental car and drove out to the country. We were there for all of Wednesday and Thursday and came back to London yesterday afternoon. Here are the towns we visited on Wednesday (with mini-reports):
Upper and Lower Slaughter -- very picturesque but you know me; I need a High Street. We did spend quite a while in the church in Lower Slaughter.
Stow-on-the-Wold -- we really only did the town square here because this is where we stopped for lunch. We ate at Stow Lodge Hotel and then walked around the square stopping in a few galleries and shops. I would have liked to see more of the town but if we wanted to see anywhere else, we had to get going because it gets dark so early now.
Bourton-on-the-Water -- I think this was my favourite of all the towns we visited. We had a long walk on the canal, and stopped into a couple of shops including the Cotswolds Perfumery. (We didn't make our own perfume though. You need a day and a lot of $ for that.)
After that, we went to our inn and checked in. We were staying at The King's Head in Bledington and liked it very much. The only problem we had was the wind blowing the outside flaps of the bathroom fan and making a noise but it wasn't much of a problem with the bathroom door shut tight and they said they're working on fixing it. We were also woken up by a rooster the next morning but, hey, it's the country, right? I think the King's Head is quite expensive but because our friends had stayed there before we got a good rate.
We had dinner there that night and it was very good. The breakfasts were included in the price of the meal and they were excellent, with nice choices.
The towns we visited on Thursday were:
Winchcombe -- we all liked this town. We had a very long walk here and a long visit in the church. They were having a Rememberance Day display and we got into a good conversation with a gentleman who showed us some of the war-time photographs, told us much of this history of the town and a great deal about the church. We would liked to have gone to Sudeley Castle but it was closed. It didn't say whether it was closed for the season or just for that day.
Tewkesbury -- We all felt that this was the least charming of the towns but that it had two outstanding points - the church and the very charming teashop named (I think) Bertie's where we stopped for a cream tea. The church was huge and so interesting and we spent a very long time in there. It's worth going to this town just for that. We walked along the Avon a bit but it was not an especially pretty place to do that, and then back on the High Street which, except for some leaning half-timbered buildings, was more of a standard small-town street with your Boots and local Tescoes.
That night we took janisj's suggestion and had dinner at the Kingham Plough which was just a mile from our inn. I'll start by saying that the food itself was very good (although I felt our inn's food was equally good) but I did feel the menu was a bit pretentious. My steak was tasty and well-cooked but honestly, it really didn't seem to make a difference that it was steeped in warm water (or something) for 56 minutes. And adventurous eaters that we all are, none of us was interested in brown bread icecream over prune terrine. Still, if you're interested in that sort of cuisine, this is a good place to go.
Yesterday we drove back to Heathrow via a different route so we could see a bit more of the country and one of the towns we drove through was Bruton which looked very charming. We didn't stop, though, and we got back to London mid-day, checked them into their hotel, and went for a walk.
We had an extended stay in London last fall and while we were there, we spent a couple of days in the Cotswolds. Below (below the asterisks) is part of the post I wrote then which you may find helpful.
I'd suggest that you stop at one of the tourist offices early on in your trip and pick up a copy of the Cotswolds Visitors Guide which costs only a pound. It was very helpful in describing the towns and it had a good map. You might even be able to get one sent to you before you go.
Enjoy your trip!
*****
Well, we're back from the Cotswolds and had a lovely time. We've been traveling with our Washington DC friends who we rarely get to see but feel lucky that this is our second visit this year.
They flew into Heathrow and we met them there early Wednesday morning and the we picked up the rental car and drove out to the country. We were there for all of Wednesday and Thursday and came back to London yesterday afternoon. Here are the towns we visited on Wednesday (with mini-reports):
Upper and Lower Slaughter -- very picturesque but you know me; I need a High Street. We did spend quite a while in the church in Lower Slaughter.
Stow-on-the-Wold -- we really only did the town square here because this is where we stopped for lunch. We ate at Stow Lodge Hotel and then walked around the square stopping in a few galleries and shops. I would have liked to see more of the town but if we wanted to see anywhere else, we had to get going because it gets dark so early now.
Bourton-on-the-Water -- I think this was my favourite of all the towns we visited. We had a long walk on the canal, and stopped into a couple of shops including the Cotswolds Perfumery. (We didn't make our own perfume though. You need a day and a lot of $ for that.)
After that, we went to our inn and checked in. We were staying at The King's Head in Bledington and liked it very much. The only problem we had was the wind blowing the outside flaps of the bathroom fan and making a noise but it wasn't much of a problem with the bathroom door shut tight and they said they're working on fixing it. We were also woken up by a rooster the next morning but, hey, it's the country, right? I think the King's Head is quite expensive but because our friends had stayed there before we got a good rate.
We had dinner there that night and it was very good. The breakfasts were included in the price of the meal and they were excellent, with nice choices.
The towns we visited on Thursday were:
Winchcombe -- we all liked this town. We had a very long walk here and a long visit in the church. They were having a Rememberance Day display and we got into a good conversation with a gentleman who showed us some of the war-time photographs, told us much of this history of the town and a great deal about the church. We would liked to have gone to Sudeley Castle but it was closed. It didn't say whether it was closed for the season or just for that day.
Tewkesbury -- We all felt that this was the least charming of the towns but that it had two outstanding points - the church and the very charming teashop named (I think) Bertie's where we stopped for a cream tea. The church was huge and so interesting and we spent a very long time in there. It's worth going to this town just for that. We walked along the Avon a bit but it was not an especially pretty place to do that, and then back on the High Street which, except for some leaning half-timbered buildings, was more of a standard small-town street with your Boots and local Tescoes.
That night we took janisj's suggestion and had dinner at the Kingham Plough which was just a mile from our inn. I'll start by saying that the food itself was very good (although I felt our inn's food was equally good) but I did feel the menu was a bit pretentious. My steak was tasty and well-cooked but honestly, it really didn't seem to make a difference that it was steeped in warm water (or something) for 56 minutes. And adventurous eaters that we all are, none of us was interested in brown bread icecream over prune terrine. Still, if you're interested in that sort of cuisine, this is a good place to go.
Yesterday we drove back to Heathrow via a different route so we could see a bit more of the country and one of the towns we drove through was Bruton which looked very charming. We didn't stop, though, and we got back to London mid-day, checked them into their hotel, and went for a walk.
Jul 13th, 2011, 09:12 PM
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My flatmate has a holiday cottage in Moreton-in-Marsh (how lucky am I!) and we have spent several weekends tootling around the Costwolds towns and villages. In two days, you'd be best served by visiting 3 towns max each day. The drives between the ones you've listed are not that long, even with stops to gasp at scenery or wrong turns taken (there are lots of shortcuts and some longcuts!). Some towns warrant a good wander and time, others are fine to just stroll through the main area and them move one. Of course, this completely depends on what you deem pretty and stroll-worthy, but of your list, I would consider
Moreton-in-Marsh (main street has all you want in terms of pubs, wandering etc, but a few hours/lunch would be enough)
Burton-on-the-Water (very pretty, stroll along the canal as mentioned is worth hours/ a stay)
Stow-on-the-Wold (lots of nooks and crannies to discover, gets busy though. Look at overnight here perhaps. Good places to eat)
Broadway (large for a village, but a village it is. Lots to see, good places to eat, consider an overnight here too)
Chipping Campden (great for wandering, fossicking in shops adn generally slow travelling. Can get busy too, but never feels overcrowded like Stow can)
Slaughter (Lower and Upper - can do a walk from one to the other, very pretty villages, accommodation so another place to consider overnighting in, and Corpse Hill Road in Lower Slaughter was just voted most romantic street in Britain...clearly not for its name though!).
There is a designated "Romantic Road" drive between Broadway and Bourton-on-the-Water, so check Cotswolds website for the route. It really is pretty and covers some of the places on your list anyway, so I'm sure you can work it in to your route, if you haven't already. Check the Cotswolds Tourism website too as there are lots of little festivals/markets at different times of the year which may interest you, depending on when your travelling.
Moreton-in-Marsh (main street has all you want in terms of pubs, wandering etc, but a few hours/lunch would be enough)
Burton-on-the-Water (very pretty, stroll along the canal as mentioned is worth hours/ a stay)
Stow-on-the-Wold (lots of nooks and crannies to discover, gets busy though. Look at overnight here perhaps. Good places to eat)
Broadway (large for a village, but a village it is. Lots to see, good places to eat, consider an overnight here too)
Chipping Campden (great for wandering, fossicking in shops adn generally slow travelling. Can get busy too, but never feels overcrowded like Stow can)
Slaughter (Lower and Upper - can do a walk from one to the other, very pretty villages, accommodation so another place to consider overnighting in, and Corpse Hill Road in Lower Slaughter was just voted most romantic street in Britain...clearly not for its name though!).
There is a designated "Romantic Road" drive between Broadway and Bourton-on-the-Water, so check Cotswolds website for the route. It really is pretty and covers some of the places on your list anyway, so I'm sure you can work it in to your route, if you haven't already. Check the Cotswolds Tourism website too as there are lots of little festivals/markets at different times of the year which may interest you, depending on when your travelling.
Jul 14th, 2011, 07:19 AM
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Skip Moreton as apart from uts main street there's not much else to see unless you wish to visit Batsford Aboretum or nearby Sezincote. Chipping Campden is charming- do go up on yp Dover's Hill for geat views over the Malvern Hills. Bourton On the Water does get over run with day trippers but for good reason. The 'Canal' is actually the River Windrush and you can take a walk along the river bank to Lower & Upper Slaughter. My favourite on your list is Burford... wonderful old church (look out for Native American Indians), lovely main street and gorgeous walks.
Jul 15th, 2011, 08:19 AM
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We just spent 4 days in the Cotwolds, basing in Bourton-on-the-Water. Although there were definitely day-tripers, most of them were within the hours of 11 and 3, and outside of that the town was very quiet. There are quite a number of good restaurants/pubs, and an evening stroll along the canal or to the Slaugters is very pleasant. Also there is a exclusive manor-house type restaurant in Lower Slaughter that looked quite wonderful, though we didn't try it out.
If you're interested in Roman history, we visited the Roman Villa NT site Chetworth, which is just outside Cirencester. They're building a new viewing center and some of it is currently closed off, but what IS open was fascinating. Beautiful drive into the site as well.
If you're interested in Roman history, we visited the Roman Villa NT site Chetworth, which is just outside Cirencester. They're building a new viewing center and some of it is currently closed off, but what IS open was fascinating. Beautiful drive into the site as well.
Jul 15th, 2011, 11:27 AM
#13
The Roman Villa is CHEDWORTH off the A429>>
i last went there about 40 years ago on a school trip. on my way up the Fosse way to visit my mum've often thought about dropping in and seeing it again, on the off-chance I'll enjoy it more this time. has it changed much in 40 years?
i last went there about 40 years ago on a school trip. on my way up the Fosse way to visit my mum've often thought about dropping in and seeing it again, on the off-chance I'll enjoy it more this time. has it changed much in 40 years?
Jul 15th, 2011, 01:37 PM
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Looks like we will drive M5 and exit to Painswick and north to Winchcombe to Stanway and Stanton. This will mostly be a drive thru, turning south to the Slaughters (walk the mile) and then Burton on the Water to end the day.
Next day will be Burford and back to end the day in Cirencester.
A bit of driving, but the scenery looks worth it.
Next day will be Burford and back to end the day in Cirencester.
A bit of driving, but the scenery looks worth it.
Jul 15th, 2011, 11:00 PM
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" on the off-chance I'll enjoy it more this time. has it changed much in 40 years?"
All these villas have intermittent excavations, with displays about what's been found: one going on last time I was at Chedworth (?5 years ago?). Interpretative panels always being added to - and virtually everything in Britain's infinitely better displayed and explained than in 1971. Believe me: no-one on this forum knows more about terminally dismal Britain made its Roman heritage look in the late 60s.
And advancing years, with their attendant increase in astuteness and intellectual curiosity, makes almost anything more interesting to look at than they appeared in our self-absorbed youth. You might wait till the new viewing centre opens - though these "improvements" are more or less continuous.
More dramatically, Cirencester museum (where a lot of stuff excavated locally ends up, though there's tons of it round here and a lot goes to the Ashmolean or the BM) has a lot or recently displayed artefacts, and good stuff about daily life.
All these villas have intermittent excavations, with displays about what's been found: one going on last time I was at Chedworth (?5 years ago?). Interpretative panels always being added to - and virtually everything in Britain's infinitely better displayed and explained than in 1971. Believe me: no-one on this forum knows more about terminally dismal Britain made its Roman heritage look in the late 60s.
And advancing years, with their attendant increase in astuteness and intellectual curiosity, makes almost anything more interesting to look at than they appeared in our self-absorbed youth. You might wait till the new viewing centre opens - though these "improvements" are more or less continuous.
More dramatically, Cirencester museum (where a lot of stuff excavated locally ends up, though there's tons of it round here and a lot goes to the Ashmolean or the BM) has a lot or recently displayed artefacts, and good stuff about daily life.
Jul 16th, 2011, 03:26 AM
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Our favorite towns were Bibury, Bourton on the Water, and The Slaughters.
Someone on this board suggested the ruins at Minster Lovell. It was one of our favorite stops, incredibly peaceful and atmospheric.
Someone on this board suggested the ruins at Minster Lovell. It was one of our favorite stops, incredibly peaceful and atmospheric.
Jul 16th, 2011, 09:56 AM
#17
From the NT Chedworth website >>No access to main mosaics this season (site reopens fully spring 2012)<<
And photos from a local blog http://ntchedworthromanvilla.wordpress.com/
And photos from a local blog http://ntchedworthromanvilla.wordpress.com/
Jul 17th, 2011, 08:50 AM
#19
luvtravel: Can I ask which cottage you rented in Burford? I've stayed in the village several times but the place I preferred to rent was taken out of self catering a few years ago and I'm always looking for replacements . . .
