anna_roz

Dear All -

I would appreciate some input regading a charming, small town/village to base ourselves for a week's stay in the Cotswolds. In a perfect World, this town/village would have some shops, tea rooms and/or pubs within a walking distance, and it would not be too complex to drive out of or return to from day trips. If anyone has specific recommendations for places to stay, this will also be greatly appreciated.

Another question - assuming we arrive in London and either spend five days in London first or at the end of our trip, what would be a good place to train to/from London to pick up a rental car and on to the Cotswolds?

Finally, there are dozens of relevant guide books on Amazon about this region. Do any of them stand out in one's mind as particularly helpful?

Thank you for your assistance,
Anna

goddesstogo

Hi Anna,
My SO and I were in London in the fall of 2010 and took a three day side trip to the Cotswolds. Here's my very long trip report (well, we were there for four months) but on November 13th you'll see some good information about the Cotswolds. The best book we found was the Cotswold guide which we bought at a tourist information shop and it just costs a pound.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m#last-comment

janisj

My #1 choice would be Burford. Small enough to feel village-y, large enough to have good shops, pubs, restaurants, etc.

"<i>what would be a good place to train to/from London to pick up a rental car and on to the Cotswolds? </i>

By far the easiest option is to head out to Heathrow from central London by tube or car service and collect your car there. The airport sits right at the motorway that takes you to Oxford and then the Cotswolds. The only other realistic choice is to take the train to Oxford, and then a taxi toa rental office (best is the Hertz location in North Oxford). But honestly, driving up from LHR is easier.

Mimar

In addition to Burford there are a number of towns in the Cotswolds that would meet your criteria. I'd probably research places to stay and then, from that list, find out what's around each hotel/B&B/cottage. We stayed in Broadway, which meets your criteria. But it felt more like the calendar photo for April than a real, living town. I particularly liked Chipping Campden but it might be too big for you.

TheFlannerpooch

The towns (ie places given a charter to establish autonomous town councils, free of local baronial influence, usually in the 13th or 14th century) that meet your brief AND feel like places real people live, are:

Woodstock (not technically in the Cotswolds, slightly naff immediate countryside and far too near Bloody Blenheim for my liking, but jolly pretty and the Blenheim tourists never get in the way)
Burford, Stow on the Wold and Chipping Campden (my votes)
Northleach, Winchcombe (worth checking, and too often overlooked)
Tetbury

That's it. Anywhere else is too big (Cheltenham), too industrial-feeling (Stroud), too prissy and anyway they're villages (Broadway, Bourton, Burton and above all Bibury) too untouristy (Charlbury and Chipping Norton), or too doesn't quite do it, though surprisingly handsome (Moreton and Witney)

Saraho

We stayed in Burford, thanks to the very helpful advice of Flanneruk, Janisj and several other Fodorites. We took the train fromWindsor to Charlbury and a taxi to Burford. I'll have to check the name of the very enjoyable B and B where we stayed. We thought that Burford had the pleasantest people that we encountered in the UK.

We went on the circle walk to Swinbrook which was the highlight of our whole trip. We walked through farmland, admired the swans on the small river, climbed over stiles, stopped to visit several very old churches and cemeteries and ate a very good lunch at a pub with photos of the Mitford girls. Then we spent time in the nearby church and cemetery, where we were escorted by a most friendly black kitten.

Another day, we took the bus to Blenheim where Churchill was born and went to visit his grave beside
the small church in the village.

We will definitely plan to stay in Burford again.

Try searching For Burford and for the Cotswolds on Fodors. You will find lots of interesting information.

April

I am very interested to know the name of the B&B in Burford, Saraho.

TheFlannerpooch

Burford was nominated by Forbes magazine as the sixth best place in Europe to live.

Cobblers of course: it's a very long way from being even the sixth best place in the Northern Cotswolds to live and its food shopping, and public transport links, are by Cotswold standards a disgrace. However, you need a helicopter to get to all the ghastly "celebrities" Forbes claims live there, so there's no risk of bumping into them, and its house prices are high enough to deter the hoi polloi.

However thoroughly unsatisfactory a place to live in, though, it's close to perfect as a base for well-heeled visitors with a car. The Swinbrook circular walk is officially rated by FlannerUK Global Unsolicited Advice Inc as the world's absolute finest, easily accessible, rural walk - and by me as the world's single finest walk of any kind for spaniels. Just make sure you look carefully at the medieval wall paintings in Widford church for useful moral guidance.

Katie7

Hi:

We just did a similar trip and choose to stay in London for the first few days, rather than try to drive after an oveseas flight. We took the tube to Heathrow to pick up our car then drove to the Cotswolds from there.

We rented a self catering cottage near Moreton-in-Marsh, so I can't help with B and B's. We loved renting the cottage as we could prepare our own breakfast and dinner. It also had alot more indoor and outside space.

I bought some fairly nice (and cheap) guidebooks at Tesco once we arrived in the Cotswolds. I couldn't find a Cotswold specific book in the US, although I didn't try Amazon (like to look at them before I buy).

We visited Snowshill and Hidcote Manor Garden and loved both. It was springtime, so full of spring flowers. Snowshill Manor contains an interesting collection of items, from toys to ornate furniture.

Enjoy your trip!

Ackislander

I am interested to see that flanneruk has assigned posting duties to another member of the family, perhaps as a result of recent anti-snark activity.

Is the UK going soft? First CCTV and "social housing" (perhaps the most disgusting example of 1984-speak), now the need to coddle even idiotic posters, none in this post, I should add.

When I was a boy (fatal words)in Witney, a friend's schoolmaster frequently shouted "Are you stupid, Boy, or merely idle?" I suppose that now he would be accused of violating my friend's self-esteem. Thus do we document England's sad decline.

But pretty much any walk in the Windrush or Coln valleys is still worth it.

Saraho

We stayed at Westview House on the High Street in Burford, Ask for the room with a deck overlooking the back garden.

TheFlannerpooch

" pretty much any walk in the Windrush or Coln valleys is still worth it."

The Boss has a temporary essay crisis, where getting reports to clients on time takes priority over offering useful advice to self-reliant travellers. He promises normal service will be resumed shortly, so I've temporarily taken over.

I thought you'd all be interested in one unpublicised thing about walking the Coln Valley between August and May. The local hunt.

Scandalously, I was kept in the car last weekend when driving parallel to the Coln with the Boss and Mrs B. The road suddenly filled with great huge horses (they're always trying to kill me, and I can't understand why I'm not allowed to bite them), ridden by blokes in red suits all surrounded by foxhounds. I wanted to ask them how they stop those horrible horses having a go at them, but my sadistic Bosses wouldn't let me out.

Slowed us up, and stopped me from being let out before it got dark, so I was denied my walk. But the Bosses thought it looked pretty, and their friends said the hunt's out every couple of weeks this time of the year.

The local retired Chief Constable said hunting isn't really illegal now we've got nice Mr Cameron running the country. It was only illegal when that loudmouth Mrs Blair was telling her husband what to do. So worth looking out for in the area. Let's hope you let your dog go and talk to the foxhounds.

anna_roz

Thank you all so much, and Janice and Flanner! I am starting to get the big picture. So, if we plan 14 nights on the ground, we could make it 15 if need be, and I am thinking five nights in London, and I could stick with the week or augment it to another five in the Cotswolds, is there another base we should consider without rushing like mad? A saw a thread re including North Wales in a trip similar to this planned. Does this make sense?

As far as places to stay in Burford, there is not a bunch on Trip Advisor which are exciting sounding. I saw Lambs Inn in Karen Brown's guide. Since this is our first journey to the region, I would rather stay in a small hotel or a B&B, not self-catering, so that we could ask for advice from the host, etc. I feel like we may need a little more guidance, little less independence on this trip.

Of course, I have to add that I am not privy to any past history between Flanner and unmentioned party(ies), but I am enjoying the prose. Also, Janice, you helped us plan our trip to Scotland in 2008, which was fantastic! Thank you again.

janisj

Some hotels/B&B in Burford to check include

The Lamb Inn, Burford House, Golden Pheasant, The Bull, and the Highway Inn

All are in the middle of town -- I have not stayed in any since I usually rent a cottage for a week at a time. But have walked past all of them countless times and eaten or had drinks in most. My guess is any would be fine. The Lamb is a bit upscale - just depends on your budget

How did it end up w/ the other couple and the luggage in Scotland??

Saraho

We liked Westview B and B because it was at the quieter end of town, but just a short walk away from restaurants, pubs, town museum and beautiful church.

We loved North Wales, too. We stayed at Conway in our all time favorite B and B, Bryn which is right against the castle wall. Also we spent several nights in Gwydir castle which was a unique experience.

anna_roz

Thank you again for all the feedback. I will check out the recommended places to stay. So, is including North Wales an option on this trip?

Janisj - I am amazed that you remembered the friends and luggage tribulations! Every person was limited to a carry-on and one hand piece, be it a purse or a shoulder bag, and it worked out fine. We all still had a sweater or two that we did not even get to wear, even with this limited luggage. As far as traveling with friends, it worked out pretty good also. We enjoyed the togetherness although I did have to twist my girlfriend's husband's arm a few times into having a proper lunch vs. grabbing an undefined piece of pastry at a gas station. Hope to return one day. Scenery and Skye in particular pretty much knocked our socks off!

Katie7

You might also want to look into the Great Britain Heritage Pass. It allows free admission to most sites throughout the UK. We used it in the Cotswolds and southern Wales and only had to pay for Broadway Tower (minimal admission free). We visited Snowshill, Hidecote, Blenheim, Anne Hathaway's cottage and several castles in Wales, as well as several other sites that I can't remember off the top of my head. We definitely got our money's worth. I bought them online and we picked them up in London. I think you could buy 1, 3 or 7 day passes. They also give you a little guidebook that explains what places accept the pass.

TheFlannerpooch

"You might also want to look into the Great Britain Heritage Pass."

To save you the trouble, it no longer exists.

texasbookworm

Yes, sadly there is no more Great Britain Heritage Pass.

But there does still seem to be an English Heritage Pass
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/d...-visitor-pass/
I didn't investiage this just now, except it does seem to be accepting 2012 orders. Look and see if there are enough sites on its Pass to make it worth your while. The GBHpass certainly was a bargain for us in 2010, using it in Wales and England. But maybe the English Heritage Pass will still be a help to you.

Wales/Cadw also has a Pass http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/splash;jses...4140162?orig=/
But it doesn't seem to be one for overseas visitors but rather a yearly pass that would be a bargain if you saw lots of places but probably not worth it for a limited visit. I didn't explore their Pass for list of places honoring the pass.

janisj

English Heritage Pass has existed for years -- also the National Trust pass. They have both always been good options. The thing that made the GBHP such a massive money saver was the privately owned properties it covered - Blenheim (sorry Flanner), Warwick, Chatsworth, etc.

That is where the BIG costs are. So the ending of the GBHP is a huge loss to overseas visitors.

Look into the Royal Oak Society-the overseas branch of the National Trust.