Sept 2005 Cotswalds self-catering for 4 adults & 3 toddlers. Suggestions please!?
 

I'm looking into a 10 day trip to England in Sept 2005 for 4 adults & 3 toddlers (4,3 & 18 months).

We'd like self-catering. Preferrably a place near the Cotswolds. We would rent a large vehicle for everyone & take day trips.

A 1 to 2 hour train ride & one overnight to London would be ideal.

We're mainly looking for English charm, beautiful scenery, nearby villages with shops to peruse, long walks on country roads, plenty of room for the children to stretch their legs & play, etc....

I've done a lot of "googling" & have a headache. Any first-hand suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!
LoveUK

Virtually anywhere inside the Cotswold AONB (see map at www.cotswoldsaonb.com/map.htm)will meet your brief. Don't waste energy on where's best, as really nowhere in the area is better than anywhere else.

Renting a suitable vehicle actually inside the area might be tricky: you'll find it easy to pick one up in London or Oxford.

Going through rental companies will throw up hundreds of cottages. So you might want to think harder about your criteria. For example:
- how crucial is being able to walk to and (more importantly) from a pub? If you don't think it is, is that because you really want to condemn one of you to stay off the IPA all night?
- do you need to be within walking distance of a basic shop? And if you don't think you do, is that just because you've never experienced the bliss of walklng through a medieval village at 6.30 every morning to collect your pint of milk and copy of your favourite Murdoch rag?
- how close do you want to be a railway station, bearing in mind that only Charlbury, Kingham, Moreton in Marsh and (well, technically not, but they're only a few yards outside) Cheltenham and Kemble are in the AONB and have frequent trains. But remember that there's a group of tiny places (Finstock, Ascot under Wychwood and Shipton under Wychwood) that have one or two trains a day.
- how essential is period charm in your cottage and how many bedrooms do you need? There are actually a lot of not very pretty houses, relatively modern, houses for rent which have glorious views and are five minutes' walk across anm ancient churchyard to an creeper-covered 14th century pub.

Whether you're 10 mins from Broadway or from Burford doesn't matter. Be clear about the other criteria and the choice should make itself.

And googling will be more productive if you remember it's 'Cotswold'

Hey there!!!

The Cotswold is one of my favorite areas in England to visit and we have done self-catering there on a number of trips!!! Check out the tiny medievil village of Stanton which is just a few miles from Broadway! The Stanton Court Cottages are a beautiful place to stay...
http://www.stantoncourt.co.uk/

We usually take the train from London to Bath (90 minute train ride from London on BritRail) and pick up a rental car at the Hertz place right at the train station and drive to the area! Most times, we do spend the night in Bath at a B&B just to relax for a night before heading there! We have explored many parts of the Cotswolds from this location as well as other areas! Any questions....just ask!!!

flanneruk, as usual raises good points. Here are some options.

#1 Expensive but beautiful, kid friendly, Bruern Stable Cottages is one of the few places I'd imagine that would accomodate all of you in one cottage.

www.bruernstablecottages.co.uk.

#2 The Mill at Burford has been mentioned here a lot and is well situated. The website suggests it's for sale though so not sure about the condition of things

The Mill at Burford www.jeremy-holland.ndtilda.co.uk/

#3 Sudeley Castle is a great place to stay. None of their places will fit all of you, but you could split up.

http://www.sudeleycastle.co.uk/holidayacomm.html

#4 http://www.premiercottages.co.uk/.

Website for owners to post directly so no agent fee. On the Cotswolds page, it includes #1 above so you can get an idea of location in relation to other things.

More websites that get mentioned here

http://www.welcomecottages.com/welu_homepage.html

www.manorcottages.co.uk

www.cottageinthecountry.co.uk

Thanks for all the suggestions. We plan to fly into Heathrow & rent a vehicle at the airport.

Googling did produce an overabundance of alternatives, which is why I was asking for some personal recommendations from those who may know of a favorite place.

Can I suggest there seems to be an overabundance because you're not thinking enough about the criteria?

Do you need 3 or 4 bedrooms? There aren't very many Costwold cottages with more than 3, and not that many with 3. And they probably only have one bathroom (which would drive me crazy after one night). Look carefully at the specs, because as mclaurie says, you're probably going to need 2 adjacent places.

With three toddlers, are you happy to share one reception/playroom between all seven of you? For 10 days? Even if there is a decent size lawn outside, it'll almost certainly be too wet for much serious play (the lawn, that is, not the weather)

Are the 4 adults joined at the hip? If not, do you really want to do EVERYTHING together? Whatever you say now, will you think that after several days in the same house? So isn't proximity to buses or trains important if you've only got one car? How far are you comfortable with walking - in the rain - to a bus stop?

Do you really want to drive 15 miles to the nearest proper supermarket when you run out of loo rolls? Or is having at least a reasonable convenience store within 2 miles really rather important?

Many of my American friends stay in places round here that are great for the middle-aged, but would be intolerable for one couple with one bookish 10 year old, never mind the megatons of energy you're bringing with you.

Define what you really need, and you'll find 95% of the overabundant places exclude themselves. No-one else can really tell you which the other 5% are, unless they happen to have been a party your size, with your tastes, planning a 10 day stay in autumn with one car.

And we get very few such visitors here. Incidentally, I seriously suggest you review your "one car" policy.

Flanneruk has given you the most important things to consider. There are MANY lovely places in the area that will meet your needs.

The Mill at Burford maclauie mentions would be perfect for you -- Unfortunately it is not currently open. The last time I rang up the TIC in Burford they said there was no word on when it might re-open. Some problem w/ the sale going through.

And I definitely second the idea of getting 2 cars instead of one huge one. Toting 2 or 3 car seats and all the other gear the kids need would make a peoplemover just too crowded for comfort for the adults.

And then the two couples could do some things independently.

Sudeley Castle Cottages

I agree that the exact place doesn't matter as much as your requirements for the cottage and whether you are in the country or a small village -- my family likes at least two bathrooms, a village with some shops, but not too big, and certain beds -- not always the easiest thing to find.

After you've got a cottage, invest in a copy of the Good Pub Guide and study it and mark pubs with playgrounds around where you plan to be. Almost anywhere in England is going to have wonderful walks and day trips. We use this for our lunches and dinners and almost always are quite pleased with our meals. It also provides a meal destination and stops all the angst of where will a big group (with multiple kids) eat.

Best of luck, you'll have a great time.

We just booked a cottage in Moreton-in-Marsh using Manor Cottages:

http://welcome.to/manorcottages

We've used them before and they have wonderful cottages and wonderful services. They have a service that will pick you up at Heathrow and take you right to the cottage. Also, they will provide a rental car - deliver it right to your cottage. At the end of the trip, they pick up the car and take you back to the airport. Very, very nice. And not expensive, either.

We have stayed all over the UK and this was the nicest agency we have used. We picked Moreton-in-Marsh because there is a train station there in case we want to go into London. Or take the train to Oxford. Very convenient.

They are definetly the Cotswolds, not Cotswold. I should know, I live on the outskirts.

I am curious as to what you found. We will be 6 adults and 5 kids and will visit the Cotswolds in May....

Thanks

Alison

Both Cotswold and Cotswolds are perfectly fine to use for a quick google.
For example the Cotswold Wildlife Park the Cotswold Woollen Weavers, the Cotswold way,
Then there is the Venice of the Cotswolds, the Cotswolds Farm Park, Cotswolds AONB,etc but never the Cottswalds as I have often encountered, so perhaps we need to inform Samantha Brown and the Travel Channel!!

We stayed here three years ago (2 couples), and found it to be a nice place. We stayed in the Bull Pen. It slept at least 6 - we used only two bedrooms, each with a double bed (with their own baths) there was another bedroom that we didn't use. Two of the bedrooms are on the ground floor, the third is upstairs and would be a little more private (but watch for low beams). Because there are several units here, you may be able to book more than one of them and get the togetherness and separation you want.

www.greymillfarm.co.uk

Try Campden Cottages www.campdencottages.co.uk They have a lot of very interesting cottages in the North Cotswolds (Chipping Campden, Broadway, Blockley, etc.) and a number of them have 3-4 bedrooms with several bathrooms. We have stayed in a number of them and all of the cottages were period cottages, very charming and well furnished. Also the women who run the company have high standards and are on hand to help you with whatever you need. I highly recommend them.