Tetbury anyone? Cotswolds?
 

If you are familiar with this town in the Cotswolds can you give me your thoughts about it. We are hoping to spend 4 weeks in the Cotswolds this upcoming year and think this looks like a nice place to settle in. Any other towns in the Cotswolds you can personally recommend would also be welcome.

I like Tetbury. There are some very good walks in the area if that interests you, including through the Westonbirt Arboretum. The Macmillan Way joins up with the Cotswold Way nearby giving one some interesting options.

I also like Winchcombe, a nice town not very overrun with tourists so retains a more "normal" atmosphere than some Cotswold places. And I think I like Wotton-under-Edge, not far from Tetbury, best of the 3. I've spent some time in all of them and prefer any of these to the more famous places to the north and east.

thanks! will check these towns out.

Tetbury is surrounded by rolling English countryside just like in the movies -- indeed, several productions have been filmed in the vicinity. Prince Charles' summer home, Highgrove, is outside town, but don't expect to drop in for tea. Sometimes its organic gardens receive visitors but you need to get on a waiting list. His organic products are sold at high prices by a shop in the centre of town.
The Duke of Beaufort's hunt still assembles its hounds and horses from Badminton House near Chipping Sodbury, legally of course, and spectators will be regarded with suspicion in the current atmosphere of controversy.
There remain a sprinkling of country pubs, but with enhanced menus, and the gentleman farmer rubbing elbows with you at the bar may be spending the weekend away from his business in London. I can recommend The Ormond in Tetbury both for well-mannered beer and fairly ambitious cooking.
Lots of info on the Internet; start here: http://www.cotswolds.info/places/tetbury.shtml

Highgrove isn't as inaccessible as its reputation implies.

They're now offering public tours of the gardens. Tickets for this summer go on sale February 13 (www.highgrovegardens.com/garden-tours.html), and though they're about £20 a head, there's a remarkable story behind what Charles has done with them, and how it all works, and you get a huge amount of guiding in the tour.

Westonbirt has a big school next door, which annually puts on the current production from the fabulous Bampton Festival Opera (www.bamptonopera.org/current.htm): second only to the Chipping Norton Pantomime as the Cotswolds' major artistic powerhouse. They do only the operas Mozart had to compete with, but have now been forgotten: fantastic tunes, brilliant production, amazing recent conservatoire graduates performing and even sillier libretti than Mozart. This year (August 26) it's Grétry's L’amant jaloux and Philidor's Blaise le savetier.

No, I haven't either. But in 1780 they'd have got audiences as big as Les Mis these days. And every Versailles cabbie would be whistling the tunes. If they'd had Muzak, you'd have heared the tunes in every shopping mall.

thanks southam, your description sounds interesting - sounds like the pubs and restaurants are more sophisticated than one would think!

flanneruk, I will check out buying tickets for High Grove Gardens. The link (on my computer) was broken. That is definately something we would be interesed in. Thanks so much!

Tetbury is a great place to base yourselves. I live a few miles away, so if you feel like a mini-GTG, let me know.

It's an easy 30 minute run to the Park & Ride on the hill above Bath.

Places to visit nearby are Chavenage House, which has been in lots of TV and films
http://www.chavenage.com/index.html
also Berkeley Castle, Owlpen Manor, Kelmscot Manor, and then a bit further away you've got Sudeley Castle, and the rest of the more 'typical Cotswold towns and villages'.
Plenty of gardens to visit, Rodmarton is close by and several other local ones.

There are open-air concerts at Westonburt Arboretum on several weekends through the summer. Take a picnic and party! http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-738jen

There are many very pleasant pubs in the area too, and don't miss the little market towns of Nailsworth and Minchinhampton. There are good restaurants in both.

I'll probably think of lots more, but if you have any questions please come back and ask.

Well it looks like Tetbury it is! Thanks so much Julia and we will definately be in contact for a mini GTG! Next we have to decide when we will be traveling. I would like to go during the Christmas holiday time anywhere from Dec. 17 and return anytime around Jan. 25.

I have 5 weeks vacation but my husband is not sure yet how many weeks he can comfortable take off work.

B & B's or nice rental suggestions anyone?

Thanks again to everyone.

I don't know any places around Tetbury, but there's a really nice little cottage in the village of Bisley, which has been rented by a few fellow Fodorites.

Songdoc and Maudie both stayed there, and wrote trip reports mentioning it...

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...in-5-weeks.cfm


Links to the cottage details

http://www.niceworkuk.co.uk/cottages/nwc0010.htm

http://www.cottageguide.co.uk/coopers/

If I think of anywhere around Tetbury I'll let you know.

here's another vote for Tetbury. lots of nice little tea-shops, restaurants, individual rather than chain stores, a weekly market, and lovely countryside. i make a point of stopping there when i am en route from cornwall to coventry, and always enjoy stopping there, whether to have a mooch around the shops or a coffee in the Snooty Fox.

if you wanted somewhere slightly bigger [to visit if not to stay in] the Cirencester is very nice. lots of lovely shops, restaurants, plus museums and an excellent market.

to the south of Tetbury, Westonbirt is indeed a treasure, but the whole of the Fosse Way [the Roman Road that runs from Bath to Lincoln] is worth exploring.

have a great trip!

Julia, I briefly had a few minutes to check out songdoc's trip report. His photos are amazing. I will print out tonight and my DH & I will enjoy reading his TR.

Hi ann, we have also thought about staying in Cirencester but Titbury seems to be tops on many lists. I love the name Snooty Fox! It must be fox & hound country :)

"the Roman Road that runs from Bath to Lincoln"

Tut, tut. From a West Country girl too.

From EXETER to Lincoln. And runs straight from Lincoln all the way to Ilchester. The Romans knew what to do with Cotswold NIMBYs wanting their cottage to be bypassed.

They went all soft once they got to Dorset and started allowing bends.

Nanabee, remove the parenthesis from the Highgrove link and it will work. Your trip sounds lovely!

Lee Ann

<<I love the name Snooty Fox! It must be fox & hound country >>

Tetbury is at the heart of Beaufort Hunt country. Kennels are at Badminton House which is the home of the present Duke.

The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (Charles and Camilla) both hunted regularly with the Beaufort. And many, many years ago, so did I. The wall of my father's garden was the boundary between Beaufort and Cotswold Hunts - and our stables were just on the Beaufort side!

Don't shoot me down for hunting - it was just something we all did growing up in the country, it was expected of us, and frankly I have nothing to feel ashamed of.

I am not sure if Chavenage is going to be open to the public in 2012. I seem to remember that it stopped doing that after last season.

One place I can recommend is Woodchester Mansion. It is a large Victorian house that was never finished. Apart from being a bit spooky, you can see how the building was constructed and there are things like long ladders and a huge T-square that were used in its construction. Details are at www.woodchestermansion.org.uk, but note that opening times are limited and it's quite a walk from the car park.

I can also recommend the Roccoco Garden at Painswick, although you will be too late for the snowdrops. Details at www.rococogarden.co.uk/. There is outdoor theatre there in July.

julia - I just finished reading Forever Rumpole by John Mortimer (love him!) and he did a short story about the fox hunt in the Cotswolds - the woman was murdered by her husband's mistress while on the fox hunt. Hopefully that never happened in real life. I know it is controversial in England, but in the US it doesn't seem to be an issue we talk about much :)

I'd seriously have second thoughts about mid-Advent to late Jan, though.

It's tricky from a pricing point of view (whatever you do, hotels and cottages want to jack prices up between Xmas and New Year), though that mightn't matter much in the overall scheme of things.

The problem is what happens after late Dec. We rarely have serious winters, and there's lots to do for 2 or 3 day visitors, even though most big attractions close till late Feb.

The weather's gloomy (even I don't walk the Flannerpooch as much, and he's got no complaints). Public activities (like concerts, Am Dram and evening talks) slow down: lots of people are away somewhere warm, and choirs and actors are rehearsing for their spring show. Getting dark at 4.30 and not getting light till 8 cramps many people's style.

If we live here, that's how things are and we write our novels, start our courses in Sanskrit, relaunch the business or start plotting to undermine the Tories' grasp on power in the May elections and the gloom actually helps all those things. But if I came here as a tourist - well at the very minimum, I'd stuff the Kindle with the entire corpus of Western literature, make sure the cottage had a smart HD TV (with guaranteed Freesat access), very fast WiFi and a Lovefilm subscription, and I'd have at least three strong personal improvement objectives (like, learn Thai cookery, lose 10 lbs and master the history of English gardening in the 17th to 19th century).

But if I'm honest: if I didn't live here (by which I mean the Cotswolds), I wouldn't spend the chilliest and darkest bit of the winter here. I'd happily spend it in London, and possibly Oxford. I'd even think of spending it close enough to Oxford (Charlbury springs to mind) to be able to wallow in the concerts and talks that carry on through the winter in towns like Oxford, or split my time between the Cotswolds in the runup to Xmas and somewhere more vibrant in Jan.

Personally I believe fox hunting's immoral, though I'd fight tooth and nail to defend people's right to hunt vermin any way they like, just like I'd defend adulterers' rights to screw around . But a weekly meet really doesn't make up for the inevitable chill of a Cotswold January the other 27 days

Oh do read/absorb flanner's last post. Was pretty near what I thought the instant I read Dec/Jan in your post. He gave more/better details/reasons than I would have. Just about nailed it. . .

I love the Cotswolds and could very happily spend a month there almost ANY time of year. But late Dec through Jan -- not so much. I lived near there (on the other side of Oxfordshire) and Jan. could be pretty dreadful. Of course, living there the gloom was broken up by Christmas festivities, house parties, trips into London for dinner/shopping and such. But the damp/short daylight/lack of activities might wear after a week/10 days

thanks flanner and janisj -- last night my DH and I were wondering about the weather in Dec/Jan. I meant to post the question last night but then woke up to flanner's helpful post this AM. So, maybe not winter then! Would November be slightly better? If not our next choice would be August 2012 or April (but then we'd have to make it April 2013 which is too far off).

he did a short story about the fox hunt in the Cotswolds - the woman was murdered by her husband's mistress while on the fox hunt. Hopefully that never happened in real life. I know it is controversial in England, but in the US it doesn't seem to be an issue we talk about much >>

lol, what bit was controversial? the foxhunting or the murder?

flanner - mea culpa. I knew it was Exeter really, my fingers mis-typed.

i have to agree about the trip being in winter - even in a mild one like this, you will probably be quite restricted in what you can do out of doors. November might be better, but it's still gets dark early and can be pretty dismal. April would be my pick, but if you can't wait, August would be better than the winter.

hi ann, well if you know the Rumpole stories - he can be pretty outrageous. :) I love his books.

We wanted to go off season and have more time in Dec/Jan but are definately not going now based upon the wise advice from everyone. We might be able to go in April this year but would be pushing it. It may have to be Aug after all, but we really wanted to hunker down and avoid the tourist season.

hi ann, well if you know the Rumpole stories - he can be pretty outrageous>>

when i was a trainee lawyer, i was almost a "pupil" in his chambers - so he's a hero of mine too.

how cool ann!
my husband is a lawyer here in the states. he does criminal appeals for a non profit corporation in california.

I wouldn't worry in the slightest about the tourist season. If you're staying here, there isn't one. A handful of towns (of which Tetbury isn't one) get a short uplift in visitors between 11 am and 4 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from Mothering Sunday (4th Sunday in Lent: mean date March 18)to Michaelmas (Sep 29)

If that's your only experience of the area, you can convince yourself there's a tourist peak, which is why there's so much claptrap churned out by the untravelled about crowds on forums like this. Accommodation has slightly different peaks, geared to school holidays, half terms and dirty weekends.

Nov's a better idea than Jan (especially if it goes into enough of Dec for carol concerts etc, which peak around Dec 15), but depends on what you want to do (some attractions close in Oct, reopen during Advent then close till early March). There was a trip report from one of the US regulars here about five years back about an extended session in Nov/Dec in North Oxfordshire (I think it was Adderbury or Deddington), and her comments (generally favourable) would apply to you as much.

Can't find it (pre-dinner cocktails clicking in already) but someone else might remember.

>>There was a trip report from one of the US regulars here about five years back about an extended session in Nov/Dec in North Oxfordshire (I think it was Adderbury or Deddington), and her comments (generally favourable) would apply to you as much.

Can't find it (pre-dinner cocktails clicking in already) but someone else might remember.<<

It took a little digging, but I think this is the report. Rickmav spent four months in England and Italy.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...land-italy.cfm

Lee Ann

well done, Lee Ann - that's the one.

some great ideas even if nanabee decides against a winter trip.

I <i>think</i> Rickmav's TR is the one flanner means (Took me a while - it was a year farther back than i remembered)

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...in-england.cfm

Its an absolutely fabulous report of 7 weeks in Wilmcote and 1 week in Stanton St John.

thanks for the suggestion flanner and lee ann and janis for finding the reports - have some great reading to do tonight ...

Oh I was still searching while Lee Ann found the other thread. Her link is the 'overview' and mine is the long detailed one about their time in England.

We have decided to go to the Cotswolds in April of 2012, instead of next Dec/Jan. How's the weather generally that time of year? After googling, it appears the temp in April is 12 degrees C or around the mid 60's F. Does it rain a lot as well? The weather isn't a deal breaker, but would just like an idea of what to pack.

"Does it rain a lot as well?"

It never rains a lot in England (even when it's wet, it rains little but often) And now we're now formally in drought.

Contrary to ill-informed stereotypes, England gets very little rain, and we don't have the huge natural reservoirs of snowy mountain tops, lakes or long wide rivers other countries have. The past few winters, even by our parched standards, have been exceptionally short of rain

The past is never a guide to the future with British weather, so it might (we all hope) rain all the time you're here. No offence, but our gardens matter a great deal more to us than our tourists. So it might rain, or it might not. We won't know till it happens.

Prepare for anything - including overnight frost at night (a virtual certainty at least one April night in the Cotswolds, especially once you've put the basil outdoors to harden off) and daytime temps in the mid to high 70s. Relying on average historical temps gets you nowhere.

12 degrees C is the low 50s F, but really the temperature is unpredictable long in advance, and will depend on whether you go early or late in April.

As for rain, it might rain, or it might not. At present we are enjoying a period of settled weather, but with some early morning mist. Its good weather for walking round towns and villages, or round Westonbirt, the major local attraction as Highgrove is only open for those with U.K. passports and who can book long in advance.

Realistically, you should pack on the basis that it is likely to rain at some time during your visit, but the easiest thing is just to stay indoors if it's raining heavily. As for temperature, something windproof but not too heavy is probably best. Thin layers would be helpful.

"Highgrove is only open for those with U.K. passports and who can book long in advance."


Apparently, the restrictions no longer apply:

http://www.highgrovegardens.com/garden-tours.html

thanks chartley and flanneruk.
I wasn't going to apply for tickets to Highgrove, but after reading the link flanner, I am now going to try. I figure if I sign up early enough I will have a good chance.

That the weather might be drizzley and cool is fine with us. I didn't mind the thought of origianlly going in Dec but everyone said it will be too cold and dark so that is why I wanted to check on April's weather. We live in a sunny climate so getting away to somewhere warm is not a priority. :)

You can anything in April in south Gloucestershire - literally. My daughter's birthdays are in April. Some years in mid-April we'd have children's parties where we were blessed with brilliant sunshine and got the water slide out, other years there could be snow on the ground and we'd be passing the parcel and in front of a roaring fire! (Though snow never lingers at that time of year.)

But I have to say that the average April is fairly decent weather. Pack light layers, a waterproof/windproof jacket and an umbrella.

Tetbury has 3 charity (thrift) shops, Nailsworth has a few, and Stroud has about 10! If you are cold you can always buy yourself a fleece or sweater for less than a fiver.

Hope you have a lovely time here in my neck of the woods. If you'd like to meet up, email me [email protected]

Thanks julia, I will be in touch! :)
But, it'll be next April of 2013.

Oh, OK, but you wrote April 2012 above! I thought you were coming next month.

Never mind, see you next year.

Hi Julia!
I wish it was THIS April!!
I can't get to England fast enough.
My husband and I have always said if we were independently wealthy we'd fly over to England every weekend!