Three Bells vs. Falkland Arms?
 

My husband and I will be in London for four nights in the end of May '04. We will have 2-3 nights after, which we'd like to spend in the Cotswolds. We really wanted to stay in the quintesential country cottage, thatched roof, stone walls, tons of character, well located near pubs, shops, etc., in a village oozing with history. As a result, we have been seriously considering Chipping Campden. That is, until I found out the week we're going to be there, school is out & it's a very popular time of year, so most cottages are rented for a minimum of one week. :( I started looking at hotels & B&Bs from that point & haven't really been excited over much that is within our price range. We're looking to spend under $150 per night. And... the first night we'll be there, is our anniversary. I *think* I've narrowed our choices down to the Three Bells in CC, or the Falkland Arms in Great Tew. I haven't made reservations yet as I keep hoping to find something better.

We will have a car & this is our first time to the Cotswolds. We would rather be in the less of the touristy areas, if possible. We'd love good restaurants, pubs, interesting sights & shops to be within walking distance.

Any suggestions? Any preferences between the two? Any romance in either (besides what we make of it ourselves, that is)?

Thanks much.

OOPS! Make that EIGHT Bells! Silly me. For some reason I keep calling it Three Bells.

Sorry.

If you're staying overnight, "touristyness" is irrelevant. Tourists arrive about 11 and disappear by 4.30: almost nowhere in the Cotswolds has enough bed capacity for tourists to make any kind of impact outside these hours (In Ch C at the height of the season you're outnumbered by inhabitants).

During the day, wherever you are, 150 yds' walk (50 in Great Tew) will get you away from the hordes, such as they are.

Ch C is a proper town: glorious church, medieval market stand, preposterously priced wine merchant (for Gloucestershire's nouveaux riches weekenders, not for fleecing tourists). More thatched cottages than a supermarket shelf full of chocolate boxes. De woiks.

Great Tew has the pub and that's about it. For an alternative to its diversions you can drive to Enstone (two pubs) or try the gastronomic delights of Chipping Norton (locally known as Chippy). Including its OK take-away chip shop (called, you'll be amazed, the Chippy Chippy).

Great countryside in both cases. Gt Tew is great to get away from just about everything. But I'm afraid Ch C wins hands down for pubs, shops etc (ie it has some)

We love both places but flanneruk is right, Chipping Campden is a proper Cotswold town, while Great Tew is a village. It really depends on what you are looking for. In CC you will be able to wander the streets, have a choice of pubs, pick a restaurant out of a handful available, chat with people other than locals, wander into some nice antique stores, see some thatched cottages and lovely gardens, etc. And, even when busy, things slow down after 5:00 pm.

However, if you are looking for the kind of village that Goldilocks lived in then Great Tew is for you. Whenever we go to England we detour there just because it's so damn lovely. Thatched cottages, quiet, an amazing pub (The Falkland Arms) and a little village shop that has a bit of everything. In the evening it's just locals in the pub, many of whom actually commute to London! But other than walks - there's not much else to do.

If I had to pick romance, peace, tranquillity - I'd go with the Falkland Arms. If I wanted more things to do, rest., shops, etc., I'd pick C.C. Either way I'm sure you'll be happy.

Thanks! I'm feeling more confident about choosing Chipping Campden (with a stop off @ Falkland Arms).

I e-mailed Eight Bells & received a response telling me that they are refurbishing their rooms this February & the prices are going up to 85# (how DO you get the "real" pound sign anyway?!).

So, what's Eight Bells like? Cool? Cozy? Generic? I have a slim clue based on the web site, mostly.

:)

TTT

I'm coming in a bit late to this thread & can't help with your Eight Bells question. Wanted to mention I have a book called Special Places to Stay in Britain by Alastair Sawday. They have a website (I think it's specialplacestostay.com) where you might find aternatives. Many of the places listed in my book have only 1 or 2 rooms but look quite charming at very reasonable prices.

Another observation I've noted to other posters, wanting to stay in "not too touristy" locations but be able to walk to good rest., pubs etc. don't usually go together. Where you find rest., pubs, shops you'll likely find tourists :) unless you're willing to stay a bit off the beaten track.

Can't help you on the 8 Bells as a hotel.

But as a (very) occasional drinker there, it's your normal town-centre inn of indeterminate (ie 400 yrs+) age (if that's what you mean by generic). Proper beer (the most crucial criterion), reasonable food, probably hokey legend (about Civil War era priest's passage from church). Civilised (round here that usually means southern hemisphere or continental) staff. Non-smoking dining room.

"Cool" isn't a word we use for Gloucestershire market towns, except in the meteorological sense. All these places are cosy. Cutting-edge fashion it isn't, but it's by no means dowdy or fusty.

If the phrase "town centre" worries you, it is actually an important few yards away from the High Street.

Hi

Great Tew is a village built to resemble the perfect Cotswold village by the local mill owner. As planned villages go, it's pretty good. But these days the property is owned by the wealthy from Birmingham and London as a second home.
The Falkland Arms is charming, and used by locals year round.

There are lots more " Cotswold living" places to stay.

I'd suggest looking at Chipping Norton. Not generally recognised by tourists, but a charming place to stay.

Peter
Used to live near the Falkland Arms, but now here :
http://tlp.netfirms.com

I'd suggest looking at Chipping Norton too. But, given Katie's brief, not for long.

Chippy is one of the most idyllic places to live on the planet. Where else does the view from the treadmill at the health club look over a pre-Roman salt dealers' track? How could Ben Haines leave the Chippy Panto (on till Jan 19: this year Robin of Wychwood) off his list? People come from as far as - well,Moreton-in-Marsh - to see it. Chippy's Friday WI market is unsurpassed for the quality of its chutneys (though the scrum round the cake stand can be dangerous, and if you're not there at opening time, everything will be gone).

And it's exceptionally handsome, and totally tourist-free, and has a couple of reasonable-looking hotels. Perfect as a base to tour the area.

But its shops are mediocre (though there are good antique centres 3/4 a mile or so outside town, walking along Chippy's streets just doesn't match Ch Campden or Burford for retail temptation). Its church can't hold a candle to Ch Campden's or Burford's to loook at (in fact, its claim to fame isn't its reasonable architecture, but the fact that an 18th century vicar was the first person ever to publish the correlation between salicyclates - aspirin - and pain relief. In a more history-deprived country, this would lead to 30 foot posters at the town boundary saying "World Home of Pain Relief". But we don't do that sort of thing in the Cotswolds.).And personally, I find its pubs have a slightly forbidding quality, but maybe htat's just me.

Worst of all for many visitors, it's an almost totally thatch-free zone. The reason is slightly interesting: exploitation of the local roof covering (Stonesfield slate) in the 17th and 18th century accidentally led to some crucial parts of the discovery of dinosaurs. But that's irrelevant if you're looking for the kind of getaway Katie's looking for.

If you can afford it (and it does sound as if you're travelling round the Bank Holiday weekend, when domestic weekends away are especially popular) Ch Campden really is a better getaway option.

flanneruk, where do you live? My step-daughter & family live in Great Tew. We were supposed to go to the panto in Chipping Norton last xmas but missed it because she got the time wrong :(. I had seen fabulous photos of the inside of the theater there in a US magazine.

Thanks so much, everyone. MCLAURIE, I especially liked the "specialplacestostay.com" web site. I haven't pinned anything down yet, but I also haven't made reservations @ Eight Bells yet. Still waiting to find the perfect spot. ;) (Like everyone else.)