Hi-

My husband and I will be in the Cotswolds, staying just on the outskirts of Broadway, for a weekend before continuing on to London for his meeting and some further vacation. We should arrive at our hotel by late morning and will have lunch in Broadway and explore the village that day. The next day is wide open. We will have a car and are contemplating exploring these villages in this order:
Chipping Camden; Stow-on-the-Wold (lunch here); Bourton on the Water and The Slaughters before returning to our hotel.
The following day we plan to go to Blenheim Palace and to Oxford.

Too much? Not enough? I would welcome your suggestions. Thank you in advance.

Fine but not some of the best options IMO.

Broadway really wouldn't require the whole afternoon on day one so I'd drop my bags at the hotel, maybe have lunch in Broadway. Then drive the few miles to Hidcote Manor Gardens (a 15 - 20 minute drive from Broadway) and spend a couple of hours there. Then dip down to Chipping Campden - a 10-ish minute drive from Hidcote). walk around CC and then back to Broadway. (10-15 mins)

Next day I'd plan a loop something like Broadway > Stow-on-the-Wold > Lower Slaughter > Bourton-on-the-Water (though the village does get over run on weekends) > Burford > Hailes Abbey > Stanton > Broadway.

This whole loop would take about 1.5 to 2 hours total drive time and with the various stops would be a great day out. Have lunch in Burford and stop for drinks or early dinner at the Mount Inn in Stanton.

Kiftsgate Court Gardens is next door to Hidcote Gardens but is a very different garden. If open, it is worth considering visiting that as well.

When visiting Hailes Abbey, do go and have a look in Hailes church too - it has some lovely medieval wall paintings.

totally agree -- I should have mentioned the church at Hailes. And Kiftsgate is directly across the road from Hidcote a 6 minute walk . . . or a 1.5 minute drive If you are into gardens a two-fer of Hidcote+Kiftsgate would be about as good as it gets for an afternoon.

Meant to add - another stop you could easily add between Burford and Hailes is Chedworth Roman Villa. This detour would only add about 20 minutes to the total driving time for the day.

Many would recommend also fitting in Bibury (between Burford and Chedworth) -- But I'd avoid it like the plague on a weekend. There is limited parking and it becomes a real bottleneck with day trippers.

Thank you all for your helpful comments and suggestions. Day 1, when we check into our hotel, is our arrival day in the UK from the US. I expect we will be tired, but I like the idea of just dropping the bags at the hotel and proceeding to Broadway for lunch and a little exploration. Driving on to Chipping Camden also may be do-able, before returning to the hotel for what surely will be a much-needed pre-dinner nap!
The Cotswolds contains so many charming villages - it is hard to pick in such a short time. But, based on your suggestions, I guess our Saturday now would include:
Stowe-on-Wold, Bourton, The Slaughters.

If anyone has particular suggestions for a place for lunch in Broadway or in Stowe-on-Wold, I would love to hear them.
We are so looking forward to this trip - our last international trip was to London mere days before the March 2020 pandemic shutdown!
Thank you in advance

Oh -- jeeze . . . are you flying in to the UK long haul and then driving from LHR to Broadway? Sorry but that is a really bad idea. Or are you getting there via some other transport? LHR to Broadway is a 2+ hour drive and should not be attempted with jet lag.

If I actually only had one day free in the Cotswolds I personally wouldn't use it for Stow-on-the-Wold or Upper Slaughter (though both are quite nice) and a Saturday in Bourton-in-the-Water would be crowded and if it is a nice Saturday weather-wise it would be VERY crowded. Parking issues, masses of day trippers (every coach tour in southern England includes B-o-t-W) and all those folks are fighting for the same benches eating ice cream cones from the same few shops.

Leaving the jet lag/micro sleeps/etc aside, I suggested Hidcote because it is glorious and is perhaps a 5 minute longer drive from Broadway than is Chipping Campden. Chipping Campden is a very nice small town (I prefer it to Broadway myself) - but glorious it ain't.

I laid out a day's drive that I personally believe would give you a better taste of the Cotswolds with more variety and better scenery.

yikes, scary idea

On a pleasant weekend Hidcote could very well be crowded, too. Unless one is prepared to seek out lesser-known places, that’s going to be a fact of weekend life.

Snowshill Manor & Broadway Tower for views from its hill are just outside Broadway & very worth visiting. Snowshill has a tearoom for lunch.

It appears they arrive on Friday -- so crowds at Hidcote would not be much of an issue. It is Saturdays and Sundays when places can get overrun. But the main problem is -- Friday is their arrival day after an overnight flight so I wouldn't count on driving to Broadway.

I think you’re underestimating the draw of the best-known gardens, Hidcote & probably Sissinghurst being the ones that most attract general interest visitors. But it depends, too, on the month. Do we know the dates of this visit? In any case, unless I missed it, gardens haven’t been mentioned by the OP. Snowshill is a lovely small manor house with a garden, right on Broadway’s doorstep & possibly more appealing to someone pressed for time & looking for that classic Cotswold prettiness.

To reassure all of you, we have arranged for a driver to take us from LHR to our hotel and to take us to pick up our rental car, near the hotel. We would not chance the drive from LHR to Broadway ourselves, esp when jet-lagged.

So we will have some of Friday afternoon and all day on Saturday to explore. This is the 2nd weekend in June.

2nd weekend in June is fine - its after the special June Jubilee bank holiday this year, and schools will be in session so it is sort of 'shoulder' season without the crowds of the May & June Bank Holidays or the late July/August school holidays. Probably the best time to visit.

BUT - driving on your arrival day (even after being dropped off by the car service) driving isn't a great idea. Curious where you are collecting your rental?? If you are into walking - the Broadway tower is about a mile's walk outside of town. So lunch, Broadway Tower and some easy strolling/shopping/afternoon tea in the Village would be your best bet on the Friday.

On a Saturday in June I would skip Hidcote and Bourton-on-the-Water . . . with the caveat that IF you could get to B-o-t-W before 9AM and on your way out of town by about 10:30 AM when the coaches start arriving. Same with Lower Slaughter - to a lesser extent due to fairly limited parking. OR better IMO - if you did something like the loop I suggested only in reverse order so you are getting to B-o-t-W in the late-ish afternoon -- by then most of the day trippers have left the village,

Yo OP JMK,
We too, are Cotswolds-bound. Those interested in visiting a lesser-known garden than those mentioned above, may want to be aware of the one in tiny Broad Campden. Its name is something like 'Bourton Gardens' which suggests proximity to Bourton On the Hill. It has a cafe. From its imagery/website, it seems pretty chilled-out and even more 'private' in feel.
Best of luck!
I am done. The end.

Thank you, everyone, for your kind replies and suggestions.
Based on what you have said, our Friday now looks like this:

Broadway Tower, lunch in Broadway, long stroll in Broadway

Janisj - I like your idea of reversing the loop on Saturday! So, our Saturday would look like this (I think), but happy to hear further suggestions:

From Hotel to:

The Slaughters
Bourton on the Water
Stowe on the Wold
Chipping Camden

Back to Hotel

Feel free to suggest tweaks
Also, in which village should we plan to have lunch? On the second Saturday in June, will a lunch reservation be necessary?

Thanks again!

Actually I meant doing the loop I suggested up thread but in reverse so you would be in Bourton-on-the-Water towards the late afternoon.

Originally laid out as: " . . . I'd plan a loop something like Broadway > Stow-on-the-Wold > Lower Slaughter > Bourton-on-the-Water (though the village does get over run on weekends) > Burford > Hailes Abbey > Stanton > Broadway"

So in reverse (with one addition) Broadway > Snowshill (added - gardens open at 11AM ) > Stanton (amazing views from the Mount Inn for lunch) > Hailes Abbey > Burford > B-o-t-W > Lower Slaughter > S-o-t-W > Broadway. Total car time approx 2 hours

some explanations/reasons -- this loop includes beautiful views and scenery, very pretty gardens at Snowshill, the ethereal ruins at Hailes Abbey, lovely towns, two not-to-be-missed churches (at Hailes and in Burford), and the prettier of the two Slaughters . . . much more variety and more 'wow' factor than the CC/S-o-t-W/B-o-t-W route.

Here's a day (link below with photos) we had starting in Chipping Campden. The day included Broadway, Broadway Tower, Stanway House & Garden (sadly closed that day, but got some photos), Sudely Castle, St. Mary's Church, Snowshill Manor (very cool), and the little town of Snowshill. Easy day included a fun lunch in Broadway.

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...stles-gardens/

The day before we visited Blenheim Palace and Oxford (link below).

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...palace-oxford/

A couple of days before we started in Tetbury (link below), then on to Cirencester, Bibury (gorgeous town), Burford, Bourton-on-the-Water, Lower Slaughter, Stow-on-the-Wold and then on to Chipping Campden.

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...otswold-blitz/

Have fun!

Broadway Tower


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janisj and maitaitom-

Thank you both so much for your helpful suggestions. I think we will take the "reverse" route you suggest, janisj, on Saturday.

Maitaitom - we certainly will visit - and hope to climb - Broadway Tower. Do you see any need to get tickets in advance. I suspect we also will visit at least one of the pubs and restaurants you mentioned. On Sunday, we will visit Blenheim Palace, Churchill's Grave (though I will learn from your experience and get some precise instructions) and Oxford - another full day.

Can't wait for this trip!

" ... Broadway Tower. Do you see any need to get tickets in advance."

We did not have advance tickets, but their website now states: "Timed tickets purchased in advance from our website will include complimentary car parking." Say "hi" to the red deer. It was a long time ago, so the pubs and restaurants might not be as they were.

https://broadwaytower.co.uk/location/