An Idyllic Day Out in The Cotswolds

 

I watch a lot of British TV - my family jokes that I'm really an old British woman - and one of the places that those TV shows are filmed is an area of England called The Cotswolds. A quintessentially English region of the UK with small villages of honey colored stone, market towns and some of the country's greatest palaces and castles, the Cotswolds have been on my Travel Wish List for quite some time now. I knew it wouldn't be Mr. UR's kind of place so I managed to talk my college roommate into traveling with me to England for her first time and my first time to the Cotswolds. It definitely didn't disappoint and to say that I loved it would be an understatement. Come along with us to the quaint and cosy Cotswolds!

Moreton-in-Marsh

We decided that renting a car and driving on the other side of the road than we were used to was not something that either British citizens - or us -wanted so train travel would be our mode of transport.  We took the train from London's Paddington Station to the small village of Moreton-in-Marsh - one of the few Cotswolds villages with a train station - where we stayed at The Bell Inn for 3 nights. We based here, also, because it was one of the pick up spots for Go Cotswolds day tours which we decided would be our way of seeing the area. (They also pick up from Stratford-Upon-Avon)

Moreton-in-Marsh train station

Go Cotswolds Tours

I couldn't have been happier with the tour company that we used. Go Cotswolds Tours are run by a husband and wife team, Tom and Lisa. Tom is a Cotswolds local, having grown up in the area and decided to share his passion for this area with visitors from all over the world. They run four small group  tours -and also private tours if you so desire - from 16 passenger mini vans. No large bus tours here. 

We took their best selling Cotswolds in a Day tour which is ideal for first time visitors to the Cotswolds, like us. Departures are from two different spots - Moreton in Marsh and Stratford Upon Avon. Their guides are friendly, informative and knowledgeable, the vans are comfortable, they tell you meeting points and times along with where the restrooms are and I just can't speak highly enough about them. We were so pleased and I highly recommend their tour company. So let's get started with the tour!

Dovers Hill

A property of the National Trust, Dovers Hill was our first stop on our tour. At 754 feet and with views over Chipping Campden, there are also perfect views, on a good day, of sheep grazing. Free car park and trails to walk.

Wild quail

Chipping Campden

Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswolds (a market town is a town that was given a royal charter to hold a market by the King) and the first stop on our Go Cotswolds tour. We were dropped off in the center of town and told our meeting place and time. We sauntered off and visited a few shops walking the main street. We stopped at the "wool church" of St. James and walked around Market Hall (from 1627) even though it was not being held on this day. 

Chipping Campden is considered one of the most majestic and picturesque towns in the Cotswolds and I enjoyed our first stop in this bucolic region of England. As for those British TV shows, some episodes of Father Brown, Doctor Who, Poldark and The Crown have been filmed here. 

Market

Thatched roof cottage

Snowshill

Snowshill is the "secret village" on the Go Cotswolds Day Tour - it's where no other tours go and is not very well known. Teeny tiny - it's just houses, a pub and a church - we only spent about 20 minutes here and that was plenty of time. We walked the lanes and took in the church, a few photos with the red phone box and we were off again. 

Knitted prayer book covers

Stow- on -the- Wold

Stow-on-the-Wold sits on top of an 800 foot hill at the intersection of many roads, including an ancient Roman road, the Roman Fosse. (It was founded as a trade town since its location was conducive to such as mentioned above) Famous for the Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold in the English Civil War and for its "Tolkien" door. 

Unfortunately for us, the weather turned miserable when we arrived with spitting rain and bone chilling cold. We decided that the cure for this would be to get something hot to eat and something hot to drink - and preferably in front of a fire. So that's what we did! The Queen's Head Inn was the place to be and we enjoyed lunch by the fire. Perfect rainy afternoon spot.

No shopping was necessary but I did want to see the Tolkien door. The north porch of St. Edward's Church is home to a wooden door - the most photographed door in the Cotswolds - which looks like something from a fairy tale. Or a Lord of the Rings  door. Flanked by two ancient yew trees, it is said to have been inspiration for Tolkien's "Doors of Durin" - remember he spent time in these parts when he was a professor at Oxford. So we dodged raindrops to go see it. There was still a line for photos - despite the rain - but we managed to grab one before it was time to head for the bus

Bibury

The 19th Century craftsman and artist, William Morris, called Bibury "the most beautiful village in England." Most well known for the row of 17th Century  stone cottages that once housed weavers at the nearby Arlington Mill, Arlington Row is one of the most famous row of houses in the Cotswolds, or perhaps England itself. We made a short stop here to take in Arlington Row, the famous Bibury swans and grab a snack at the snack bar (really the only store in this tiny village) The rain was starting to fade so we did the short walk with our tour guide who gave us some history( folks still live in the houses in Arlington Row and have to deal with the mass of tourist who visit daily) and then took some time for photos as the tour was coming to a close.

Bourton -on -the -Water

Bourton-on-the-Water, also known as the Venice of the Cotswolds, was one of my favorite towns we visited in the Cotswolds. Regularly voted as one of the prettiest villages in England, and I can see why. As the name suggests, the River Windrush flows right through town. 

We ambled along the river - by now the weather had turned for the better and the sun had come out - and stopped for some famous Cotswolds ice cream - vanilla and black currant for me. Nothing better than a small, idyllic town and some afternoon ice cream!

Our time here was running out but I knew we had to make it to one more place - The Model Village. The only grade II model village in all of England, this is a one-ninth scale replica of the village built out of Cotswold stone. Quirky? Yes! And so fun. We only had about 15 minutes but that was really all we needed. I'm so glad we made it. See for yourself how cool this place is. (And remember the aforementioned tv shows - that's how I heard about the model village-  an episode of Midsomer Murders was shot here)

We enjoyed our days with Go Cotswolds so much that we took another tour with them the next day. Stay tuned for Part 2 of our days out in the Cotswolds!

How about you? Have you been to the Cotswolds before?