The Cotswolds

Carole

Well-Known Forumite
We're away on Friday for a very short whistle stop trip to the Cotswolds for just 2 days.

We will be staying at The Lygon Arms in Broadway but we want to look around at various picturesque villages and towns.

I've not been for over 25 years and husband not been at all. We know that we can't cram everything in and I've yet to look at the map to work out a plan of action but before I do I wondered if you had any advice.

I've got a list so perhaps you can either add to the list, or tell me if somewhere is a must see or not worth bothering with.

List... Cheltenham, Chipping Camden, Lacock, Cirencester, Tetbury, Bourton on the water, Burford, Stroud, Stow on the Wold, Painswick, Blockley, Hidcote Manor, The Slaughters, Winchcombe, Sudeley Castle.

Thanks lovely people.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Some guidance on the BotW area is available here - http://www.staffordforum.com/xf/index.php?threads/road-trip.17626/

Wyck Rissington remains my favourite.

I have a copy of ...

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...if you're at home tomorrow or Wednesday.
 

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
Bourton is really pretty but full of tourists and expensive tourist shops.

There are a few nice restaurants in Stow but not much else. Batsford arboretum is worth a visit if the weathers nice.

I would suggest that the slaughters are more of a pleasant scenic drive rather than a stopping off point.

Painswick has rococo gardens that are worth a visit.

Broadway is a pretty village with pubs, restaurants and shops and the tower has views over to Wales.

There is a steam railway that runs towards Cheltenham from Toddington.

I would avoid Cirencester, Stoud and probably Cheltenham ( at a weekend) although there is some interested architecture around Cheltenham and a really great restaurant called

The Cotswold Wildlife Park isn't too far from Broadway but I haven't been to it.

The key to staying anywhere in the Cotswold is to do as little as possible and chill out. I would pick a few locations you may be interested in, find a cosy village pub and enjoy the break rather than trying to cram everything into a short break.

Hope this helps.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The thing about Bourton is that the tourists are really confined by their lack of knowledge of the back ways. There are few to be found away from the Green.

Painswick Gardens are nice - impress the locals by saying it as 'panic'.

Broadway Tower views are usually much better in the morning - there is a path up to it from the village - not as far as it looks.

Westonbirt Arboretum is nice.

Swinbrook, the Barringtons and many other less celebrated places are nice - you can almost just pick one at random and wander round it.

Obviously, the Gramaisc Heritage Tour should be done.
 

Carole

Well-Known Forumite
Thank you both.

I do remember reading about your road trip last year @Gramaisc but I very much enjoyed reading it again.
Thanks for the offer of the map but I'm out both days so we'll have to rely on our AA road map.

Thanks also @Thehooperman we're staying in Broadway so that's where we'll be eating breakfast and dinner (Lygon Arms) but we'll definitely try and find a cosy pub for lunch.
I'm not very good at chilling out and doing nothing when visiting somewhere new...fear of missing out on something but we'll just pick out a few places and explore thoroughly.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Thanks for the offer of the map but I'm out both days so we'll have to rely on our AA road map.
I will shove it through the door in the morning - study it well - it really is useful for footwork - a lot of the villages have back ways that are not always obvious to the uninitiated. They can often look like private entrances.

The rural footpaths are usually quite well signed and maintained - they can be very useful.

Pray for good weather - there is little to do if it's wet.

Beware of traffic in the "towns", like Stow on the Wold, around five o'clock - consider having a pleasanter drive along the back lanes.

Locals do not seem to drive in the same maniacal "I know the roads" way that they do around here - but, still beware.
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
We're away on Friday for a very short whistle stop trip to the Cotswolds for just 2 days.

We will be staying at The Lygon Arms in Broadway but we want to look around at various picturesque villages and towns.

I've not been for over 25 years and husband not been at all. We know that we can't cram everything in and I've yet to look at the map to work out a plan of action but before I do I wondered if you had any advice.

I've got a list so perhaps you can either add to the list, or tell me if somewhere is a must see or not worth bothering with.

List... Cheltenham, Chipping Camden, Lacock, Cirencester, Tetbury, Bourton on the water, Burford, Stroud, Stow on the Wold, Painswick, Blockley, Hidcote Manor, The Slaughters, Winchcombe, Sudeley Castle.

Thanks lovely people.
We stayed at The Lygon Arms for three nights last year when attending a wedding nearby. It's absolutely fabulous, you'll love it.
 

Carole

Well-Known Forumite
Map delivered - no cake - gutted.

Yes well I need 24 hours notice and you only gave me 17.

Anyway, wasn't the pleasure of my company enough?

By the time you return to collect the map I shall ensure I have plenty of cake.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Yes well I need 24 hours notice and you only gave me 17.

Anyway, wasn't the pleasure of my company enough?

By the time you return to collect the map I shall ensure I have plenty of cake.
I expect that the savage guard dog will keep it secure for me.
 

Trumpet

Well-Known Forumite
We're going down on Saturday for a village fete somewhere near Gurly's on Sunday. Stopping off en route at Moreton in Marsh, Stow on the Wold and Burford.
Recommend the big garden centre at Burford for half an hours browsing if you're into that kind of thing.
 

PeterD

ST16 Represent.
Prompted me to make sure I book a weekend in Broadway soon. If I can suggest a pub for lunch, Crown and Trumpet, very nice food, friendly landlord.
 

Carole

Well-Known Forumite
So this was our experience of our Cotswolds mini break....

Friday lunchtime we arrived in Chipping Camden and had a wander round before moving on to Broadway.

Had a lovely afternoon mooching round Broadway then we checked into Lygon Arms.

Lygon Arms is undergoing renovations, we knew this at the time of booking.
They "upgraded" us to what they called a "junior suite" but what I would call a dark room.

I think that others might call it quaint, but we hated it.
Much better pictures on the website than the room that we were given.
Too dark to read, or relax.

The service and food was quite dreadful.
We rarely complain about food but this was inedible.
I could go into detail about the whole dining experience and how dreadful it was..but it take up too much time.


I know that this hotel has a good reputation but I'm wondering if the usual head chef has gone...?

Breakfast was nice but we couldn't wait to get away.

Over to Stow in the morning which we loved.

Over to Bourton on the water in the afternoon which I really loved.
 
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Trumpet

Well-Known Forumite
Wow, sounds like not the weekend you were looking for. We've eaten at The Lygon a couple of times and it's been really good if a little pricey, you pays yer money etc.
Glad you enjoyed Stow and Bourton though, we did the planned run to Gurly's via Moreton and Stow and spent the afternoon in Witney, finished up here www.chequerssmokehouse.com , cheap n cheerful with good music. Carnivore heaven and almost next door to Wychwood Brewery. Looking forward to me rice & peas in Oxford later.
 
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proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
Wow, very surprised about the Lygon. Our room (a suite as there were three of us) was great and the food beautifully cooked. So much so that we stayed an extra night over what we had planned.

Hope it didn't ruin your break too much...
 

Carole

Well-Known Forumite
Wow, sounds like not the weekend you were looking for. We've eaten at The Lygon a couple of times and it's been really good if a little pricey, you pays yer money etc.

Wow, very surprised about the Lygon. Our room (a suite as there were three of us) was great and the food beautifully cooked.
Hope it didn't ruin your break too much...

It didn't spoil the weekend at all.
Although we were in The Cotswolds for two full days we only had one night at the hotel.

We were in the room for such a short time so it didn't affect our enjoyment of the weekend, we had such a lovely time mooching round the villages and we were lucky with the weather...glorious sunshine on Saturday down there.

We were unlucky with the room at the Lygon... we'd been given a traditional room when I would have much preferred a modern room (such as they show on the website).
I don't know what's happened with the food though. We'd heard wonderful things from so many people, I can only imagine that the chef they had before has left.

Anyway, we are now looking forward to our next British break.... a cottage booked in Carmarthenshire... this Friday.
Another place we've never visited before.
 
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