The Cotswolds
The Cotswolds
The Cotswolds don’t just meet expectations, they exceed them in ways that feel almost unfair to other regions. This Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty sprawls across nearly 800 square miles of rolling hills and villages so achingly pretty they’ve inspired countless romantic films. The secret ingredient? Local honey-coloured oolitic limestone that glows golden in sunlight.
The Classic Circuit: Bourton-on-the-Water earns its nickname ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’ with elegant bridges spanning the River Windrush. Stow-on-the-Wold offers market town charm with antique shops and galleries. The Slaughters—Lower and Upper—feature impossibly photogenic cottages. Bibury made Arlington Row famous, William Morris called it ‘the most beautiful village in England.’
What to Expect: Traditional Cotswold pubs serving local ales, tearooms offering cream teas with homemade scones, independent shops, village greens where cricket is still played.
Useful info:
Time needed at destination: Full day
Average travel time: 1-2 hours depending on destination
Nathan and Laura's English tip:
Summer weekends transform popular villages into tourist magnets. Our strategy? Early starts. Arrive at 9 AM and you’ll have these places largely to yourselves. By 11 AM the coach tours arrive and the magic dilutes. That two-hour advantage is genuinely worth it.
