Looking for a weekend getaway with the other half and dog. Not going to be riding as will be recovering from carpal tunnel surgery. Pubs, walks and a nice town to wander about would be good. Not sure where to search for accommodation in. Any help appreciated.

Bump.

Come on chaps! This is a proper post.

The Cotswolds is a pretty huge area, from Bath up to Stratford-upon-Avon, and out almost as far as Oxford, taking in Castle Combe, Stroud, Tetbury, Cirencester, Cheltenham, Evesham…
Around Castle Combe there are lots of great walks, a bunch of good pubs in Combe, Biddestone, Ford…
(I’m in Chippenham, about six miles from Castle Combe). Accommodation-wise, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Fosse Farmhouse, which belongs to a very good friend of mine, and which is unique in that it’s featured in a Japanese animé!
http://www.fossefarmhouse.com/Fosse_Farmhouse/Fosse_Farmhouse_b%26b,_guesthouse,_hotel,_accommodation,_self_catering,_castle_combe.html
http://www.otakunews.com/uk/article.php?story=2085

Take up the Counts suggestion , come at the weekend and visit Stroud for the Saturday farmers market .

Available as a guide if required .

We have a great brewery also.

Home 2018

Welcome to Stroud Farmers’ Market

http://www.cotswoldcanals.com

Welcome

Two of my favourites

The Shaven Crown

Falkland Arms

A big group of us hired a house in the Cotswold Water Park.

Not sure I’d want to own a place there but nice to visit.

Oops north, The George at Shipston is rather pleasant.

Just outside Cotswolds but Blenheim palace is a decent dog friendly walk. Can’t go inside though.
Don’t know any dog friendly hotels though.
The Unicorn in Deddington is a nice dog friendly pub, ten mins up from there.

Bath itself is quite a small city, and is very easy to get around all of it on foot, and it has some good pubs as well, like The Raven, several good bookshops, and loads of good restaurants.
There’s walks that take in the Cotswold Way, going up towards Dyram Park, and the views let you see right across the River Severn into the Brecon Beacons, up as far as Sugarloaf.
It’s a beautiful part of the world, and worth repeated visits. 😀

I know this one….. Country Supper! LOL

You should go UrBex underneath Corsham.

Base yourself in Cirencester.
Kings head hotel if you want to stay in town, Barnsley House Hotel if you don’t.

Dog walking in Cirencester Park, or plenty of walks involving country pubs if you get out of town.

Enough restaurants to keep you occupied over the weekend. Ditto for the pubs, although the more Cotswoldy ones are out of town (Wild Duck at Ewen, Keepers at Quenington, Queen Victoria at Southerop etc)

Touristy things to do – Bibury, Chedworth Roman Villa, The Slaughters, The Rissingtons

I’m Stratford based, but chipping campden as a base is nice. Walks on the Cotswold way, broadway tower. Ilmington hill, near National Trust Hidcote, good pub at ebrington. Bredon Hill for a nice walk with great views to Malvern, pubs in elmley castle or the Yew at Conderton. Stow or Moreton in the marsh worth a Sunday stroll

+1 Cirencester, although there are cheaper options than the Kings Head or Barnsley House… Lots of walks to good country pubs

Or Cheltenham, which is a better/bigger town, but still accessible to lots of good walks, although you may drive 15 mins or so to the start of them.

There are also the ‘very’ Cotswold places like Bourton, Stow, Moreton…

just fyi

there is an ebay ad for a hotel in Pershore, we though it was fine.

We enjoyed it (but for slightly surreal reasons) – we met people who talked to us, got adopted by a cat, sat in a still, quiet pub watching a vicar and his flock having a post service pint and counting the collection.

(Oops north, The George at Shipston is rather pleasant.)
Unfortunately the George is closed for renovation at the moment.
The north Cotswolds are very nice though :-).

Horse and Groom at Bourton-on-the-hill is good for food

A big group of us hired a house in the Cotswold Water Park.

Or the gravel pit as the locals call it 😉

Stay on one of the proper little towns and villages not Cirencester or Cheltenham. So go stay somewhere central like Buford, Northleach, Slaughter, or Morton-in-Marsh area.

Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is worth a visit. Blenheim Palace also.

Or the gravel pit as the locals call it

Indeed! Our local gravel pit is Thorpe Park…

Think yours has better scenery 😛

Stratford-upon-Avon

is in Warwickshire

Stay on one of the proper little towns and villages not Cirencester or Cheltenham. So go stay somewhere central like Buford, Northleach, Slaughter, or Morton-in-Marsh area.
Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is worth a visit. Blenheim Palace also.

I’d argue that Cirencester is one of the few ‘proper’towns in the Cotswolds, i.e. where it’s possible to buy something other than a cream tea and shortbread in a tartan tin…

It’s definitely the nearest to Westonbirt 🙂

mst – Member

Horse and Groom at Bourton-on-the-hill is good for food

We stayed there earlier this year and thought it was pretty poor and overpriced. Foodwise, good pudding, but main and starter disinctly average. The younger staff were friendly enough but the older women a bit dour.

I definately wouldn’t recommend staying there, no sound insuluation and they’ve ripped off the ceiling to expose the beams meaning it sounded like you were in the bar while in the bedroom. Obvs., staying in a pub up expect some noise, but when you can hear every word and cutlery clink till almost midnight its a bit much – especially as were then woken by the sound of cleaners around 6am.

Plus breakfast was stingy. Cooked was reasonable, but had to choose between cereal and fruit, bread or croissant, what flavour small glass of juice etc etc. At that price I can’t see the problem with having everything bar the cooked available to help yourself.

mini-rant over 😆

Burford and Chipping Camden are the wife and my personal favourites,
Regards somewhere to stay, cant recommend Star Cottage enough.
Been many times and Peter and Sally make sure its always spot on.

http://www.sawdays.co.uk/britain/england/oxfordshire/star-cottage.

I can also recommend the ‘Maytime Inn’in Asthall just outside Burford,
Lovely accommodation and fantastic food when we stayed there.
http://www.themaytime.com/

Plenty of good walks around the above area and short drives to various other interesting towns and site,

Thanks for the replies

As a long term Cotswold resident I would suggest Sheepscombe or Slad (my childhood valleys) to find a cottage, fantastic walks and stunning. Stroud farmers market on the Saturday morning. Pub wise the Woolpack at Slad is nice. If you fancy some music the Prince Albert in Rodborough is a fantastic lively pub.
I live in Nailsworth/Horsley now and the best restaurant in the area ‘Wild Garlic’ has B&B that our friends love. Again a beautiful area with lots of walks.

I live in the village of Uley..near Dursley.

IF my Springer Spaniel could talk he’d tell you it’s the centre of the universe.

(with the Old Crown Pub,Iron Age Hill fort above us, nice vilage shop & even it’s own brewery I tend to agree with him) 😀

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uley

ps I concur with Tang- espcially Stroud Farmers market is always a nice experience Saturdays.

The Hogg inn at Horsley is another great pub with great food.

Morton in the marsh in nice, but one of the villages will be cheaper, any of the slaughters, or such, stow on the wold.
Try and visit broadway tower and Broadway, that’s nice.
Blenheim is OK
Morton in the marsh has great charity shops, Chippy is a bit basic for shops to mooch around, but you could try and catch a play or something at the theatre.
Cirencester is nice with a great roman museum.
Winchombe is nice, but you do the twon in about 20 minutes unless you like antique shops. Some great walks and a nice castle if pricey.

“moreton in marsh” chippy used to be my bank holiday Monday treat