My girlfriend and I will be on hoiday in the Cotswolds in October. Where are the best places to go? I think we might have a wander round Cirencester but where else should we go? We'll be staying in Kingham but can travel all over the place.
If you can brave the heaving crowds, the car museum in Bourton-on-the-Water is quite sweet.
Chelters is nice, and if your GF likes 'just-so' shops, you'll get points for letting her go shopping.
There are some lovely pubs and antique shops in Burford too, if that floats your boat.
If you like animals, there's Cotswold Farm Park. It's a petting zoo really, but, y'know, I'm just saying...
Oh yes, Cotswold wildlife park, just down the road from us. They have giraffes now. Worth a day out if that's your bag.
Bath is a nice city to visit for lunch and a mooch around the shops.
Cheltenham - esp. Montpellier district is good for the same.
Slimbridge if you're into waterfowl.
Do not visit Stroud. It's a dog's a-hole.
Tetbury is twee and nice.
Little bit of a drive but you can easily so the Cheddar Gorge and/or Wookie hole as a day trip.
Stow on the Wold is a lovely quaint Cotswold town with some great cafes, pubs and restaurants. They also have an annual cheese festival in the Autumn which might coincide with your visit.
About 20 mins south of Burford, just off the A361, is the Swan at Southrop. Fantastic restaurant.
Oh, and Lower Slaughter is worth a visit for a nice walk through a classic English village. I can recommend lunch/tea at Lower Slaughter Manor (got married there, very nice).
As above, plus the chocolate-box (i.e. touristy, but shouldn't be too bad in October) Cotswolds bits - Lower Slaughter, Broadway, Chipping Camden, Stow on the Wold, Moreton in Marsh. All good for a wander round and a pub lunch.
Oh, there's some good biking too 🙂
Drop the missus off in Nailsworth and pop on over to Wotton with your bike.
Could do with an extended lunch break.
Cotswolds... quite a big area that, where abouts are you staying?
the swan at southrop & the old butchers in stow on the wold
oh and barnsley house, the village pub in barnsley, cotswold wildlife park, butts farm (great butchers there), take a camera around cotswold water park, hire a boat etc
Yeti - staying in Kingham.
Looks like we'll make a trip to Stow on the Wold = it's nearby.
Various wildlife places look good too.
Lacock village is worth a visit.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-lacockabbeyvillage/
Stow, Bourton, Burford, all mentioned before.
Women seem to love visiting Blenheim too.
Get an OS map and try and drive the length of the Windrush. It's a nice drive and takes in all that's Cotswold'ian.
Actually, I had a plan to ride all the bridges, it would be a grand day out on a bike to be honest.
I've been thinking about taking up that baton, Andrew. Would be a very pleasant ride, and should be a few pubs on the way 🙂
Lacock? Cotswolds? Have they moved it then?
The falkland arms in great tew was pretty good when we went there about 12 years ago....
http://www.falklandarms.co.uk/home.php
Riding the Windrush looks like a great idea for a casual day out... someone please give me a lift to Guiting Power?
+1 Falkland Arms. I grew up nearby, so it was a regular haunt.
Nearby is the Hook Norton Brewery - they still use drays to deliver locally. [url] http://www.hooknortonbrewery.co.uk [/url]
And not far from Hooky are the Rollright Stones. [url] http://www.rollrightstones.co.uk [/url]
Slightly the other way (towards Banbury) is Broughton Castle. [url] http://www.broughtoncastle.com [/url]
Final bit of randomness: visit the bus shelter in Adlestrop. [url] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adlestrop [/url]
Do the ride down river (downhill at least), there's then the couple of pubs down by the thames. Other way and you'll end up in the middle of nowhere.
IIRC there's a bridge somewhere around bourton that's footpath only, but it's cheekily near a road so possible. And I think just up river of burford there's a section that involves you doing a semi-loop as you'll end up on the wrong side of the river. I'm sure I've got it mapped out, I'll have a look....
Theres a half decent maze at Bourton on t water, you can paddle in the river (if it's not too cold) past that theres loads of good pubs and tea rooms, so if you both cycle do a few days touring pubs. Oh and you will no doubt get dragged round your fill of antique shops..
ex-pat - I'd be interested in a copy of that route if you've got it
An American couple 'phone the Tourist Information office and ask; "Are the Cotswolds open on Sunday's?"
Check out the Barringtons and Great Risington. Walks along the Windrush. The Lamb in great Risington is a good pub.
further west Stanton and Stanway, both near Broadway - which is now so Times Sunday Supplementy that its almost a parody of itself! 😉 - the Mount Inn in Stanton has an awesome view over the vale of evesham.
I'm pretty sure that Burford is on the Forbes '10 most idyllic places in the world' list.
Strangely everyone that I know who went to school there has some form of drug addiction.
Do the ride down river (downhill at least), there's then the couple of pubs down by the thames. Other way and you'll end up in the middle of nowhere.
IIRC there's a bridge somewhere around bourton that's footpath only, but it's cheekily near a road so possible. And I think just up river of burford there's a section that involves you doing a semi-loop as you'll end up on the wrong side of the river. I'm sure I've got it mapped out, I'll have a look....
Nice one, cheers!