Last year between May in Tel Aviv and India in December, we didn’t really take much time off work. We did manage to balance the work mania with the odd long weekend in France, Stockholm and Italy. In November we fitted in another of these. This time a weekend staycation in the Cotswolds with Mr P’s parents (although we did both end up working half of the Friday rather than ‘holidaying’)…
Where to stay
The Cotswolds present a hot-bed of fancy places to stay, but they were a little bit too “London” for our purposes. Mr P took the lead for this trip and we found ourselves at The Lamb Inn, in Great Rissington. Amusingly Mr P’s parents found themselves arriving first at another nearby Lamb Inn…
It’s a very old coaching inn. Whilst a little rickety round the edges (the furniture doesn’t match and it isn’t exactly state of the art) the staff are charming and make the stay a real treat. Our room was comfortable, warm and had a separate lounge area which was perfect for pre-dinner drinks and an afternoon doze! Nothing was too much trouble, and sat in the bar on the Friday evening it was like being part of a big family with great banter with the staff and other guests having an early evening drink!
Places to visit
I think it must be hard to have a bad day out in the Cotswolds – everywhere is just so darn pretty.
Bibury is home to the passport-page famous Arlington Row cottages which I have to say are picture postcard cute. The whole village is, in fact. It was a crisp blue sky day and we enjoyed a walk through the water meadow to the cottages before lunch at the Swan Hotel.
Broadway is home to the eye-catching Broadway Tower. If you can tear yourself away from the seriously good gift shop and cafe then do get a ticket to see the castle. It was a folly, designed by Capability Brown and is a fascinating place. It is atop a small hill and is an impressive place. There are different antiquities displayed on each floor of the tower and outstanding views from the roof.
Great Tew and Burford we also discovered were pretty places for a mooch. Lots of shops and pubs at the latter, as well as at least 101 photo-ready cottages! Don’t worry about stopping in Bourton-on-the-Water… Once the poster-girl village it is now full of tat and tourists!
Recommended dining
The food where we stayed was surprisingly good. We dined in on the Friday night and had a real feast. Good quality home-cooked posh pub food. The old-favourites done well and with a good wine list to boot. Breakfast was equally good and set us up perfectly both days. Service was friendly and attentive.
We ate at The Kingham Plough on one of the evenings. It was in fact the evening they’d been toasted by The Telegraph and they had no idea! A suitably rustic setting – dark wood, a romantic dining room and candlelight. It was a really warm place and the menu was just what we needed. Hearty food, yet clever and gastro. Friendly staff too and the place was buzzing.
Lunch at The Swan in Bibury was also a treat. In the summer this place is rammed (we have been for drinks before) but on a quite winter weekday it was very nice – fancy and friendly would be how I would describe it, with a roaring fire! Excuse the chips…
Just one hour from London and a 70 minute drive from the south coast for us – the Cotswolds is a great location through and through. A thoroughly pretty part of the UK with so many little villages to explore. It was lovely to return on a holiday rather than just for my annual work conference.
Is there anything more quintessential British countryside than the Cotswolds!
Author
I can’t get over the cute cottages… I do wonder whether the people that live in them realise how lucky they are!
so pretty! it’s on my English bucket list, a post I just published:)
Author
Good read – and happily so is Cornwall!
I love staying in the country and the Cotswolds is just beautiful! It’s also lovely to stay somewhere a little different and The Lamb Inn looks so quaint and full of character!
Author
Plenty of character, and that was just the bar staff! Anywhere we can pour our own drinks wins my vote!
It’s incredible how many times I’ve gone PAST the Cotswolds on my way somewhere else, and it’s not because I don’t realise how lovely that part of England is. I have to make an effort to sneak at least one weekend there in the next year or two!
Author
Off up the A34 or down the A303 – I know! We do it all the time! Worth a stop if only for a pub lunch in one of the cute country inns!
I recently spent the day in the Cotswolds on a ‘Cotswolds Mystery Tour’. It was fabulous and my second visit to the area. There’s still so much more yet to see, though and The Lamb Inn sounds a lovely place to stay.
Author
I shall be reading that later – it sounds like an interesting day!
I live in the Cotswolds but have yet to visit Broadway Tower, The Swan and the Lamb in! Now you’ve put them on my staycation weekend list – so thank you.
Author
Perfect, I love finding new things on my doorstep! If you have any suggestions for Hampshire for me…
I’m another one who lives right next to the Cotswolds but has so much still to see there! Do love the Broadway Tower but Bibury is one I have been meaning to visit for so long (last time we tried the car broke down halfway there so hopefully it’ll be second time lucky!).
Author
There is so much to see that you’d never go anywhere else if you weren’t careful!
So pretty! Love the autumn colours 🙂
Author
Blue sky any time of year is a dream!
Ah what I would do for a trip to The Cotswolds right now!
Sophie
x
A Story of a Girl
Author
tell about it, I want to go back already and sit by a fire with a glass of wine!
Wow, it looks like you had a really lovely time! That pub you stayed in seems charming, I’ll have to check it out during my next trip there 🙂
Rosalie // legander.co
Author
Such a great break – it was nice to stay somewhere rustic and chilled and very un-London too!