Could you ask for anything more?
A cluster of charming villages, set amid rolling hills and narrow lanes—each one with its medieval church, its sun-bleached stone houses and ancient pubs, where delicious pints are served under low beams.
Heaven.
We had to come back.
The Cotswolds is an enchanting pocket of quintessential English countryside—west of Oxford and north of Bath—where market towns and great country houses dot one of the most majestic landscapes in the world.
With mile upon mile of winding footpaths that meander through meadows, over bridges and beside mossy rock walls, this part of the country is a walking paradise.
And if you are like us, and the joy of walking great distances goes hand-in-hand with the occasional search for a refreshing libation, the Cotswolds has you covered there too. In every pub at the center of every village, we found a well-worn stool or a cushion by the hearth, where dark ales, crisp lagers and hazy ciders were slid under our noses and the locals sang their stories while their dogs laid at our feet.
Take a few days to explore the area and wind your way to several scenic highlights.
Here are a few I wouldn’t miss: Stourhead House and Garden, Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucester Cathedral, the Chedworth Roman Villa, Bourton-on-the-Water, Castle Combe, Stow-on-the-Wold, Broadway Tower, and the footpath between Upper and Lower Slaughter.
(This is by no means an exhaustive list, as you will be sure to find countless hidden gems at every fork in the road, as we did.)
Which brings me to a short discussion about “the road”.
As picturesque and quaint as the Cotswolds is, the tranquility and harmonious natural beauty may have been slightly infringed upon while trying to keep pace with the local drivers on the narrow, shoulderless roads… driving on the left… operating a stick-shift transmission with my left hand… navigating round-a-bouts… while reading a map.
On more than one occasion, my wife exclaimed, “We are going to die on this road if you do not slow down,” which I understood to mean, “we should pull into the next pub for some fish n’ chips, Honey.”
Anyway, we all have different memories.
But something we can agreed on, is that one of the most beautiful walks a person can take, is around the lake at Stourhead Gardens. Its stone bridge, domed pantheon and hidden grotto are like something out of a fairytale… or the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice.
Bath, a city at the southern edge of the Cotswolds, is also worth exploring. Appropriately named, due to it’s still-surviving ancient Roman bathhouses (built over natural hot springs), this small city sits beautifully in the valley of the River Avon, just southeast of Bristol.
At its heart, rising from the bustling main square, the awe-inspiring Bath Abbey towers over the hubbub of hawkers and street performers.
Yes, in every way you look at it, the Cotswolds is a jewel of the U.K., a stunning area of natural and manmade beauty.
And if we were being completely honest, this small part of the world would be one of the places Shaunna and I would shake off our wellies… and never leave.
But not just yet.