A Whistlestop Tour of The Cotswolds

I'm lucky enough that my parents live only an hour away from the Cotswolds, so when visiting them recently, we took the opportunity to travel via the Cotswolds on the way. If you can, I'd definitely recommend staying in the Cotswolds to enjoy the area longer or go on some of the beautiful local walks, but if time is of the essence then you can definitely do it in a day. If you are planning a visit, I'd urge you to drive though, as local transport isn't that regular so if you miss the bus you'll be waiting 2 hours for the next one! 

We started our day bright and early in Castle Combe, a quintessential Cotswolds village full of charm. Castle Combe is known as one of the prettiest villages in England, so its no shock that its popular with tourists. If you're planning a visit I definitely recommend getting there early to avoid the crowds, the shops won't be open yet but you'll have the village to yourself without having to share the narrow streets with hundreds of other tourists. 

After Castle Combe we headed to Bibury, about a 45 minute journey down the road. Unfortunately when we arrived the heavens opened, so while it was a very quick stop in this village, it was still very pretty. We headed to Arlington Row, a famous row of houses in the village which used to house weavers who worked in the Arlington Mill. After we'd seen Arlington Row, we went to the Trout Farm for breakfast, and despite the downpour, it was an amazing bacon sandwich so I'd highly recommend. 

While we were in the area, we headed to Daylesford Farm to visit their famous farm shop. We wandered around and picked up a few bits to take to my parents - there is a whole room dedicated to cheese - need I say more?! I honestly could have spent hours here. 

After we'd dropped a small fortune at Daylesford, we headed to Stow-on-the-Wold. We went to St Edwards Church to see the famous door that inspired the Lord of the Rings, and popped into the cute shops like Cutter Brooks. By this time we were feeling a little peckish again, so we shared a baked Camembert at The Porch House, the oldest inn in England. 

If we'd have had more time we could have spent another day travelling around the villages, and if the weather had permitted! But if you're in the area and have a car, I'd really recommend doing some village hopping and taking in the quaint countryside villages.