Cotswolds - Land of Honey Colored Homes
/Hues of honey colored homes and manicured landscapes. Yep, you have just entered the Cotswolds.
Over the Christmas break I was going a bit stir crazy. I wanted to explore an area close to home, but not packed with tourists seeking Christmas markets. I broke the trip into the Northern Cotswolds and the Southern Cotswolds. Not really referred to as this, but two distinct areas with so much charm.
Day 1 – Northern Cotswolds
Chipping Campden was great for a nice morning stroll through the famous market town. The town is most known for its wool and market square. Many of the well-known sights are right along the High Street. If you follow the “Cotwolds Way” signs towards the bottom of the village you will come upon Hoo Lane. The houses along this historic street were picturesque. The thatched roofed architecture seen in many of England’s oldest villages. I am sure you can spend hours gazing through the boutique shops, but we headed up the road to Stow-On-The-Wold to get a glimpse at one of the oldest Inn’s in England.
Stow-On-The-Wold was quite compact with many of the 1500 and 1600 century sites right in the main quarter. If you plan to visit The Porch, which is said to be the oldest Inn in England, I highly recommend booking in for lunch. We were lucky enough to try the pubs namesake beer the 947 AD. The service and cuisine did not disappoint on a cold winter day. The fireplace set in the middle of the pub brought a warm and cosy vibe to building. Have a peek around the venue as numerous signs share a bit of the history around the Pub and the local village. A quick photo stop around the town and we headed to one of the more famous villages Bourton-on-the-Water.
Bourton-on-the-Water was by far the busiest village we visited. I highly recommend coming early and parking down at the miniature museum at the end of town. The village has a series of bridges connecting the two banks with some of the most wonderful views. We spent an hour or so strolling through the various alleyways and streets. The village had an auto museum and a handful of pastry shops. We stopped into the Bakery on the Water for some fresh bakes sweets for an afternoon snack.
Just a few villages away from finishing the day, we started our way towards Bibury. Bibury is one of the more well-known villages, known for its postcard picture-perfect Arlington Row. A stopover in Burford to see another picturesque village filled with medieval homes and historic buildings. I have to admit that Burford was well worth the stop. Take a stroll down Sheep street towards The Lamb Inn, a view not to be missed. The bustling market town is set out on a hill; making the architecture different from many of the other Cotswolds villages. We made it to Bibury right before sunset. The iced over roof tiles and smoke coming from chimney’s truly made the moment spectacular. Many of the tourists were nearly gone, which enabled us to get some amazing photos. A trip up to St. Mary’s Church and we called it a day. We stayed the night at the most incredible B&B, The Priory Inn of Tetbury. If you want the most incredible pizza, then this is the place. People come from all over the world to try some of their brick oven pizzas. All ingredients for the restaurant are bought within a 30 mile radius, even down to the grain for the dough. The prices were reasonable allowing me to splurge on the England cider sampler and salted cookie dough ice cream and caramel cake. The day was done and I had officially eaten my way through the Northern Cotswolds.
Day 2 – Southern Cotswolds
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