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While London is a big draw and the main reason people travel to England, there is so much more to the country than its capital. Don’t get me wrong, I love London, it’s my favorite city in the world and I’d go back anytime. But limiting yourself to the city is such a disservice when the country has so much to offer.

So when you’re dreaming of getting off the Tube and into the countryside, look no further than the Cotswolds. If you are planning a trip to England and want to channel Elizabeth Bennet walking through a muddy field (IYKYK), then keep reading for your complete Cotswolds travel guide.

What is the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds is a region of England lying northwest of London, about two hours away. It includes over 800 acres of pristine villages and landscape and makes up England’s largest AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). You really can’t beat that title and accolade.

This region is defined by the small towns and villages that are full of history, may have some strange names (looking at you, Stow-on-the-Wold), and are identifiable by the distinct honey-colored limestone that makes up most of their buildings. While visiting the area you’ll see sheep-dotted hills, lazy winding rivers, and picturesque viewpoints. The beautiful scenery makes it an incredible place to explore on foot, through the valleys and the hills, getting up close and personal with the surroundings.

In fact, among the many, many walks and hikes available in the Cotswolds, the town of Winchcombe hosts a walking festival every year, and many people opt to try the 100-mile Cotswold Way, which takes you from Bath to the town of Chipping Campden.

Grab my thoughtfully curated destination guide to Bath, England below

Most importantly, the Cotswolds is where you suspend your disbelief a little bit and just let the place work its magic. Not every destination needs to be busy, packed every minute and exciting in the obvious sense. Sometimes travel means slowing down and embracing the small things around you, like a historic church, a local chocolate shop, or a short jaunt up a hill overlooking the English countryside.

If you are feeling suspicious about whether this is up your alley, check out my post about who should and shouldn’t visit the Cotswolds.

Who Should Go to the Cotswolds

While I personally love the Cotswolds and everything a day in the life of visiting the Cotswolds looks like, I can also recognize that exploring this area of England is not for everyone. So before you download the hype from the internet, let me lay out who exactly would enjoy a trip to the Cotswolds.

You’re okay with seeing all the seasons in one day: if you are looking for a sunny vacation, this isn’t it. England has particularly finicky weather and the Cotswolds is not exempt from that. Even in the summer, the region can have rain and chilly days, so plan accordingly.

You don’t mind a slower vacation: even if you jam-pack your days and try to see everything the Cotswolds has to offer on your trip, you won’t be bustling around like you would in a larger city. Which is actually such a plus. Slow down and take your time to enjoy the small details in the Cotswolds.

You don’t mind driving: while visiting the Cotswolds is doable without a car, if you are trying to get the best bang for your buck, you’ll want to rent a car. I’ve driven on the left a handful of times and it’s really not as confusing as it seems. Check out my guide to all things rental cars here.

You don’t mind that the most exciting thing you may see in a day is a slow-moving creek and a historic church: the Cotswolds is full of history and beauty, but this isn’t the Colosseum or even Big Ben. It’s churches from the 1600s, historic trading posts, and pubs that inspired Tolkien. If that sounds interesting to you, then you’re in the right place.

How Long to Spend in the Cotswolds

If you’re not like me and plotting how you can move to a picturesque village to live out The Holiday while finding your own Jude Law (I say as a happily married gal), then I guess we can talk about time to spend in the Cotswolds.

Your timing depends on a few factors:

• What areas you want to visit
• Where you base yourself, or if you plan to change locations every couple of nights
• What outdoor pursuits you want to accomplish (if any)
• Whether you are depending on train travel or have a car

I’ll tell you what I did to give you an idea. We stayed for one week, with some of those days being Christmas Eve and Christmas. Additionally, we arrived later in the afternoon on the first day. So that really breaks it down to just five full days of exploration, with one of those being Christmas Eve.

In that time, I visited around 13 towns and went on one hike. I had a car and was able to drive myself, which greatly helped my ability to explore.

Itinerary Ideas

If you want to skip ahead and read an in-depth post on Cotswolds itineraries, check out my write-up here that gives detailed ideas on how to spend your time if you have 3, 5 or 7 days to visit the Cotswolds.

One Day

If you don’t have time but still want to dip your toes into visiting the Cotswolds, day trips are absolutely doable. There are a few that leave from London and allow you to see the Cotswolds without the hassle of staying overnight or renting a car.

Ready to Explore? Book Here ↓

2–3 Days

Focus on basing yourself in one region, which could look like this:

• Stay in the south: visit towns like Bath, Lacock, Castle Combe, Tetbury, Stroud, and Cirencester.
• Stay in the east: explore villages like Bibury, Burford, Asthall, Kingham, Charbury, and Chipping Norton.
• Stay in the northwest: stop in places like Winchcombe, Blockley, Moreton-on-the-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, Upper and Lower Slaughter, and Chipping Campden.

This lets you focus on a smaller area instead of trying to tackle the whole region. If you don’t have a car, this would be a good option. Regional buses are much more manageable this way, and it’s easy to grab a train from London to one of the bigger towns to begin your adventure.

5–7 Days

If you have this much time, I absolutely would recommend renting a car. You’ll be able to adventure throughout the region and dictate your own schedule. We chose Winchcombe as a base, which was great for exploring a lot of the small towns in the northwest of the Cotswolds and only put us about an hour away from the more southern towns like Castle Combe.

Area Overview

Here is a short recap of the regions and why you would want to visit them. Just know that these regions and divisions have all been divided and named by me, so don’t start Googling “Classic Cotswolds.” I mean, you can, but it may not be what you’re looking for.

Classic Cotswolds

This includes the towns you probably imagine when you think of the Cotswolds: Stow-on-the-Wold, Upper and Lower Slaughter, and Bourton-on-the-Water, famous for the River Windrush running through it. These villages are small and all possible to explore on foot.

Don’t miss the mini village in Bourton-on-the-Water, which is a verbatim replica of the actual town. So cool. Otherwise, these towns are separated by minimal driving. If you take a one-day tour from London or Bath, these are some likely stops.

Southern Cotswolds

The southern Cotswolds comprises the towns of Castle Combe, Lacock, and Tetbury. Castle Combe has been named one of the prettiest villages in the Cotswolds. Don’t miss exploring the gorgeous Castle Combe Manor, view of the town from the river/bridge and end your visit with a stop at Old Stable Tea Rooms.

Lacock is famous for its Abbey, which is not to be missed, as multiple scenes from Harry Potter were filmed in the Abbey and village. Finally, Tetbury is an antique lover’s paradise.

Eastern-ish Cotswolds

Visiting the west allows you to explore Burford, Cirencester, Bibury, and Asthall. Cirencester is one of the larger towns in the Cotswolds and has a beautiful church, the Church of St. John the Baptist, that you can’t help but gawk over.

Burford is said to be the gateway to the Cotswolds and was home to the wool trade in the olden days. While you may not spend a ton of time there after walking up Burford Hill, you will want to stay longer in Asthall, which is quite tranquil and home to an impressive Roman church from the 12th century.

Finally, don’t miss a visit to Arlington Row in Bibury, which is home to some of the most famous cottages in the Cotswolds.

Stroud & Golden Valley

In the west side of the Cotswolds you’ll find Stroud and the Golden Valley. Stroud has some of the best walking in the Cotswolds over its hilly terrain. This is where you really get off the beaten path, away from the crowds in the classic Cotswolds towns.

The nearby town of Painswick is peaceful and refined. Bonus points in this area are its proximity to the towns of Gloucester, Cirencester, and Cheltenham.

North Oxfordshire

In the North Oxfordshire region of the Cotswolds you’ll find Chipping Norton, Charlbury, and Kingham, to name a few. There are a number of great pubs in Charlbury, and Kingham has great access to London via train.

But a lot of the fun things to see and do in the North Oxfordshire area are actually outside of the main villages. Diddly Squat Farm Shop from the well-known show Clarkson’s Farm is in North Oxfordshire, as is Daylesford Farm. You could spend a day at Daylesford shopping their farm store and home goods, or explore the farm and stay for a meal at one of their restaurants.

Northern Gateway

At the northern edge of the Cotswolds you’ll find Chipping Campden, Blockley, and Moreton-in-Marsh. Chipping Campden is the well-known starting location of the Cotswold Way 100-mile walk through the countryside. But strolling through the town is just as fun as getting out into the grassy hills.

Full of sweet little shops, a historic church, and a trading post, you can easily spend a day or afternoon exploring the town. Moreton-in-Marsh hosts a robust market every Tuesday, but don’t miss having a pint at the Bell Inn, which was Tolkien’s inspiration for the Prancing Pony in The Lord of the Rings.

Broadway Hills

Finally, the Broadway Hills include the towns of Broadway, Stanton, and Snowshill. With sweeping views overlooking the entire AONB region, you won’t be disappointed.

Make sure to visit Broadway Tower for its history, incredible views, and the on-site deer park, which makes it great for kids. While you can walk through Snowshill in about five minutes, it’s worth swinging by to see its historic manor. Escape to the fairytale village of Stanton with its timbered buildings and typical limestone manors.

Getting Around

The best way to get around the Cotswolds, without a doubt, is by having a car. The freedom of a car will allow you to access not only the towns and villages of this AONB region, but also restaurants, sights, and unique experiences outside of them. Not every site to see sits in the middle of town. Getting out of the villages is necessary for a true Cotswold experience.

We ate at some amazing pubs while in the Cotswolds, but most of them sat outside of the villages, in those in-between spots down winding roads between towns.

I truly believe that anyone with a bit of confidence can rent a car and drive on the left. I’ve driven on the coastline of England, through the Cotswolds, and down crazy “two-way” roads in Ireland where you are almost kissing a brick wall as you let people pass. It isn’t for the faint of heart, but it is absolutely worth the effort. Read more on driving abroad here.

Public Transport

Fear not, if driving isn’t doable for you, the public transport access to the Cotswolds gets better and more creative as time goes on.

Trains

You can easily take the train from London to one of these larger hubs to connect to your time in the Cotswolds:

• Bath
• Charlbury
• Cheltenham
• Chippenham
• Evesham*
• Gloucester*
• Hanborough*
• Honeybourne*
• Kemble
• Moreton-in-Marsh
• Oxford*
• Stratford-upon-Avon*
• Stroud
• Swindon*
• Ashchurch*
• Cam & Dursley*

The starred train stops are on the outer edges of the Cotswolds but have public transport access to nearby towns. For example, if you take the train to Honeybourne, you will be just outside of Chipping Campden, which is a great place to start your journey.

Bus

Once you have accessed the Cotswolds via train, it’s time to load onto a bus. Some things to be wary of when taking a bus through the Cotswolds:

• There are nine different companies that serve the Cotswolds region.
• Bus service wraps up around 6 p.m. most days, not including Sundays and public holidays, which have their own schedules or sometimes nonexistent service.
• Busy bus routes may have several buses throughout the day, but less common routes may only have two buses a day.
• You are completely beholden to the bus timetables.

Bus travel is absolutely doable and relaxing when you get the hang of it. But it involves a lot of pre-planning of routes and sticking to a schedule. If you miss the bus back to your home base and it was the last of the day, a taxi may end up setting you back a bit of money.

The main bus companies are Stagecoach and Pulham’s Coaches, so start there when it comes to planning your route.

Taxi, The Robin & The Cotswolds Pass

Because the bus routes end earlier than most would like throughout the week, you can reserve a taxi if you are wanting to have dinner out of town or in a neighboring town. Reserving in advance will ease your mind about making sure you get back to your home base after a nice pub meal.

The Robin is a new and amazing little service in the Cotswolds. It is a combination of a taxi and bus that provides on-demand mini-bus rides to lesser-known spots throughout the region. The Robin is how you get to more rural villages that traditional buses don’t serve.

There is no regular timetable for this service. Instead, it creates a route based on what people are looking to do. You can book up to two weeks in advance via their website or phone, or up to the hour before you want to depart.

You can only book The Robin by region, so if you want to go from Chipping Campden down to Tetbury, that isn’t possible on a single Robin mini-bus. Instead, you would have to find a common destination where the services connect and then change to another bus.

The Robin is also great for walkers. If you are heading out on a long trek and don’t want to make the return walk, you could opt for a ride on The Robin to get back to your home base, or even back to where you parked if you rented a car.

Safety

While the Cotswolds are safer than a lot of big cities, being a tourist still paints a bit of a target on your back. Keep an eye out for anyone getting too close to you or acting suspiciously. Make sure your personal belongings are secured and, if you are driving, that anything important in the car is tucked away in the trunk.

Here are the UK emergency numbers just in case:

• EU emergency number: 112
• UK emergency number: 999
• Non-emergency line: 101
• Urgent medical problem and need advice: 111
• Or visit 111.nhs.uk

What’s Actually Worth Seeing

I really have nothing negative to say about the Cotswolds. It absolutely caters to one part of my travel style, and that’s the slow part. Strolling through small villages, learning the history of seemingly inconspicuous sites that end up being significant and centuries old, popping into unique shops full of handmade products where the owner is the one ringing you up and giving genuine thanks for supporting their small business and having too many coffees, teas, pastries, and sweets throughout the day because each bakery deserves a stop-in. Walking through muddy fields, waving to sheep, and getting amazing views under that overcast lighting. That, to me, is travel magic.

Don’t get me wrong, I love beach lounging, exploring busy cities, and seeing famous sights, but this is the other side of travel that I adore.

With that said, if you are coming to the Cotswolds to be stunned, wowed, and mesmerized by the sights, I’d recommend going somewhere else. I visited 13 towns during my five days in the Cotswolds and while I enjoyed every minute, and each place has something different to offer, I can see how it may get redundant for other people.

If I dumb it down, each town has generally the same thing: a historic church, a few other historic buildings like trading posts, manors, or homes of famous people, some cafés, restaurants, and shops. I say this kind of hating myself for saying it that way. But I also want to be realistic.

So instead of saying you absolutely need to go see one hyper-specific thing, I’m going to create an essential Cotswolds visiting guide. Here are the things you absolutely have to do, and you get to choose in which towns you do them based on what interests you most.

Essential Cotswolds Sights

• A historic church: like St. John’s the Baptist in Cirencester, St. James Church in Chipping Campden, or St. Mary’s Church in Chipping Norton.
• A countryside walk or hike: like the Bourton-on-the-Water to Stow-on-the-Wold circular, the Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter loop, or the Castle Combe and Nettleton circular. While not necessary, getting a little muddy is part of the fun.
• A historic manor, building, or sight: Blenheim Palace, Sudeley Castle in Winchcombe, Lacock Abbey in Lacock, or the Manor House in Castle Combe.
• A pub lunch, dinner, or pint: The Horse & Groom outside Bourton-on-the-Hill, the Kingham Plough in Kingham, The Potting Shed in Malmesbury, or The Farmer’s Dog in Asthall.
• Coffee, tea, and pastries at a bakery: Bakery on the Water in Bourton-on-the-Water, Mor in Chipping Norton, or Otis & Belle in Cheltenham.
• Window shopping or actual shopping: all the towns have their own little boutique-filled streets, but my favorite shopping was in Burford and Broadway.

If you hit one thing from each category, I’d say you’ve had a true Cotswolds experience.

Dining

The number one most important thing to do when you’re visiting the Cotswolds is go to the pub. This is an English requisite and you can’t leave the country without having a pint, NA if preferred, in a cozy stone pub.

The Cotswolds has some of the best pubs in England, in my personal opinion, and you can find one that caters to whatever you’re feeling that day. Fine dining? Check. Cozy seats and a fire in the grate? Check. Lively atmosphere? Check. Locals approved? Absolutely check.

While each town has a pub, some of the best ones are tucked on the narrow winding roads between the villages. Here are some of the best, some personally tested, pubs in the Cotswolds to add to your list.

• The Fox Inn: Moreton-in-Marsh
• The Double Red Duke: Clanfield
• The Bull: Charlbury
• The Swan: Swineford
• The Fox: Oddington
• The Wild Rabbit: Kingham
• The Chequers: Churchill
• The Bell Inn: Langford
• Eight Bells: Chipping Campden
• The Lion Inn: Winchcombe
• Horse & Groom: Bourton-on-the-Hill

If the pub is not your thing, well, don’t go to the Cotswolds. KIDDING.

In all seriousness, there are plenty of restaurants around the area to get you by when you eventually get sick of mashed potatoes, if that is even possible. Larger cities like Cheltenham and Cirencester have some great Indian food I wish I had more time to try. So don’t be discouraged, but if you’re not huge on pubs, try staying in one of these larger cities for more variety and options.

When to Visit

Every time I write a “what to know before you go” post, I get stuck on when to go because I always write the same thing: spring and fall, spring and fall. But alas, I differ today.

I actually think the best time to visit the Cotswolds is… anytime.

If you know English weather, you know it can be quite fickle, and I think there are positives and negatives to visiting any time of year. I wouldn’t have initially opted for a December visit, but it was so magical and perfect that now I can’t imagine going in the summer. Here is a quick breakdown:

Fall: enjoy the beautiful foliage, making the towns somehow even more picturesque than they already are. Crowds will be lower and you may have a mix of sun and rain, but it won’t be too cold yet.

Winter: brace yourself for biting wind and bring a scarf and hat. Yes, it’s cold, but there can still be a decent amount of sun. I had only sprinkles on some day I was there in December. Crowds are mixed because locals and Brits are home for the holidays, so to speak, and tourists are also present for the Christmas magic.

Spring: this is probably the time I would least recommend coming. The rain will be the heaviest, and while the flowers blooming in later spring are delightful, the weather may be too unpredictable. But if you spend time getting muddy in the fields, you may see them dotted with lambs.

Summer: this is the obvious crowd-pleaser. Yes, crowds will be the heaviest, but having lots of sunshine makes walking through the countryside and along the Cotswold Way super dreamy. Fair warning though, very few places will have air conditioning, and while 75 may not feel hot in Miami, it does feel stressfully warm in England.

The TLDR is just go to the Cotswolds in whatever time of year you can. You won’t regret it.

The Bottom Line

Can you tell I am absolutely in love with this place? While I am an England apologist and have few negative things to say, I do think I’ve outlined why the Cotswolds deserve their hype. There is a reason Cameron Diaz decided to stay forever, and yes, it was Jude Law, but it was also very much the beautiful region of the Cotswolds.

Ta-ta for now!

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