Cotswolds break

[thisismadness77]

Hi, we are going to have two nights away without kids for our anniversary in August. Thinking about the Cotswolds as it’s within a couple of hours of home. We would like somewhere lovely to stay with good food, wine, a few shops to potter around, long walks, and pub lunches. It would be nice to abandon the car and be based in the village/town. (So we can get impromptu drunk at lunchtime.) We don’t want to be busy, but neither bored! It would be nice if it were chocolate box pretty. :)

I’m thinking Stow on the Wold (as it seems a bit bigger than some other pretty villages) but am a bit clueless, would rather not pick somewhere entirely randomly. Reviews online are so mixed!

If anyone has any recommendations it would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Bourton on the Water is nice to call in for an evening stroll once the coach parties are off somewhere else.

Mostly taking in your point about abandoning the car....

Dormy House Hotel. From there you can walk along the crest to Dover's Hill. You can take another route done to Chipping Camden. Or Broadway. Or Broadway Tower.

All within 60 minutes walk and tarry a while in a pub or tearoom and do a circular.

I know the Cotswolds inside out having walked around them years ago for a pastime when I had no money. Dormy House is in a great walking location. Need good boots.

Alternatively, Stow-on-the-Wold is more quintessential in my view. Less opportunity to walk though. But you can do longer ones and hit Snowshill and the tight valleys and the plateau at the farm park which is lovely.

@Crookandnanny

We house hunted in the north Cotswolds a few years ago. Stow on the Wold gets very busy with visitors. Bourton on the Water even more so. I was there a couple of weeks ago and there were queues at every pub/restaurant. Chipping Norton is quite workmanlike and busy. Too much traffic to be able to relax. Moreton on Marsh is similar but well placed and has a train station. The high street is a busy A road. I would opt for Blockley nearby. Broadway is very pleasant but I found an air of pretentiousness. Chipping Campden is chocolate box stuff visually. I've stayed at the Kings hotel. Very pleasant and gets my vote for a short stay. I really like Winchcombe, just the feel of the place. Nearly bought a house there. Painswick is absolutely charming. I recall it being quite hilly.

Can I ask what you mean by Chippy being workman like?

Think she probably means same as I meant by living/ working places. That is some of the little places like Bourton on the Water, Broadway seem to be completely geared to the tourist industry. Packed all the time, crowded, queues for eateries, pubs etc. Virtually every shop is a gift shop, tea room etc. You wonder how the locals manage.
Then you get places like Burford, Moreton, Cirencester, Tewksbury where you can tell people actually work & live. Not everything is a tourist money trap, real shops for essentials & services like vets, dentists etc.

Book somewhere in Cheltenham and then you can pop to all these places if you want.

Looking out of my window at Charlton Kings Village as we speak.

Ps I think This Country is truer to life than some would wish it to be.

Another vote for Burford.

Whilst Stratford and Cheltenham are nice, neither of them are really Cotswolds. Yes, you can 'do' the Cotswolds from both of them, but if you want the Cotswolds then stay in the Cotswolds, rather than driving out every day and then doing neither the town or the countryside justice.

You could join a small tour if you wanted to take some of the donkey work out of planning sightseeing www.gocotswolds.co.uk/product/cotswolds-trails-and-villages/

If you want chocolate boxy, then you really can't go wrong with Broadway, and you can take the steam train to Winchcombe (absolutely lovely) or all the way to Cheltenham from there. Lovely tea rooms, fish and chips from Russells is fab, and nice walks as well

Is Cirencester located well enough to see some lovely parts of the Cotswolds? We are staying here next month but I'm not seeing it anywhere recommended on this thread.

I recommended it as one of the places we like, first post I made, page one.

Ps I think This Country is truer to life than some would wish it to be

I agree, having been brought up there

@MaddieElla absolutely and it's a nice size town with enough cafes and restaurants etc that you don't need to venture elsewhere in the evenings.

We had a few days staying in Charlton Kings (edge of Cheltenham, mentioned above) recently. Visited Cerney Manor gardens near Cirencester, absolutely, highly recommended. Used local buses as much as possible, which was much more relaxing than driving everywhere. Had a delightful day in Cheltenham, but trying to visit Bourton and Stow-on-the-Wold on a sunny Saturday was a big mistake, we couldn't even find a parking space in Bourton and it was heaving.

Missed out a word - Cerney Manor gardens absolutely beautiful!

Wow thank you. I’ve provisionally booked two in Stow, as places were filling up. I’m going to have another look now I have a bit more direction!

Stow is lovely btw