Weekend adult only 3 hours west from SE London/Kent border

[reluctantbrit]

DH and I are looking to go away over the May Bank Holiday. We live at the SE London/Kent border and have covered most of Kent and Sussex over the last years on day trips.

We like history, small towns with window shopping/vintage/antique shops, sea side, hikes with aren't too hilly.

I am concerned about areas like New Forest if the weather is awful, the joy of May, you never know what you get.
We have been to Bournemouth before.

Thinking about Cotswolds or Dorset but not Bournemouth/Christchurch.

Either a nice B&B or a country hotel, ideally not more than £500ish for 2 nights. We may be able to stretch to 3 nights.

@reluctantbrit You cannot go wrong with the Cotswolds. It’s beautiful around Stow on the Wold but hotels tend to be expensive. Chipping Norton has come up in the world and you could consider Cirencester. Lovely around there too. We like Broadway and Burford, but just north of the M4 might suit you better regarding travel. Lots of great places to stay - we are regulars.