epic roadtrip to 6 popular Cotswold villages from London

Travel Guide

Day 1: Hoburne Cotswold Holiday Water Park – Broadway – Bourton on the water – Stow on the wold or Bibury

Day 2: Hoburne Cotswold Holiday Water Park – Tetbury – Castle Combe

Cotswold AONB

Cotswold AONB (Area of Natural Beauty) is a gorgeous countryside. Due to its proximity (around 2 hours by road) from London it is one of the most popular getaways. From beautiful tea houses to honey coloured cottages, from quiet alleys to bustling markets, from cobbled courtyards to lakeside chalets, it has everything you need to put together and make a perfect concoction to calm your nerves.

About Stay

During this weekend getaway in March 2019, Hoburne Cotswold Holiday Park at South Cerney was my base. I booked a beautiful self catering chalet called ‘Heron View’ via airbnb. The surroundings were serene; we saw swans boastfully swimming, ducks waddling around, rabbits sprinting behind each other and birds tweeting from one brach to another. Though the chalet was a bit crunched but it was a win for me due to great price and location. Also, this trip was more about exploring Cotswold than enjoying the property. 

Commute

From London to Hoburne Cotswold Holiday Park, it take about 2 hours by road. If you own a car, Great!. If you don’t, still Great!
Rentalcars website is a great place to start. Use ‘Waze’ app for navigation once you hit the road.
Also, check google maps to see the train and bus connectivity.
For bus service – National Express is reliable.

Lets go on the road trip! No No No wait, I need to tell you something else first. So………….

Duck Dilemma

I checked in with my beautiful familia and relaxed in the chalet on Friday evening while the rain poured like cats and dogs. Next morning I woke up to a very noisy chitter-chatter. I rushed outside and saw 6 ducks engrossed in some kind of serious discussion that my arrival was completely ignored. One of them kept walking in and out of the group. All of a sudden 5 of them ganged up on the 6th one as if he/she had called a veto on some policy in the House of Commons. The apple in my hand, which I had snapped from the table seconds before leaving the chalet, was waiting to be eaten but boss!! these ducks had all my attention. Seconds later a Swan came by like some queen swaying her body in gently breeze and they all waddled back in the water murmuring like those school kids who have been just told off. It was hilarious. Could they be discussing Brexit?

Day 1

Route : Hoburne Cotswold Holiday Water Park -> Cotswold Farm Park -> Broadway -> Bourton-on-the-water -> Stow-on-the-wold OR Bibury

In the 33 minutes drive through small villages and farms I observed how different Cotswold was from London. Animals grazing freely on rolling green fields with hedgegrows, crofts fenced with a pile of loosely held Jurassic limestone (click here to read more) and row cottages with hanging baskets filled with blooming pansies. It felt like I got transported to medieval times.

Cotswold Water Park

Cotswold Farm Park , set in an idyllic environment,  was a fantastic place to be with my family. My son went bonkers to see the animal barn with cute little lambs hiding behind their mummies. He petted guinea pigs in the petting barn and then we all went for the Farm Safari. I enjoyed gazing at the farms, the beautiful rare breeds, the local produce and the alluring backdrop of distant mountains, all from the comfort of the tractor trailer. The bumpy ride made us hungry so we went to the restaurant and ate fish and chips. Yum Yum!

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Broadway

A 10 minute drive took us to one of the highest point in Cotswold. Broadway Tower sits like a proud jewel in the Cotswold crown. The bygone stories of this place were quite intriguing which I leave up to you to discover. All I will say is that this tower has survived both happy and bad times.

I went to the top ; the panoramic view and the wind, both blew me away. The connection and the feeling of being part of its celebrated history will be with me forever. There was nice rustic cafe in the vicinity, we treated ourselves with a hot drink and my mind raced back to the hot headed ducks.

Bourton-on-the-water

Also known as Venice of Cotswold, this pretty little village’s beauty is accentuated by the river Windrush which flows along the High Street. There are some attractions  but instead I found myself wandering in narrow alleys filled with the absence of the throngs of tourists – a rare sight in this village.The arched stone bridges over the stream were fun to pass through while watching the fish and ducks swim by in harmony. There were so many English tea rooms, one in particular had this heavenly aroma of freshly baked scone but to my dismay they were closing. In fact most of them were. But the beast was awaken and so English afternoon tea was a need now.

Moments before leaving I promised Windrush which was busy babbling, rippling and trickling that I will be back soon to dip my feet. I did in May 2019 but too many tourists…………Well! …… It was still pretty.

Stow-on-the-wold

So, we found a great tea room ‘Huffkins Stow’ in Stow on the wold which was serving open till 5 pm. So an 8 minutes drive took us to a village which we had no plans to visit. I love detours because they are exciting and unpredictable. I ordered Cotswold fruits tea, very aromatic! and the scones with clotted cream and jam, suuuuuuper delicious! We devoured all in haste and with a satisfied look we called it a day and headed back.

Bibury

Instead of going to Stow-on-the-wold, you can drive to another beeeeeautiful village, Bibury which is 20 minutes from Bouton-on-the-water.

Day 2

Route : Hoburne Cotswold Holiday Water Park -> Tetbury -> Castle Combe

Next morning our plan was to visit only Castle Combe but instead we DEtoured “again” and drove for 25 minutes to……

Tetbury

The sun was shining bright after the rains so Tetbury was looking gorgeous.  An old building right in the middle of the High Street called Market Place/ House had a craft fair going on. Best way to get a flavour of the town! I saw an old woman slowly spinning the yarn from a spinning wheel and learnt a bit about the wool/yarn history of the place. I also learnt about the royal connections, royal warrants and Highgrove where Prince Charles and his lady love dwell. We had lunch and geared up for the 25 minutes drive to next destination.

Castle Combe

I fell head over heels. Castle Combe was one of the prettiest village I had seen. The backdrops were gorgeous as it lies in the valley but wait….. there was no castle in sight. Neither were antennas or satellites dishes or wires, so it felt as if I travelled back in time. Rows and rows of cottages ( where is the castle??) with facades so simple yet beyond perfection. I sat on the bench along the Bybrook gazing at the weavers cottages which must have been a busy place centuries ago (but still no castle in sight). We had our cream tea at The Castle Inn. The rustic interiors and the cozy atmosphere complemented the warm delicious scones and aromatic tea.

ichigo ichie Tip

At Broadway Tower I found a quiet spot and gazed at the supremacy of the tower – its mighty walls, the patina, the colour of the changing skies behind it and the surroundings. I drew what I saw to fully immerse myself in the moment. May be you can draw your favourite spot or building or anything to feel alive, to feel Ichigo-Ichie. Do it next time, you will be surprised what you will take back home to cherish forever.

If you found this informative or if it inspires you to live the Ichigo Ichie moment, let us know. We will be overjoyed to hear!