The previous year I had traveled with girlfriends to London, Paris and Nice, France for three weeks. That trip really whet my appetite to return to England to see more of the English countryside and the Cotswolds. So the next year, my travel friend and I planned a trip to England — focusing primarily on the towns in the Cotswolds, but also traveling north to Stratford-Upon-Avon and south to Bath, Salisbury and Winchester, before returning to London.
We planned for a mid-May departure, hoping to escape the spring rains and weather, and traveling at a time that would still be less crowded than the summer months. We started planning our trip in January via email and phone. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and my friend lives in Washington D.C., so we shared copious notes through email, calling occasionally when we needed to make some quick decisions.
My friend had already been to the Cotswolds on a previous driving trip years prior, but this time he was interested in seeing some new towns, and venturing further off his previous path. For me, I wanted to see everything! The English countryside was completely new for me, so we started by creating our own list of towns and landmarks that each of us wanted to see, then compared our notes. On my list was: Windsor, Henley-on-Thames, Chipping Campden, Stow-on-the-Wold, Woodstock, Burford, Bibury, Snowshill, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwick Castle, Bath, Stonehenge, and Winchester. I also wanted to visit Cambridge, but I knew that I would need to do on my own from London.
My friend agreed with all of my choices and he added Wells, Glastonbury, and Salisbury to create a large driving loop heading west from London, then north, then looping south and back to London. I decided after my friend was scheduled to return home from London, that I would stay longer in London for five additional nights to see more of London and also spend a full day in Cambridge, a day in Kew Gardens, and a day visiting Hampton Court Palace.
So for our overnights, we decided to spend one night in Windsor, three nights in Stow-on-the-Wold, two nights in Chipping Campden, then drive north and spend a night in Stratford-Upon-Avon with a full day at the Warwick Castle. Then driving southwest we would drive to Bath for two nights, then two nights in Salisbury, one night in Winchester, and for me — five nights in London.
Our basic itinerary looked like the following, starting with Day Two after a full day of travel.
Day Two — We picked up our small compact car at Heathrow Airport after landing, and drove directly to the town of Windsor to tour the Castle — visiting the state rooms, St. Georges Chapel, Queen Mary’s Doll House, and walked across the Thames River to the village of Eton. We walked all around Eton village and Eton College, watched a “huge group” of Beagles running for training exercises for fox hunting, had beers at The Waterman’s Arms pub, then spent the night in classic The Farmhouse Inn B&B, a historical, interesting old timbered house.
Day Three — we left Windsor after a huge breakfast of stewed tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, baked beans and a pile of toast—and headed to Henley -on-the-Thames, a quintessential picturesque town on the quiet Thames River. We walked the Thames River toe path and visited the place of George Harrison’s former residence, enjoying some lunch at the Red Lion Inn, before driving to our next destination: Blenheim Palace & Gardens — where Winston Churchill was born, was married and lived. We walked through all the State Apartments, library, great halls and gardens, before moving on to our next town: Woodstock. Woodstock was a beautiful village, where we enjoyed beers on a patio outside and indulged in our first fish and chips. After a full day of touring, we arrived at our Park House B&B in Stow-on-the-Wold, where we grabbed a quick bite at classic The Bell Pub & Inn.
Day Four — After another fine English breakfast, we walked the beautiful town of Stow-on-the-Wold, before driving to nearly Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter. We spent the day with the car parked in Lower Slaughter, and walked the many pastoral walking paths through residences, along streams, through mustard fields, past sheep farms, and savoring the gardens everywhere we walked. We strolled up the road to Upper Slaughter, then wound our way back along dirt toe paths to our car in Lower Slaughter. The same day, we drove to Bourton-on-the-Water and walked leisurely through the village, walking along foot paths near the town, along streams, between homes and churches, then back to town. Our next destination was lovely Bibury, where we had beers and sat outside on the sidewalk.
Day Five — We left the Park House B&B, and walked the foot path nearby to Maugersbury village enjoying verdant fields, landscapes and old mansions. We returned back to Stow village, then walked to Lower Swell and Upper Swell village, where we got totally caught in a huge rain storm — and arrived hours later back in Stow soaking wet. We packed and left Stow in the early afternoon and headed to Moreton-in-the-Marsh, a fabulous town with a large main street, where we enjoyed the food market, a craft market, and walked the full length of the town up and back. After a few hours there, we drove to Blockey, one of my favorite villages, with a stream, dirt foot paths, an old church, and no commercial center. Later in the evening we arrived at our next overnight in Chipping Campden, staying at the old Noel Arms Hotel.
Day Six — In our usual manner, we got the lay of the land by walking the town first thing in the morning, then drove to Snowshill Manor, where we walked several foot paths, enjoyed the gardens, and visited the central square before driving to our next town: Broadway. There we had beers and lunch at the classic Swan Hotel. Next on our itinerary was driving to Stanton, a beautiful small town with a church, and Stanway village, before heading back to our B&B for the night.
Day Seven – Before heading out of Chipping Campden, we spent the morning walking the foot paths to Broad Campden, a small neighboring village, returning for an indulgent late breakfast at the Noel Arms Hotel, before leaving for Hidcote Manor and Gardens. After visiting the gorgeous gardens, we traveled on to Mickleton where the famous Pudding Club is, and had English pudding! Then on full stomachs, we returned back on the road to drive to Stratford-Upon-Avon for the night and for the play, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged. We loved our B&B, the Victoria Spa Lodge B&B, located right on the canal, so we could easily walk the foot path all the way into town and back. It was a perfect location, out of town, but that allowed us to really enjoy the canal, swans, nature, and a good walk.
Day Eight – The next day we toured Stratford-Upon-Avon via the Red Line City Sightseeing bus, that is basically a hop on, hop off bus, to see the major sites that are very spread out. After a busy tour schedule, we left Stratford for the town of Warwick, and spent the rest of the day at Warwick Castle. The castle was impressive, with beautiful grounds, a walk along a river, and rampart walls you could walk for miles for the most impressive views! I really enjoyed visiting this castle, learning the history, imagining all of the battles, and what it would be like to live during those times. But night was falling, so time to head out again and drive to our next destination: Bath, and the Cranleigh B&B on Newbridge Hill.
Day Nine – We spent the next full day touring Bath by Red Line Sightseeing bus, taking the “Outer Bath Loop Tour.” We walked the Circus area, the Royal Crescent complexes, Royal Victoria Park, toured the Roman Spa and Baths dating back to 20 A.D., and visited Bath Abbey for the Evensong service. I decided to indulge in some luxury in Bath and spent the rest of the evening at the Thermal Bath & Spa, which had a rooftop pool with natural thermal springs overlooking the town of Bath. It was wonderful!
Day 10 – We drove to Wells, and walked through the town in drizzling rain to the 13th century Bishop’s Palace with stunning gardens and the enormous gothic Wells Cathedral dating back to 1200 A.D. After a half day in Wells, we headed to nearby Glastonbury, a spiritual center for the area. We visited the Glastonbury Abbey ruins dating back to 900 A.D. and stayed for several hours there walking the grounds until closing. We then drove to our destination for the next two days—Salisbury and The Red Lion Hotel in the city.
Day 11 – We drove north today to Avebury, a World Heritage Site, to see the Neolithic stone sites. I went to the Avebury Manor House & Gardens to tour it, going through all the period rooms built in the 1400s, while my friend enjoyed beers at the local pub. Then we both headed out to visit Stonehenge, where we walked a long, windy path out to the henge. Back in Salisbury, we walked to the cathedral, walked all over town, then had fish and chips at the Kings Head Inn, a pub hotel on the Avon River.
Day 12 – We drove to Old Sarum north of the city, located high atop a hill overlooking the valley below to see the remains of the Old Cathedral and Kings Castle. Old Sarum had huge beautiful green moats surrounding the hill, covered in white flowers and buttercups. We got back on the road and headed to our next overnight in Winchester where we stayed in a darling B&B on Christ Church Road conveniently located so we could walk to and from town. After checking in, we walked to the Winchester Cathedral dating back to 1100 A.D. and visited Itchen Way to see the remains of Wolvesey Castle. Enjoyed some beers at Wykeham Arms, a charming pub and had dinner at the Queen’s Arms, before walking through the Abbey Gardens and The Old Abbey, and walking back to our B&B.
Day 13 – We spent the morning walking more of downtown Winchester, along the cathedral walls, along the Itchen River, took a tour of the cathedral and saw the Winchester Bible, walked High Street, the main pedestrian street, one more time, and got some pasties — before heading back to get our car and driving to London. In London, we stayed conveniently near Victoria Station in a beautiful building, but the rooms were a compromise. After checking into our hotel, we walked to Hyde Park, Green Park, the Rose Garden, and then called it a day.
Day 14 – We took the metro early to Kew Gardens from Victoria Station, and spent all day there — six hours! My friend left that night to go back to the states, and I moved to my friend’s apartment in downtown London.
Day 15 – We spent the entire day in Cambridge, taking a two-hour bus each way to get there and back. We had a great day trip — walking the entire town, visiting the many colleges, punted on the Cam, had beers in the pubs, dinner out, and headed home.
Day 16 – Together we took the underground metro to Hampton Court Palace, where we spent the day touring the beautiful palace and gardens, then had a nice dinner across the street at The Muted Swan, before heading back home.
Day 17 – Today was a London museum day! We visited The British Museum and The National Gallery, had a nice lunch in between the museums, and dinner out with another friend.
Day 18 – We took the metro to special Portobello Market on Sunday, spending hours walking the market, shopping for some souvenirs. I walked the surrounding Kensington High Street, through Kensington Gardens, and Hyde Park, and took the metro back to meet my friend for our last dinner together.
Day 19 – Travel day back to the states!
