Due to the pandemic, we’ve changed the destination of this holiday several times until we’ve finally decided to just stay in the UK and have a Cotswold holiday instead. I went to Cotswold in 2012 and I loved it so much that it was one of the first destinations which popped up in my head when I was brainstorming for destinations to go to within the country.
I’ve already finalized our itinerary when the husband and I decided to add one more night to coincide with our car rental. Just my luck, it was also around about the same time when I discovered a beautiful vineyard in the Cotswold which has accommodation as well. So I rerouted and changed the flow of our itinerary so we could fit in a one night stay in the vineyard. It was a great decision which the Greek Mister also loved.
So here’s our final 6-Day Cotswold Itinerary from London by car.
A 6-Day Cotswold Itinerary from London
Day 1: Blenheim Palace
Driving time from London: 1hr and 25mins
Our first stop was the Blenheim Palace, a World Heritage Site with over 300 years of history and is a very picturesque place to wander around. The palace and courtyard were both inaccessible to the public due to a filming when we visited (I wonder which movie or TV show it was) but we still had an amazing time exploring its Formal Gardens.
Entrance Fee: £37.00 (£18.50 per person)
Where we stayed: The Jurys Inn Oxford
Driving time from Blenheim Palace: 11 minutes
The hotel was pretty standard, the room was of decent size but most importantly – it was very clean. There’s a restaurant and bar onsite which they aren’t using for breakfast at the moment. Instead, they give you a packed continental breakfast in the morning which includes quite a good selection.
We paid a total of £86.00 for one night including breakfast.
Where we ate: The Trout Inn
Driving time from The Jurys Inn: 5 minutes (we could have walked! Lol)
For dinner that night, we went to The Trout Inn. It’s a beautiful riverside pub serving great food. Reservation is highly recommended as it gets quite busy for dinner.
We paid a total of £66.50 for our dinner. One starter, two main courses and 5 drinks.
Day 2: Witney, Burford and Bibury
Where we ate: The Fleece, Witney
Driving time from The Jurys Inn: 25 minutes
For breakfast that day, the Greek Mister found a restaurant in Witney which was not included in our original itinerary. Upon arrival, I fell in love with it immediately. It’s another one of Cotswolds’ hidden gems that’s not very much in the tourist radar. I enjoyed walking around town before joining the husband for our breakfast.
Service was a bit slow though and the avocado on my toast was almost non-existent. I didn’t really mind it very much because their outdoor seating was fabulous! 🙂
We paid a total of £25.35 for two breakfast dishes and two coffees.
Our first official Cotswold village stop on our holiday was Burford, it’s one of the most popular stops if you’re visiting this region due to its proximity to London. It was packed with tourists when we arrived, the High Street was so crowded that we immediately had to get away from them. We’re still social distancing as much as we can so we explored most of the side streets instead.
Despite it all, it’s still a beautiful place to explore and I still had a great time taking photographs of it.
Driving time from Witney: 15 minutes
Note: As soon as you enter the village, follow the signs to the public parking area which is free of charge.
We then drove towards another very popular stop in this route – Bibury. Most of the photos you might have seen of Bibury would have been the beautiful Arlington Row, it’s always really crowded though so you’ve got to pack so much patience if you’d like to wait around for it to be empty to get that money shot.
Driving time from Burford: 16 minutes
Side street parking is available.
Where we stayed and ate: The Bear of Rodborough
Driving time from Bibury: 35 minutes
Located in a National Trust land amongst the rolling hills, the beautiful surroundings of The Bear of Rodborough is quite hard to beat. It’s not very far from the nearest town but it feels like a world away.
The room that we had was a bit disappointing as it overlooked the main road. It also looked a bit dull but it’s of good size and the bathroom was fabulous so we didn’t really mind. Besides, it’s just for one night.
They have a pub and a beautiful garden which unfortunately we didn’t get to enjoy because it started raining as soon as we arrived. The husband claimed this property to be his second favourite (next to our vineyard stay) during this holiday.
We had our dinner at the hotel itself, while service was lacklustre – the food served was great!
We paid a total of £90.10 for our hotel stay which included breakfast.
For dinner, we paid a total of £72.00 for 2 main courses, 1 side dish and quite a few drinks. Lol.
Day 3: Woodchester Valley Vineyard
This was the highlight of our holiday and what I was most excited about – our vineyard stay. Check-in time was at 3pm so we had around 5 hours to kill beforehand. We drove around a bit and ended up in Coaley Peak Viewpoint which offered an amazing view over the Severn Vale towards the Forest of Dean. This was not part of our itinerary but it was definitely a great addition.
Driving time from The Bear of Rodborough: 11 minutes
We also stopped by the Gumstool Inn, a pub in Tetbury. I had a coffee while the husband had coke (I know, I was surprised myself that he didn’t order beer) at their beautiful garden. Again, not included in our itinerary but a great addition.
Driving time from Coaley Peak Viewpoint: 11 minutes
At exactly 3pm, we proceeded on our way to Woodchester Valley Vineyard which was more beautiful than I expected it to be. Our cabin looked amazing and lush and is situated amongst the vineyard.
We had an early dinner at a nearby pub and immediately hurried back to our cabin so we could make the most out of our one night stay. I sure wish we could have stayed longer, I fell in love with it.
It’s not a self-catering accommodation so there’s no proper kitchen. We still had to go out for dinner and breakfast. They can include a continental breakfast basket for you though for an additional fee.
We paid a total of £130 for our one night stay.
Where we ate: The Black Horse Inn
Driving time from Woodchester Valley Vineyard: 10 minutes
I had the most amazing burger at the Black Horse Inn for dinner that night. And on top of that, the view from the pub is fantastic! It’s definitely one of my favourite pub stops on this holiday.
We paid a total of £42 for our meal. 2 main courses and 3 drinks.
Day 4: Stanton, Cotswold Farm Park, Snowshill, Broadway Tower, Chipping Campden and Stratford-Upon-Avon
Yeah, I packed quite a lot of things to do on this day and I regretted it. Lol. So if you’re reading this and planning your own itinerary, this is doable but for older people like we are, it was quite too tiring so plan at your own risk.
Where we ate: The Mount Inn, Stanton
Driving time from Woodchester Valley Vineyard: 1 hour
With a heavy heart, we left the beautiful Woodchester Valley Vineyard and drove to Stanton for our brunch at The Mount Inn. The beautiful view from this pub is breathtaking and on top of that, service and food were both great too! I highly recommend a stop here.
We paid a total of £34.90 for two dishes and two drinks.
Afterwards, we went to Cotswold Farm Park to visit the Sunflower Field. I loved it, the husband thought it was a tourist trap. Lol. I do need to clarify that I’ve never been to any sunflower field before so I had no other places to compare it with so I’m not sure if that’s the reason why I loved it or the husband is just grumpy. :p
We paid a total of £10 (£5 per person) to access the Sunflower Field.
Driving time from The Mount Inn: 20 minutes
We had a very quick stop at Snowshill afterwards. It’s a very small village but doesn’t lack the English charm. It’s popularly known as the shooting location of the winter scene in Bridget Jones’ Diary movie.
I suggest that you visit Snowshill Manor while you’re here, something that we didn’t get to do as we weren’t able to book our tickets in advance.
Driving time from Cotswold Farm Park: 10 minutes
Broadway Tower was our next stop, a castle which offers a commanding view of 16 counties from its viewpoint. I wasn’t able to go inside the tower though as there was quite a queue of people to enter. I also forgot my mask in the car and was too lazy to go and get it. Lol.
We paid £3.00 for parking.
Driving time from Snowshill: 10 minutes
We then proceeded to Chipping Campden afterwards. It’s another famous village to include in your Cotswold itinerary, very well-known for its beautiful thatched houses which will make you feel like you’ve walked in a fairy tale book.
Driving time from Broadway Tower: 10 minutes
Last but definitely not the least for the day was Stratford Upon Avon, William Shakespeare’s birthplace. The beautiful market town has a modern-day living feel but at the same time, the ancient buildings remind you of its rich historical past. It’s a lovely place to walk around where you can get your history and culture fix.
Driving time from Chipping Campden: 30 minutes
Where we stayed: Hotel Indigo
We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Indigo, the location is perfect – it’s walking distance from just about everything. Make sure that you request for a room in the Contemporary part of the hotel so that it will have air-conditioning and lift. The air-conditioning is important if you’re visiting during the summer period, trust me on that. :p
We paid a total of £112 for our stay which includes breakfast.
Parking is available onsite for £10 per night and is already included in the above price.
Where we ate: The Keys
I wouldn’t even talk about this pub here because we had a horrible experience. Maybe try and find another pub or restaurant in the area. Lol.
We paid a total of £25.00 with a discount because the food served was burnt. 😀
Day 5: Stow-On-The-Wold, Bourton-On-The-Water and Lower Slaughter
It was raining when we arrived at Stow-On-The-Wold and as it’s the highest Cotswold village, it was also extremely windy while I was walking around. Despite the rain and wind, I still enjoyed exploring it and of course I took a photo of its now very famous stop – St Edward Church’s North door.
Driving time from Stratford-Upon-Avon: 40 minutes
Where we ate: The King’s Arms
We decided to have lunch at The King’s Arms at Stow-On-The-Wold which proved to be a good choice. The dishes they served were phenomenal! I didn’t expect this small pub to whip out something this good from their kitchen. It was also good that we ate lunch then because we didn’t find anywhere to dine for dinner that night.
We paid a total of £34.45 for 1 main course, 2 starters and 4 drinks. This includes a £20 discount from the #EatOutToHelpOut scheme.
Our next stop was Bourton-On-The-Water where we’ll be staying for the night. It’s tagged as the Venice of the Cotswolds for the series of low bridges over the river filled with swans and ducks while traditional Cotswold buildings stand back from the it. It’s a picture-perfect town, the old English charm is definitely not lost in this place.
Driving time from Stow-On-The-Wold: 10 minutes
We also had a quick drive and walk around the nearby village of Lower Slaughter, another picture-perfect place with stone houses and is famous for its Old Mill which was last used commercially in 1958 and now houses a tea and a gift shop.
Driving time from Bourton-On-The-Water: 6 minutes
Where we stayed: The Lansdowne
Location of The Lansdowne guest house is perfect, only a few minutes’ walk from the town centre of Bourton-On-The-Water itself. While the room size was decent, I wasn’t really crazy about it as we could hear almost everything from inside the room. It didn’t help that our room was next to the main door so we could hear and feel the opening and closing of the door. It didn’t really bother us with our sleep though plus, it’s just a one night stay so it was fine.
We paid a total of £115 for our one night stay which includes breakfast.
There is free parking available to guests onsite.
Day 6: Departure
After check-out, we had a little walk around Bourton-On-The-Water one last time before starting our 2-hour drive back to Kingston.
If you still have the energy to do anything on this day, I suggest that you visit some of the museums in Bourton-On-The-Water such as the Motoring Museum, Model Village or the Modern Railway Exhibition.
Including the car rental for 6 days, the total cost of our holiday was around £1,150.00. This includes our hotel stays, meals and entrance fees in some of the attractions that are included. It doesn’t include our little supermarket trips for some snacks. Bear in mind that we only eat main meals twice a day, we’re not really lunch eaters. Lol.
We had an amazing time during our little Cotswold holiday. Sure it may not be Greece or Spain as we originally planned but it sure gave us time to relax and enjoy the beautiful sceneries around us even for just a while.
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Such beautiful scenery!
thanks for the overview and detailed prices for all accommodation and meals:)