Will be in the Cotswolds May 2023-June 2023 for a few nights……will have a car……..what is the best town to base out of if we want to see this area over a 5 day period? We love to walk and hike…..thought we wanted an airbnb but it looks like so many of the available ones are cottages that are too big for just the 2 of us…..looked into THE WILD RABBIT, cozy inn but no laundry services…..so appreciate the help from fellow travelers here!
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
The Cotswolds covers a large area.
Winchcombe to the west is good for a day trip to Cheltenham, a trip to Hidcote Gardens, a day on the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway and Sudeley Castle.
At the eastern end, I like the area around Minster Lovell - good for Oxford and Blenheim Palace.
I don’t like the charges that Airbnb levy, so I would suggest that you look at Booking.com, Trip Advisor rentals or a specialist provider such as English Country Cottages or Sawdays. Some properties can only be rented by the week once you hit June or school holidays.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
Jennifer, such helpful info, thank you.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6529 posts
As Jennifer stated, the Cotswolds covers a large area. I’d research some of the towns and hikes in the area. That should help you narrow down the village to use as a base. Some of the popular villages include Upper and Lower Slaughter, Chipping Campden, Chipping Norton, Stow on the Wold, Bourton on the Water, Broadway, and Bibury, For larger towns there’s Cheltenham (nice architecture on some buildings, but no must see sights in my opinion) on the western edge of the Cotswolds and Stratford Upon Avon on the northern fringe. We used it as a base a few years ago. North of Cheltenham is Tewkesbury. While it has no must see sights, it too was nice to walk around.
Posted by
stevens point, wi, usa
1189 posts
Hi from Wisconsin,
We toured the Cotswolds and used Cirencester as our base. True, it is at the south edge of the Cotswolds, but the Romans built some pretty amazing roads that fan out from the city making arriving at different location quite easy. Cirencester is also just large enough to have a nice selection of restaurants and coffee houses. Grocers and butcheries if you have a place to cook. All in all a nice place to start and finish the day. One warning about Cirencester, if you stay in the heart of the city, getting in and out with a car is a bit tricky. It is an old city and the roads twist around and there are a number of one way streets.
As someone else suggested, get a tour book and decide which paths you want to take.
Let me warn you, the Cotswolds attracts tourists and the famous villages are parked up from one end to the other. You will learn that these villages are very popular. Getting on the pathways will provide relief from the packs taking selfies.
With a car you can easily drop through smaller less touristed villages. The countryside is gorgeous. With a car you can also time your visit to include some 'after peak tourist hours'. As the car numbers recede the charm of each village becomes overwhelming.
wayne iNWI
Posted by
1 posts
We’re planning same things except we are hoping to do Cotswolds without car. I’m eager to see what people suggest. We may rent a car there for day trip but trying to be on foot and use their transportation. Maybe simply hunker down in sweet town and explore and take country walks. Any suggestions of town, inns, etc? Afterwards we’re renting narrow boat for a week to travel canals. So we want to get in some exercise before we live slow life on boat.