Cotswold Sites

When gauging driving distances in England, I consult www.theaa.com (click on Route Planner). The is the website of the English equivalent of AAA. When I requested driving time from Broadway to Highgrove's post code, the result was 1 hour 4 minutes.

Seeing Hidcote Manor is always delightful. I assume you know one can eat lunch there?

I am very partial to Lacock over the other villages you cited in the southern Cotswolds. The Brits would call it "unspoilt" - - - so much so that it's often used by filming crews. On the other hand, I was very disappointed in Bibury. There were alot of tour buses dropping off people to see Arlington Row (which I found overrated), it was very difficult to find parking, and I don't recall there being alot of tea shops or restaurants.

Have a great time!

Burford is a great place to stop for lunch. It has lots of cute shops and places to eat. In fact, I bought a couple of scarves and purses at a shop there and love them. They were having a sale, don’t judge please lol. In Bibury, we spent less than an hour. It’s so pretty! We were lucky because there weren’t hordes of tour busses that day. Our guide did tell us and we did notice signs in various languages up in front of some homes that said “Do not enter. Private property”. Apparently the tourist hordes thought they were in a movie set and would just walk into peoples homes to look around. A place I would suggest going if you’re Downton Abbey fans is Bampton. The town square has the church right next to Mrs Crawford’s house and next to that is the hospital which in real life is a library! Definitely a must see if you’re fans of the show.

In a bee line you can do it without stops and without traffic, using the Fosse Way, in a bit over an hour. But you will be passing several of the places you identified.

Lunch outside at Hidcote is both tasty and inexpensive - and the atmosphere is lovely. Most outside tables seat 4. There are a couple of longer tables but they are inside. See if you see my favourite cat who hangs about near a bench between the dining area and the lawn.

90 minutes to just see some of the garden is really pushing it. If you just want an overview you can see some in that time, if you have any keen gardeners you will need more time and if you stop for lunch there you will need more time.

English folk tend to queue for lunch at or just before 1pm. There will be a much smaller but real push at about 12:15. Go early or later for fewer folk trying to do the same thing as you.

I concur about Burford. What I would do though is plan for lunch at Hidcote and Tea in Burford.

Bibury, whilst scenic in its own way, really is a one trick pony. It is really a very small place.

For driving times since I'm not doing the driving it is probably best to ask your driver how long they would expect to take.

So, are you not being guided around but more chauffeured? They just go to the next thing when you tell them to, and you pick the route?

Yes, when we speak to the driver he’s nice as can be, but we get no details. He says he’ll take us wherever we want to go. We will eat lunch early to avoid crowds. We definitely don’t want to speed through everything, but the descriptions we’ve read all sound so charming, we don’t know which to linger in and which to take off our list!
If you were to planning this, what towns would you choose?
Thank you all for sharing your input. It’s so helpful!

Stanton could be short walk around to take pictures or a drive through. There is a nice pub there, but no shops. Stanton is a beautiful village.

The Cotswold villages are small enough that it usually doesn't take long to see them unless there are sights (manor houses, old churches, etc.) you want to go inside. And of course you'll need to eat. You have over a dozen towns listed. I have only been to a few of them. I'm sure they're all as cute as can be, but I wouldn't rush through Town 4 to get to Town 5, which may not look all that different from Town 4. Better to enjoy where you are--stick you nose inside an interesting-looking shop, stop for a mid-afternoon scone, etc. Definitely don't cut your time short at Hidcote, Sudley or Highgrove just to squeeze in another little town with thatched cottages.

You ask which I'd do?

What I would actually do - bearing in mind that the northern Cotswolds is one of the places I grew up and I visit frequently - is I would put myself and my party in the hands of somebody who actually wants to show the place off, knows all the back roads and where the scenic serendipity is, and what to point out to people who don't know; rather than a driver waiting for my next (uninformed in most cases, sorry) instruction.

There are tour companies who specialise in just that, and some have been mentioned in other Cotswold discussions here by name and reputation. Don't ask me - I've never been on a tour of the Cotswolds, I just go places that I grew up with and know - ask others here.

I think that giving a driver - any driver - a list of places and "saying take me there" is a recipe for unhappy memories, at least by some of your group. If a tour takes them in a different order or to different places they can blame the tour company. They will blame you otherwise.

Or concentrate on just one or two villages each morning or afternoon, and make them close by.

Compiling a revised list by asking us to choose between all your choices may also be confusing.

Can you tell us why you picked these particular villages, and why you picked the starred ones for meals? What things do all of you have in common?

Why, for instance, do you want to go to Highgrove? For the gardens or the house or the (slight) chance of seeing a celebrity? It would help with the answers.

How many is "a group of ladies"? Similar ages or a variety? Any walking or mobility difficulties in the group?

More information can yield much better answers.

By the way - Broadway is a nice choice. Will any of you climb Broadway Tower?

If there is any mobility issue, the lower part of Fish Hill is less steep than the upper.

We loved Lacock and regret staying in Castle Combe instead of Lacock. You can have an excellent lunch at Sign of the Angel in the village. Google it and take a look. Among other sites to visit there is the very old church. We wandered in and found a book that mentioned Camilla's daughter's wedding--there were signatures and Kate and William had signed it. I think Camilla had a home in that area.

Thank you all for your invaluable replies!
There are 6 of us in our 70s. No mobility issues. Unfortunately we’ve already paid the driver a deposit. We should have consulted this forum sooner! It was hard to find transportation for 6. We are interested in seeing beautiful and interesting gardens, quaint villages, historic houses, wonderful countryside. We enjoy seeing gardens, but most of use live in townhomes and condos in Florida so we won’t be studying them for ideas! We don’t care about celebrity spotting. Our list came from various sources - online tour companies’ typical itineraries, a friend who spends 4 months a year in London, Rick Steves, Fodors, Frommers, etc. Lunch towns were chosen by consulting Sawdays book on great pubs and inns, which our friend shared with us. She said Sawdays recommendations never failed!
Does this help?

Nigel, do you have access to a seven seater? ; )

sorry, choo choos is me - never done tours

Hidcote would be a rush in 2.5 hours. It’s one of the nicest gardens in England.

Sudeley - also allow 2.5 hours.

Lacock is intentionally "unspoiled" -- i.e. the modern conveniences such as utility poles, TV aerials etc. are hidden so the street fronts look ye-olde and film crews can shoot period shows with economic benefit to the locals. This is not a criticism. It has a church, a great house (although not hugely great) nice gardens and a reasonable sense of a century or more ago without being a simulation.

After reading your posts, we’ve penciled in another plan.

N Cotswolds:
Hidcote 9:30-11:30. Lunch outside.
Drive thru Stanton, Stanway, Laverton & Buckland.
Sudley Castle Garden 2 hrs.
Drive thru the Slaughters.
Burford - Tea at The Angel or the Maytime Inn. Return to Broadway.

Another option on the first day would be to skip Sudley and Burford to spend time in Chipping Campden and Stow-in-theWold instead. If we did this, we’d have tea at The Bell or The Old Stocks Inn in Stow-in-the-Wold. This option might please a few people who don’t want to miss places they’ve heard much about, but it might involve crowds of tourists!

S Cotswolds the 2nd day:
Drive from Broadway to Tetbury. Early lunch at Royal Oak Tetbury.
Highgrove Gardens 12:30-3:30.
Drive to Lacock - visit abbey - have tea
at The Sign of the Angel. Drive to Broadway 1-1/2 hrs.

What are your thoughts? We really appreciate feedback from folks who have been there!

In Burford, get into the wool church next to the river, look at that bridge, look at those funeral monuments.

If you are driving through Upper and Lower Slaughter go across the highway to Bourton-on-the-Water. Of course there will be tourists. You're tourists. Doesn't make it less beautiful. I always go when I am passing. Watch the ducks. Watch the kids in the water. See if anybody falls in. Soak in the beauty.

Hidcote is one of the best gardens in the world, room after room after room - no two alike.

I don't know anything about Highgrove - never been there - but I find it hard to think that you will see more there in 3 hours than in the two you have allocated Hidcote, and part of that devoted to the lunch. Or does the lunch time start at 11:30, after two hours in the garden? Can I strongly suggest that you, or all of you, look at the website for Hidcote https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote and you can get a little hint of what's there on their 360 degree virtual tour at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote/features/hidcote-virtual-tours

These aren't backyard gardens, they are maintained by an army of staff and volunteers - you'll probably see some, and many are happy to answer questions - and each room of the many is the size of a large room or floor in a house. Don't miss the Stilt Garden, try to see some of the Red Garden if it isn't roped off too much, the White Garden is fabulous, there's the Cottage Garden and the Old Garden. If you walk towards the edges of the property you will hear the sheep, and then see them. There's a Ha-Ha so no fence in the way. Don't miss the wilderness and the lawn. Oh, Nigel, just let them discover it.

That sounds absolutely delightful! We will all tour Hidcote online! Thank you!

The tour at Highgrove takes 2 hrs., but their website says to allow 4 hrs., so we split the difference. Our friend who spends 4 months a year in London told us the gift shop there is fabulous. You know what happens when 6 women go into a gift shop!

Is there anyone on this forum who has been to Highgrove?

We toured Highgrove last August and reservations are required. They allow a group of twenty to tour with a guide. It took about two hours and lunch at the tearoom there is very nice. The gift shop has lots of tempting items. When you arrive a guy at the car park will ask to see your pp or driver's license for id purposes. Mine were left behind in the safe at our hotel but I rummaged in my purse and found my airline ticket and that and my husband having his pp worked just fine. We booked several months ahead. The tour is the garden only ---not the house. We stayed in Tetbury and found it a nice place to stay--our hotel was The Close--very nice--beautiful garden area with plenty of seating and great meals.