The Cotswolds

We stayed in Stow on the Wold and were happy with our choice. You might piece together which location makes the most sense logistically for what you’re wanting to see in the area? It’s all pretty charming; I don’t think you can really go wrong.

I assume you are thinking of Stow , Chipping Campden and Bourton on the Water . They would all be fine., I have stayed in Stow and Chipping Campden, and both were lovely. The big question is, will you have a car? Essential for travel in The Cotswolds , and many other areas of rural UK .

We stayed at the Old Kiln House in Shipston on Stour but as Julie said, whatever you choose you really can’t go wrong. By car, the entire Cotswold AONB is maybe an hour east/west and a couple hours north/south so everything is relatively close.

Google some images of villages and select one that appeals.

The biggest thing to remember is to visit a bunch of Pubs, meet the locals and enjoy a Sunday roast.

(And if you go to the Black Horse Inn & Pub in Shipston on Stour be prepared for not a British pub but a Thai restaurant with hot pots, spring rolls and curry. Welcome to the new Pub economy).

Have you driven on the opposite of the road before?

The Cotswolds are a lovely part of England but public transport to and from London is time consuming. I always suggest having an automobile at your disposal to properly experience the area’s beauty.

One November my having a car enabled me to come upon Hallie’s Abbey as I drove from Winchcombe to Broadway. Also enabled me to discover the lovely Mount Inn Stanton. Great meal there.

EDIT: James I was thinking of the couple getting to Paddington ( which can be overwhelming) finding the right train, arriving in Moreton in The March and finding a car rental agency…..or renting a car in London and then driving to the Cotswolds. Definitely time consuming especially if you’ve not driven on the left side of the road.

Public transport from London is not time consuming. It is only 1 hour 30 minutes by train from London Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh (nearest station to most scenic Cotswold villages). Car is best for getting around those villages.

We stayed six nights in Chipping Campden at the Volunteer Inn. Reasonable rates and they have the best pub in town, also a great Indian Restaurant.

We used it as a base to visit Stratford Upon Avon, Blenheim Palace, Oxford and the Cotswolds.

I stayed in Cheltenham (business trip) that is on the western edge of the Cotswolds and not very convenient to the more popular villages. We stayed in Chipping Campden on one trip and on our last trip there we stayed in Stratford Upon Avon. We had a rental car on each trip so drove to many of the villages.

Peter, Shipston has a watch-repair specialist. One of his clients is Robert Plant of Led Zep fame. Seems Plant regularly brings his antique watches in for attention.
I am done. the secretive client

You can't really go wrong with where you choose. Places like Stow on the Wold and Bourton on the water are always popular and will get very busy, especially during the day.

We've always stopped in Burford which is a very attractive place.

Thank you for all the advice. We will be renting a car, so it'll be easy to tour the area.

for Peter and gregglamarsh, in addition to that watchmaker, there is also a wonderful clockmaker in Whitney which is midway between Burford (agree with the above comments, great wool church, ancient bridge, beautiful village hill, a pretty decent tea) and Oxford.

Steve Fletcher, of The Repair Shop fame, has http://www.clockworkshop.co.uk/ The Clock Workshop. He is the third generation there, and his son is coming up in the business. He repaired a clock from Scotland for our new King Charles III. I've just heard the clock he restored for me last year chime.

Check the hours for the Snowshill Arms. Good food. Lovely town.

Also check the website for the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway

I enjoyed my AirBnB stay in Winchcombe.

Went to Sudley Castle for their Christmas Lights show. Remember finding, by chance, Hallies Abbey.

My fav spot in Winchcombe was a chair by the fire in The Plaisterers Arms.

Snowshill Arms is a local Donnington Brewery pub as is the Mount at Stanton
See for details of all their pubs
www.donnington-brewery.com

There's a very good series on YouTube called "The Cotswolds Explorer" that might be of interest. It's hosted by a gent named Robin Shuckburgh. It's quite well done and may be of interest since you'll have a car for exploring the area.
He has a companion series called "Hidden Gems in the Cotswolds " that's also worth a look.

Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention Robert. Isn't it amazing how much travelers can access via YouTube nowadays? Really, there is such a wide range available. Rewind 20 years and that was not in the cards.
I am done. The end.

I’ll be in England in September. I’m interested in the replies to your questions as I’d like to spend a few days in the Cotswolds as well. Is it possible to visit some villages without a car?

Robert, thank you very much for the YouTube tip. I’ve been to the Cotswolds with English friends (who drove) just for a day. Can’t wait to go back. But deciding where to stay is very difficult. I wouldn’t want to stay in the small, extremely touristy villages like Bourton on the Water and Lower Slaughter. They felt like Disneyland to me. I liked Blockley the best of what i saw, but no restaurants or pubs that i saw. I’d like a hybrid of Blockley and Moreton in Marsh.

I’ll watch your YouTube recs!

Winchcombe is lovely, but I also put in a vote for Wotton-Under-Edge. We stayed there for a rest day on our Costwold Way hike in June of 2018, and we visited the village hall for tea, which was being sponsored by a local charity. We got to sit right down and have a long, lovely conversation with several locals and eat some homemade cake for a donation, which was the most Europe-through-the-backdoor thing I've ever done! We also went to the gorgeous 1325 St Mary's church for the Sunday Service, and they fed us cake there, too! A very cake-rich place, Wotton-Under-Edge.

Other highlights of the Cotswolds Way hike included Painswick--stay at St Anne's BnB--and Broadway Tower.
Lowlights include hiking straight into horizontal rain across the top of Cleeve Common--but at least the view was amazing!

having been up on Cleeve Hill many a time I can testify that such weather is far from an isolated event

We've just been trying to book at RS recommended B&Bs in Stow and Campden for mid May and found most were booked. We opted for a place not in RS guide called Charingworth Manor (an old manor house serving as a country lodge) near Chipping Campden. Don't know if it's a good choice or not yet. I guess my main point is to book soon as rooms seem to be going...

Staying at the White Hart Royal in Moreton-in-Marsh before heading to Blockley (big Father Brown fans) and then Winchcombe, might have to take a detour for some cake at Wotton-Under-Edge, sounds yummy ... and hoping to make it to the The Bakers Arms (the pub in Father Brown) in Broad Campden ... so much to do, so little time, but I did get some time back since I found out that the day we were planning to go to Highclere Castle, it is not open to the public (that entire week) ... a little disappointed in that but I'm sure I can find other things to do/see.

Charingworth Manor looks wonderful from the photographs. It gets predominently good reviews on Trip Advisor too, many from established reviewers. (Negative reviews often very revealing about the reviewer...)

Thanks again for the tip about the YouTube channel. I'm looking forward to doing a deep dive there this weekend.

I can't suggest an accommodation, because we were gifted a week in a cottage in Lower Slaughter. And it was exactly what we wanted. Quiet, picturesque, and with lovely easy walks. But the car made it possible to day trip all over the Cotswolds, reaching all the places we wanted to see within an hour, or 2 at the most. As long as you have wheels, I don't think the location of your hotel/inn,/B&B is that vital in the grand scheme of things.

We picked up and returned the car at Heathrow.