Things to do in/around Malmesbury/Cotswolds

Wells, Bath, Bristol, Salisbury, Cerne Abbas, Cirencester, Hidcote, Chedworth Roman villa, Glastonbury Tor, Avebury Circle…

Since you'll have a car, when you go to Stonehenge, be sure to drive around to see Woodhenge and Durrington Walls which is literally across the lane from it. You can walk from Woodhenge to Stonehenge on public rights of way although I was with a guide and it didn't seem well-trodden when I went!

You could also consider going to Old Sarum while in the area.

I'd add in Avebury and the stone circle there with the nearby associated sites of West Kennet Long Barrow, Silbury Hill and Windmill Hill.

Of course all of those are dependent on your interest as Neolithic sites, lol!!

Malmesbury Abbey is interesting as well.

You will be spoilt for choice - this is a lovely area to explore. Follow your nose and stop off in many of the small villages. The churches are often worth having a look in too. Some have the remains of wall paintings (search out the Old Church in Lower Oddington) and others have splendid tombs (Swinbrook). Fairford Church has some of the best medieval stained glass in the country and don't miss the grave of Tiddles the church cat near the south porch.

Tetbury, Bibury and Cirencester (don't miss the church - the largest in Gloucestershire) are larger places and well worth a visit. Then there is the tiny Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin on either side of the river. There is a short walk along the river and across a clapper Bridge.

Kelmscott Manor was the much loved country retreat of William Morris and is worth visiting. It has a very good cafe too. A bit further to drive (70 minutes) is Chastleton House which was built in the early C17th by a wealthy wool merchant and was lived in by the same family until 1991.

Westonburt Arboretum with its walking trails is a good place to stretch your legs or there is Dyrham Park

Hidcote Gardens have already been mentioned. Virtually next door is Kiftsgate Court Gardens, which are very different (and we actually preferred them). Very different is Painswick Rococo Garden

I've more than filled five days and have hardly begun to scratch the surface!

https://www.cotswolds.com/things-to-do/abbey-house-gardens-p2908723 is in Malmesbury.

Castle Combe is everything you would expect of an old Cotswold village in the south Cotswolds. Good villages in the north Cotswolds are Bouton-on-the-Water, Lower Slaughter, Chipping Campden, Broadway.

Malmesbury is just north of the M4 (motorway = interstate). Go west and cross the Severn estuary on the M48 bridge. See Chepstow Castle and then take A466 north up the Wye Valley to see the ruins of Tintern Abbey. (Just north of St.Arvans - a minor 'Wyndcliff' road leads off to a parking area from where you can hike for 20 minutes to the Eagle’s Nest viewpoint). Further north, the Yat Rock viewpoint is also worth seeing.

Check out on this map and be sure to zoom down onto difficult road junctions - especially in Chepstow.

Nailsworth and Minchinhampton area is lovely. Nailsworth and Tetbury are pretty towns. Nailsworth has some good places to eat. Quite a few British celebs live in that area. Dyhram Park, Newark Park and Lacock National Trust are all well worth visiting.

In Malmesbury itself there’s a tomb in the large abbey that dominates the town that is supposed to be the final resting place of Athelstan, first king of all England. Also you can learn about the life and somewhat unsuccessful times of Elmer, the Flying Monk of Malmesbury!