We spent Thanksgiving evening in London at the theatre. We spent the rest of the weekend in the country. Here’s a summary of our fairy tale weekend in The Cotswolds. One theory on the meaning of a Cotswold:
Wold = gentle hill. Cots = sheep enclosures. Cotswold = a hilly area with a lot of sheep.
Yes and yes. It’s all true, but it doesn’t even begin to describe the beauty.
The Cotswolds cover 800 square miles and run through five counties. It is a region that is designated as an AONB – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. If you have not already watched the English crime series Midsomer Murder Mysteries, do so immediately. Not only will the murder mysteries keep you guessing until the end every time, but they were filmed in the county of Oxfordshire, which is part of the Cotswolds. Yes, the villages really look in real life just like they do on TV.
There are dozens of little villages to see in this region and each one has its own personality. There are lots of lists of “top 10 prettiest villages” for this area. We saw five villages, three of which typically show up on these “best of” lists. As a bonus, we drove through Stratford-Upon-Avon (where Shakespeare was from).
A Weekend in The Cotswolds: Mickleton (Our Home Base)
Here, we stayed in one of the cutest freakin’ Airbnbs I’ve ever seen. Walk through an iron gate, between two little cottages of local limestone and up the stairs in the back to the renovated attic that overlooks a garden with a rabbit hutch. (Yes, the rabbits and I made friends). Here is your home for the weekend.
Our hosts even left us a mini bottle of champagne. Impressive.
In the afternoon before it got dark (at 4:00pm), we strolled through this village and passed the local butcher’s shop, thatched roof cottages, and new neighborhoods that had been made to look historic. It’s all class, this place.
Bourton-on-Water
This village is known as the “Venice of the Cotswolds” because of its lovely little canals. Here many of the yards have staddle stones. These mushroom-shaped stones are actually part of the region’s history. Once upon a time, people propped their granaries or other food storage sheds up on these stones to prevent dampness near the food and the capping stone prevented rodents from accessing the food. Today, staddle stones are decorative, rather than practical.
Stow-on-the-Wold
St. Edward’s Church – Parts of this house of worship date back to the 12th century. It is famous for the ancient yew trees that flank one entrance.
By the way, the website Plan Your Trip to the Cotswolds, was invaluable for trip planning. They suggested itineraries based on your interests and how much time you have available. This helped me select which villages we wanted to see. Remember, there are A LOT of villages in the region.
Next time in Mrs. HomeFree I’ll treat you to a Cotswolds history lesson that’s anything but boring and you’ll see what might be my favorite picture of the weekend. For a few American historic sites that are unique and worth seeing read here and here.
Leave a Reply