Up and down the Cotswold

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The Cotswold is the low mountain area towards North England and lie primarily in the Gloucestershire area. Easily connected to London (around 2 hours driving time), the Cotswold have lovely forests, meadows and the best examples of English town and country life. The key areas to visit are Cirencester (for the museum and the Church of John the Baptist), Cheltenham (for the night life), Westonbirt Arboretum (for the amazing colours of the leaves and the walks), Tetbury (not very well known but we stumbled upon the place - do stop for lunch/ tea and also for a walk along the market place), Burford (for the weekend antique markets). The highlight of the trip of course was the driving. It is a treat to drive by the most ancient looking churches, stone houses, old pubs and inns.

Though my sensible husband did invest in a GPS system worth £200, we did get lost looking for Minchin Hampton and stumbled upon Dursley, a quiet little village tucked away. We made Stroud our base and stayed at the Downing Hotel (£60 pounds for a twin en suite though there are cheaper options) that offered great service, lovely breakfast and an owner who had the time to chat with two over enthusiastic Indians. We did miss seeing the Roman amphitheatre and Roman walls at Cirencester but then we had two days and loads more to do. Stroud has a museum that they advertise a lot (Museum in the Park) but I’d recommend you’d give it a miss unless you have spare time.

At Burford don’t give the Pheasant Hotel a miss. Get a cup of tea if you are not hungry. The décor of the place is worth a visit and its cosy ambience addictive. They also have live performances once in a while.

We do plan to visit the Arboretum again as the leaves had not really turned colour and plan to do it when we visit Bath. Wait for updates.

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Photos

Scene from Dursley
The Cotswold

The church of John the Baptist
Cirencester

The Arboretum
Cirencester

On the road
Gloucestershir

The Arboretum in colours
Cirencester

The Arboretum in colours - more
The walks

Comments

[Peter Jones]

Dursley
Glad you found Dursley but your picture is sadly not of Dursley. I also think the hotel you refer to is the Downfield Hotel run by Nigel Messenger who I am sure will be glad of the mention Peter Dursley Chamber of Trade