Driving through The Cotswolds
Visiting The Cotswolds is an essential travel bucket list if you’re living in England. It is something you can do from many of the major cities in England. There are many tours that take you to different areas of The Cotswolds from London, or you can rent a car which you’ll find is probably the best recommendation from many people. If you live in England, definitely drive, driving is a much better way of experiencing The Cotswolds AONB.
When we did our drive through The Cotswolds, we did an overnight stay. There are so many villages to see, and although driving is not relatively long in terms of time or distance, I would definitely recommend you stay more than one day in the area. The way we did our driving trip through The Cotswolds was from the South to North. We stayed near Wiltshire, which worked out perfect for exploring the western side of the area and then the following day we did more of the eastern villages. I’ve included Bradford on Avon and Bath as two special features. We didn’t do these during our weekend in The Cotswolds, you could do them both as they are both on the southern tip of the area, but really you would want to dedicate at least another full day in Bath.
Bradford-on-Avon
Bradford-on-Avon is located at the southern edge of The Cotswolds. It’s a gorgeous village surrounded by some of the most gorgeous country views I’ve seen. We didn’t stop in Bradford-on-Avon during our weekend driving through The Cotswolds, but if you’re driving up from this area this is necessary first stop. You’ll want to visit The Bridge Tea Rooms, the English Heritage Tilthe Barn, and if you have enough time, hire some bikes and take a ride alongside the River Avon that can take you all the way to Bath if you wish.
Bath
An honorable mention of course, as Bath is not necessarily located within The Cotswolds, but it’s literally located right on the southern edge of it. You could easily spend a weekend in Bath, but if you’re traveling from Bath, you might as well drive through The Cotswolds. This guide would be the perfect way to follow if you’re traveling from Bradford-on-Avon or Bath.
Castle Combe
Castle Combe is easily mentioned in every article or blog post you may read about quintessential English villages. We drove in Castle Combe and parked at the top car park and walked into the Village. The walk into the village is gorgeous and once you turn into the high street you see what a beauty this village actually is, all the IG pictures don’t do it justice. We came in the morning so it was pretty quiet, but as we finished our walk through the village, we noticed that it was getting significantly busy with tour busses starting to arrive. Definitely come as early as you can for the best experience of walking through the narrow streets without running into people on every side.
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Tetbury
Tetbury is located on the lower, southern half, of The Cotswolds. If you’re coming from Castle Combe, this would be a great stop for a morning coffee or lunch depending on the time of day you’re driving through. This is a great market town. There are so many cute shops, restaurants, and cafe’s you can stop at and enjoy. It definitely livens up in the afternoon, but there’s a main gorgeous high street that you can walk up and down without much diversion into side streets.
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Wotton-Under-Edge
Wotton-Under-Edge is located on the western edge of The Cotswolds. It’s a gorgeous hilly market town, with great shops and gorgeous country views. If you’re stopping here around lunch time on a sunny day, then I can recommend The Royal Oak Inn Pub. It had a great garden at the back with seating, child playing area, and it’s dog friendly as well. You’ll want to walk up and down the high street, but also don’t miss visiting the Almshouses.
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North Nibley
Located on the western edge of The Cotswolds, the village of North Nibley is very small, however it is very popular for the hike/walk to take up to the William Tyndale Monument. You’ll reach the top that provides gorgeous views of The Cotswolds. Through this area you’ll also find many signs to follow The Cotswolds Way trail which is a 102 mile footpath running along the western edge of The Cotswolds. If you want to go up to the monument, it’s about a 30 minute walk up. It’s a bit rocky in some areas, but generally easy at a slow pace. If your driving, you’ll find parking along the main road into North Nibley, and the trail head will be on your right hand side before you get to the Village. Pack a picnic and enjoy at the top with gorgeous views all around you.
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Bibury
Bibury is a small village in The Cotswolds located towards the eastern edge. We didn’t stop here, we simply drove through the village, because we couldn’t find a parking spot! It was filled with cars and tour busses, and people walking all over the streets to try and get pictures of the famous Arlington Row cottages. If you’re traveling from the southern part of The Cotswolds, you can stop here on your way to Burford.
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Burford
Burford is located on the top half of the Cotswolds along the eastern edge of this area. It’s another great Market Town with shops and restaurants. The high street is filled with many options, including the rather famous The Cotswolds Arms pub. We didn’t stop inside, but it was filled with people having lunch and drinks. While in Bedford you don’t want to miss stopping into Mrs Bumbles Delicatessen Shop for tasty jams and treats.
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Bourton-on-the-Water
Drive over to Bourton-on-the-Water from Burford which is less than a 20 minute drive. I would recommend you plan lunch or a stop for tea in Bourton-on-the-Water. This had to be one of my favorite villages we stopped in along the way. We had a delicious lunch and tea at the Green & Pleasant Tea Rooms along the river bank. They have great outdoor seating, and best of all they are pup friendly. Walk along the River Windrush, and do some shopping and food tasting. Parking is a bit hard to find in this area, we actually parked in the residential area and walked about 15 minutes into the main high street. If you’re looking for a place to stay, I would highly recommend looking into the many Bed & Breakfasts in this area.
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Lower Slaughter & Upper Slaughter
As you driving towards Stow-on-the-Wold, you can drive through the Slaughters. These are two small villages that are great for pictures, but not much more to do here than walk along the river bank from one to the other. We drove through both without stopping, and we did see quite a lot of people waking around taking pictures. If you’re driving, follow signs to Lower Slaughter and then to Upper Slaughter and you can make your way towards Stow-on-the-Wold.
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Stow-on-the-Wold
Another one of my favorites! Stow-on-the-Wold is another Market Town within The Cotswolds on the northern part of the area. There are again lots of shops, antique stores, and restaurants to choose from, but the layout of this town is all central to the square and the building facades are absolutely gorgeous. Stow-on-the-Wold is also home to St Edward’s Church where you’ll find the rather famous Instagram Door that may or may not have inspired Tolkien’s The Hobbit. You’ll definitely want to stop into the church yard and see the door. Then head over to New England Coffee House for some delicious coffee and then to Cotswolds Chocolate.
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Chipping Camden
Chipping Camden is located on the northern top edge of The Cotswolds. It’s yet another gorgeous village, with an absolute great example of Cotswold stone along the high street. Driving into the village is an absolutely gorgeous residential area with cottages and thatch roofs. Chipping Camden felt a bit quite and less filled with tourists than some of the other villages we visited.
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Stratford-upon-Avon
While Stratford-upon-Avon is not located exactly within The Cotswolds AONB, it is less than a 30 minute drive from Chipping Camden. It’s famous for its William Shakespeare history, and it is definitely a great place to visit if you’re headed in that direction from The Cotswolds. Again, this would probably be another place that you could spend a whole day visiting, but could also be combined with your drive to The Cotswolds.
All in all, you can’t be in England and not take a drive through The Cotswolds. And if you absolute must, take a coach tour into the area. Although I can’t emphasize how enjoyable it was to be able to drive and take in all of these villages and towns on your own time.
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