Every Winter we pack the car (and the dog!) and head to the
Cotswolds to stay in a gorgeous little traditional cottage. Our favourite place
is the small town of Winchcombe in Gloucestershire so, if it's available, we book
Windsor Cottage from Owner's Direct and drive there for a few nights
stopping to stock up the kitchen at Daylesford Organic near Kingham along
the way! I especially love Daylesford at Christmas.
Winchcombe is a picture-perfect Cotswold town with sandy
Cotswold stone buildings, beautiful
countryside and cobbled streets. The weekend consists of relaxing in front of
the cottage's real log fire (a luxury I unfortunately don't have at home),
pottering around Winchcombe's independent shops and enjoying delicious local
food, but the main reason is to
spend time walking along the picturesque Cotswold Way with the dog!
Winchcombe is perfect for exploring as it sits on six
long-distance footpaths, including the famous Cotswold Way; a 102-mile trail up
and down hills with beautiful views for miles and miles around. The town is a
member of the Walkers are Welcome network of towns and even holds a
walking festival every May. Winchcombe's 'Welcomes Walkers' website is a
fantastic place to get further information and download self-guided walks. We
used three of the walks ranging from 4 to 10 miles and despite a few
turnarounds (we're great at getting lost on foot or in the car!), found them
very useful.
Another reason we love Winchcombe is that although it's got a 'small-town' feel it's got everything you could wish for from independent shops to small supermarkets and a number of lovely pubs and restaurants. It is also close to Sudeley Castle and the remains of Hailes Abbey so there's lots of history to take in. Whilst on one of our walks we stumbled upon artist Damien Hurst's restoration project, the 300-room Toddington Manor where he plans on displaying his artwork.
After all that walking,
the perfect place to retreat to was the Wine and Sausage at the White Hart Inn in the centre of Winchcombe. We had a well-deserved drink in the window of
this lovely, traditional pub every day and enjoyed a meal of sausage and mash
one evening. They only use ingredients sourced seasonally and regionally to the
Cotswolds (and it's not just sausages!) and also have a 'wine shop' within the
bar for reasonably priced, carefully selected takeout wines.
Despite quite a bit of whinging from my other-half about the
number of miles we walked, we all had another lovely stay, enjoying the fresh
air whilst recharging our batteries in probably my favourite place in the UK.
I'm already looking forward to next year!
Jane x
Highlights
- Winchcombe itself is really a highlight - we've stayed in many other places in the Cotswolds and Winchcombe has to be the best
- Lovely walks and scenery - with the range of walks available there's something for everyone from a quick jaunt to a six hour trip!
- Lighting a real fire - I love the smell of real fires and the cottage provides all the wood (and firelighters!) needed
Must-Dos
- Explore the Cotswold Way taking in the views over the Welsh and Malvern Hills and local towns
- White Hart Inn - a must-visit when in Winchcombe
Lovely article above. Perhaps you both would enjoy some of the Cotswold walks in my book which also includes a travel guide with restaurants, activities,
ReplyDeleteIt is entitled COTSWOLDS MEMOIR:Discovering a Beautiful Region of Britain on a Quest to Buy a 17th Century Cottage. Available on Amazon BBC gave it a great review as did Cotswolds Life Magazine. I donate a portion of the proceeds of this book to Cotswold conservation institutions.
Hi Diz, thanks so much. Your book sounds very interesting - we'll have to review it on the blog once we've experienced a few of the places. Going to a great cause too.
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