A Weekend in The Cotswolds Road Trip | England Staycation Idea

In The Cotswolds, you’ll find the English countryside you’ve imagined in your mind and British culture at every cobbled street. From the beige, iconic Cotswolds-stone buildings to the independent cafes serving British afternoon tea, a weekend in The Cotswolds road trip is the ultimate England staycation.

I enjoyed 2 days in Cotswolds road trip in what I describe as village hopping. Kind of like island hopping in Thailand but the British version. I visited 6 villages over a weekend in The Cotswolds, enjoying everything local about the West of England like cream tea, gin, cheese and marvelling at the quaint cottages.

A weekend break to The Cotswolds is exactly the staycation in the UK you need and here’s a sample Cotswold road trip itinerary for you.

Updated June 2021

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Contents – A Weekend in The Cotswolds Road Trip

Where are The Cotswolds England and Other Information

The Cotswolds is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty located in the West of England between the cities of Stratford-Upon-Avon and Bath, covering several English counties such as Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. If you’re wondering where should one go in The Cotswolds, look no further.

Visiting The Cotswolds by car is definitely your best option so you can village hop with ease, either self-guided or taking one of the many Cotswold tours England. How to get to Cotswolds:

From Cardiff by car, it takes just over an hour to reach one of the most southerly Cotswolds villages and 2.5 hours to reach North Cotswolds.

From London or Birmingham by car, it takes just over 2 hours to start your Cotswolds weekend itinerary.

By Air: The Cotswolds nearest airports include Bristol, Stansted, Gatwick and Heathrow. Get Heathrow transfers to and from Cotswolds here.

Let’s get to the staycation in The Cotswolds!

I wondered how many days in Cotswolds we’d need but we agreed that 2 days in The Cotswolds was enough for our first road trip Cotswolds. Exploring villages and towns of The Cotswolds is best seen by car so buckle up for this weekend in The Cotswolds road trip itinerary.

Weekend in the Cotswolds Road Trip – Cotswolds Itinerary 2 days

For every place we visit in The Cotswolds itinerary, I’ll give you the driving travel time between each stop. As we did the road trip from Cardiff to Cotswolds, I crafted the itinerary to start from the closest places to visit in The Cotswolds, to our Cotswolds accommodation and back.

Weekend Trip to Cotswolds – Cotswold Itinerary 1 Day

Head off early in the morning for the start of Saturday in The Cotswolds, touring popular places and enjoying quirky pub names in the towns. Read on for how to spend a weekend in The Cotswolds with marker map below. Read on for The Cotswolds tour itinerary.

Where are The Cotswolds England and Cotswolds road trip map:

Cardiff to Castle Combe = 1 hour

Castle Combe

Start the bar high by visiting, according to some (including me), The Cotswolds’ prettiest village of Castle Combe for where to go for a long weekend in The Cotswolds.

This little treasure town in Chippenham is as small as they come and even though we got there pretty early, it was fairly busy so visit before or after lunchtime to avoid the crowds. For what to see in one day in The Cotswolds, Castle Combe would be enough for prettiness.

We parked at the top of the village, walked down past the market cross and Castle Inn and to the bridge with a gorgeous cluster of houses.

Take home a souvenir from the honesty boxes found around The Cotswolds towns such as below where you take what you want and leave a donation. Would love to hope everyone remains honest. I have faith!

Being Welsh, I kept pronouncing this place as ‘castle cwm’ but it’s actually pronounced the same as a comb you use in your hair and rhymed with home.

Castle Combe to Tetbury = 30 mins

Tetbury

The second stop on the weekend Cotswolds itinerary is the village of Tetbury. Here, we laughed at the names of hotels like Snooty Fox and wandered the central market.

Afterwards, explore the unique store called Artique for some Indian goods or window-shop. Don’t forget your mask.

Tetbury has a quirky, independent coffee shop called Veloton that doubles as a bike store. I went to an exact replica cafe in Chiang Mai, Thailand so had to get myself a flat white here. Their coffee is a must-visit on a weekend in Cotswolds itinerary.

Oh, and their bakeries have gotten creative during the pandemic. Look at how they decorate their hand sanitiser, encouraging you to spread butter not germs. 😉

Next, we’re driving to one of the best places to visit in The Cotswolds.

Tetbury to Bibury = 30 mins

Bibury

We swiftly arrived smack bang at lunchtime in Bibury, one of the most famous places to visit in The Cotswolds, and to no surprise it was packed with Cotswolds tourists just like us. After 2 laps, we swooped into a parking spot and were glad to be visiting Cotswolds by car.

Bibury is home to Arlington Row, arguably the prettiest street in England. This is a must-visit if you’re seeing the Cotswolds in one day.

Did you know Arlington Row is featured on the first page of the British passport?! Along with major players like Big Ben, it’s definitely a top sight to see in The Cotswolds, and the UK.

If you want to avoid crowds, book a private day tour of The Cotswolds for up to 4 people!

Bibury to Chipping Norton = 40 mins

Chipping Norton

Chipping Norton is a town in North Cotswolds where we stayed for the night of my Cotswolds staycation. It isn’t the most obvious Cotswolds places to visit but easy if touring The Cotswolds by car.

I’d pre-booked luxury afternoon tea in The Cotswolds trip at The Tea Set, Chipping Norton (they also have one in Broadway) because when visiting The Cotswolds for staycation, having afternoon tea is essential for the proper British trip.

The afternoon tea was delicious at £16.75 per person and for my friend who doesn’t like salmon or egg sarnies, they gave her extra ham ones.

The main question asked at every afternoon tea is do you spread the jam first, or the cream?

Chipping Norton At Night

My accommodation was called The Kings Arms Hotel above the namesake pub in the heart of small Chipping Norton. It’s within walking distance of everything in the town and a perfect place for one night.

You know one of those places that is so local that when you walk in everyone instantly knows you’re an outsider? That was how it felt in the Chipping Norton pubs. I love it because it’s so British of us!

At The Kings Arms, we had to walk up metal steps to get to our room and my charmingly, clumsy friend slipped and rolled her ankle and we spent an hour in the pub with her ankle elevated, covered in ice, medicating with Gin and researching how far the nearest A&E was.

Luckily, it eased and the hospital wasn’t necessary (she did eventually go at home where they told her it was a torn ligament and to take ibuprofen)!

We went to two more pubs: The Blue Boar and Crown & Cushion Hotel‘s courtyard before wrapping up the night with a kebab from the lone burger van in the middle of the Main Street.

Weekend in The Cotswolds Road Trip UK – Day 2

Waking up for the second day of your weekend in The Cotswolds road trip takes you to a filming spot, a literary inspirational spot and for a spot of lunch.

Book in advance an 8 Hour Private Driving Tour of The Cotswolds if you’d prefer to be chauffeured than self-guided road trip to The Cotswolds.

Chipping Norton to Snowshill = 30 mins

Snowshill

For today’s Cotswolds driving itinerary, we start in Snowshill nestled in The Cotswolds Hills.

You can visit Snowshill Manor and Garden for £7 to marvel at Charles Wade’s (famous English architect) collections. Other than this there’s not much to do so we just strolled through the little streets and soaked in the Cotswold staycation.

This picture-perfect village was a Bridget Jones filming location when she visits her parents in one of the very first scenes of the famous film franchise.

This is why Snowshill is a famous village to visit in The Cotswolds. Do you recognise these shots? In the film, they are covered in snow, to be fair.

Read Next: Gavin & Stacey Filming Locations

Nearby is Broadway where I’d visit on my next day trip to Cotswold.

Snowshill to Stow-on-the-Wold = 20 mins

Stow-on-the-Wold

Stow on the Wold is another famous Cotswolds place and was one of the busiest towns I visited. We parked for free outside Lucy’s Tearoom.

Lunch in Stow-on-the-Wold

For lunch, we wanted to go to the oldest Inn in England dating back to 947AD, The Porch Inn which is also a hotel, but there was no room at the inn. Be sure to book in advance!

Instead, we got a table at the hotel/restaurant, The Sheep on Sheep Street Hotel. It was a fortunate find with no crowds, tasty options and in the heart of the village.

For starters, we tried the Dough Balls with Mozzarella, Dough Balls with Tomato and Pesto, Chicken Wings and Pulled Pork Nachos.

My main meal was a burger, homemade slaw and fries. My friends had wood-fired pizza which was the better option.

What to Do in Stow-on-the-Wold

• For what to do in Stow on the Wold, find an independent book store and browse small boutique shops where I bought quirky-quoted plaques. Marvel at the sandstone buildings.

• Visit St Edward’s Church for a pleasant stroll through the gardens and find the door that supposedly inspired the Door to Moria in J R R Tolkien’s famous Lord of The Rings. Unmissable on a Cotswolds weekend away.

• Stow on the Wold is a great place in The Cotswolds for souvenir-shopping such as lavender, chocolate, sweets or cheese. We visited all of these shops and I got some Cotswolds chocolate.

Stow-on-the-Wold to Bourton-on-the-Water = 10 mins

Cotswold Driving Tours:

Bourton-on-the-Water

Okay, Bourton-on-the-Water is on every Cotswold itinerary 2 days because it’s the ‘Venice’ of The Cotswolds and a gorgeous place to visit. But we only drove through the village because as soon as we pulled in we gasped at the amount of people, all very social-undistancing, like sardines on the canals. We agreed on this spot for a different weekend in The Cotswolds road trip and drove home.

All in all we visited 6 Cotswolds Villages on our weekend in Cotswolds, covering over 100 miles and I’m happy with that.

A side note about Gloucester Services: these services are the most sophisticated services I’ve seen, all independent and not a WHSmith in sight so we stopped here on our way home.

Where to Stay in The Cotswolds for Weekend Road Trip

For where to stay in The Cotswolds, check out booking.com‘s vast range of accommodation to suit all budgets and in every village/town of this 2 day itinerary Cotswolds.

I stayed in a lovely guesthouse called The Kings Arms Hotel above a traditional English pub in the countryside town of Chipping Norton. It cost just £85 for one night in a large family room for four so it was the shoestring end of the budget. If you’d rather a nicer stay in Chipping Norton, try Cotswolds Hotel and Spa for an upmarket night’s sleep.

For where to stay for a weekend in The Cotswolds in some of the villages from this Cotswolds driving itinerary, try these:

• Castle Combe – View latest prices for The Manor House Hotel and Golf Club
• Tetbury – View the latest prices for The Lighthouse
• Bibury – The Swan Hotel latest prices here
• Snowshill – Apple Cottage, see the up to date prices here
• Stow-on-the-Wold – See latest prices of Stow Lodge Hotel
• Bourton-on-the-Water – The Lamb Inn latest prices here

If you want to prolong your Cotswolds weekend itinerary, there are places you can visit such as Broadway Tower, Chipping Campden, Lower Slaughter, Upper Slaughter, Blenheim Palace, Burford and more.

Day Trip to Cotswolds Itinerary

Rather than a weekend staycation, if you’re looking for a Cotswolds one day trip I would pick a few of the above that take your fancy and set out bright and early for the best place to visit in Cotswolds.

1 Day Cotswold Tour Options:

Alternatively, if you join one of the following tours you can guarantee to make the most of village hopping in the cotswolds as you’ll have a guide and structured itinerary for your Cotswolds one day trip.

• Visit four villages (Bourton-on-the-Water, Burford, Bibury, and Stow-on-the-Wold) inthis Klook tour with lunch, a guide and coach from London included on this Cotswolds day tour.
• For undiscovered spots of The Cotswolds, this Get Your Guide tour is guided and stops at Minster Lovell, Bibury, River Coln, Arlington Row, Northleach, Windrush Valley and Burford.
• This tour is from Oxford and is ideal for any Downtown Abbey fans as it stops at Bampton, Kelmscott, Lechlade, Bibury, Winchcombe, Stow-on-the-Wold and Blenheim Palace.
• You might want to travel in style in this luxury Mercedes tour with Viator including 11 stops: Chipping Campden, Stow-on-the-Wold, Blockley, Lower Slaughter, Guiting Power, Broadway, Snowshill, Hailes Church, Naunton, Upper Slaughter and Bibury.
• Or a cycle tour may be more up your street in this Viator tour with a local guide, bike included stopping at Moreton-in-Marsh, Ebrington, Chipping Campden, Broad Campden and back.

Day Trips from The Cotswolds

You can choose many places in England to explore after The Cotswolds. There are many places to explore in Bath, Harry Potter spots in Gloucester, free things to do in Bristol, more villages in the Lake District, famous sights in London and nearby hills in Somerset.

And that’s a wrap for our Weekend Cotswolds Itinerary and 1 day in Cotswolds ideas. Thanks for reading!

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