Have you ever visited the Cotswolds? I’d heard wonderful things about it and it quickly became one of those places on my wish list! If you’d like to find out about our trip to the Cotswolds, read on!

Where are the Cotswolds?

The Cotswolds AONB (Area of Natural Beauty) is in the South Western middle region of England, in the UK. Spanning approximately 800 square miles and covering five counties: Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Warwickshire, if you Google the Cotswolds, most photos you’ll see will depict quintessential English villages with houses made of beautiful Cotswold stone. We can absolutely vouch for this – on the journey to our destination it was clearly apparent when we were in this beautiful part of the world, by the difference in buildings. The change from red brick houses to stunning, golden coloured Cotswold stone really did set the feel for our mini break.

Bourton on the Water

You’ll probably find, when looking for pictures of the Cotswolds, that a great number of the photos will no doubt centre around a picturesque little village, named Bourton On The Water, otherwise known as the Venice of the Cotswolds. Unsurprisingly Bourton On The Water has a river running right through the centre of it. The River Windrush slowly flows through this pretty village, which is well known for it’s five stone bridges. The bridges are constructed from Cotswold stone and are a great focal point and make for pretty stunning photos, even if the if it’s not a blue sky day. Bourton on the Water isn’t really a tourist attraction as such, but it is very popular with tourists, especially those from overseas, or seekers of a traditional English village to visit. It is also a thriving village, so it’s worth remembering that people do live there as you walk past all the pretty houses and try and resist the temptation to peek inside any open front doors. In the village centre, there were a few lovely little shops, including a traditional sweet shop – which we resisted the temptation to visit, there’s also Birdland and a model village very close by. If it wasn’t for the fact that we were staying in someone else’s accommodation, the dogs would have LOVED to have jumped in and had a little paddle around in the shallow water. (Truth be told, Ellie did have a little splash around but not a full on swim!!)

We visited in April, when the weather wasn’t that great, so this may have helped the fact that Bourton on the Water wasn’t that busy when we visited. There were some coaches parked in the car park so we assume that it’s a popular destination for coach trips. We were amazed by the amount of people that took an interest in the dogs while were were there. Many keen tourists were asking if they could stroke them, asking what breed they were (some American tourists were very excited when we said they were English Springer Spaniels!) Interestingly, we even had a few asking to have their photos taken with the dogs! For a brief moment we even thought about a little extra money earner!!

A little story for you: Old family friends made the move from West Sussex and now live in Bourton on the Water and when you live in a small village, sometimes people feel safe enough or community minded enough to leave their front door open. Said friends did this and on one occasion ended up with a entourage of tourists traipsing through their hallway trying to see what it was like inside!

What else is in the Cotswolds?

Covering such a vast area, there are plenty of places to visit, suiting all tastes. You’ll find vibrant market towns, such as Stow-on-the-Wold, Tetbury and Chipping Norton, as well as an abundance of pretty little villages, including Bourton on the Water, Burford and Painswick.

What to do in the Cotswolds

There are heaps of places to visit in the Cotswolds, so it really depends on what you’re looking for. It’s basically got everyone covered:

If you’re looking for somewhere scenic with chocolate box cottages and stunningly beautiful countryside – it’s for you.

If you’re looking for some down time, with country walks and a ‘get away from it all’ feel, it’s for you too!

If you’re looking to explore a bit of British history and visit stunning destinations such as the Roman Baths in Bath, or Blenheim Palace, it’s for you too!

If you’re looking for an escape with the kids, to encourage a love of the countryside, as well as attractions that will keep them amused during the day time, well surprise surprise, it’s also for you!

Where to stay near Bourton on the Water

We made the decision to stay somewhere fairly close to Bourton on the Water, as it was somewhere we really wanted to visit. After reading some reviews about Bourton on the Water being fairly busy at times, we decided to stay in a village quite close by, but not right in the hub of it all. We found a little gem of a place to stay called The Lamb Inn. Based in Great Rissington, a quaint little village just 3 miles away from Bourton on the Water, the reviews were great so we thought we’d give it a try. What a charming place to stay! We were so pleased to have discovered it. We opted for one of the garden rooms, anticipating that it would be a room on the ground floor of the Inn with access to the garden. It was far more than this! The garden rooms are set at the rear of the Inn, but are a distance away from it, meaning that there wasn’t a sound to be heard. They are set out like two self contained cottages, with a bedroom area, a lounge area and a bathroom with shower. There is a little outside area you can use and they are dog friendly – obviously a huge deal breaker for us!

The staff at the Inn were all genuinely welcoming and friendly, and even though we visited while the football was being played on the TV for the convenience of visitors and locals, this honestly didn’t impact us at all. The food was freshly cooked, well presented and really really tasty. We would definitely recommend a stay in this pretty Inn, surrounded by similar buildings built of Cotswold stone.

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the morning, again served by friendly staff. The dogs made friends too – being given treats by pretty much all the staff we came across.

Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens

Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens was one of the places we decided to visit while we were in the area. Located in Burford, dogs are allowed on leads and they had a huge variety of wildlife – ranging from graceful giraffes, rarely seen rhinos and amazing Asiatic lions, to rarely-seen red pandas, a prickly porcupine and lovely lemurs. It had a lovely feel to it and was so well kept, as well as the fact that some of the animals (such as the zebras and giraffes) had such huge enclosures and gave us a fantastic view of them because they weren’t behind fences, rather just moats around the edge, so the views were incredible! We stayed there for quite a while, it was a brilliant place to visit – worthy of it’s own blog post so watch this space!

We were quite sad to leave the Cotswolds, it was a really relaxing break and felt like we’d gone back in time for part of it. I’d really recommend it as a place to visit, if you haven’t been there already!