The Cotswolds: Stepping Into a Storybook 📖
While in England, my sisters, mom, and I had the pleasure of spending several days in the Cotswolds. The Cotswolds is a region of rolling hills and meadows in central-southwest England. With so many charming towns, it was hard to choose which ones to visit. We truly felt like we stepped into a storybook! Stories are a very fitting topic since Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Beatrix Potter, the author of Peter Rabbit, were both from the United Kingdom. The rolling hills and flower-covered houses provide inspiration for everyone in their presence. The best way to tour the Cotswolds is by car and navigating the narrow, winding roads is both incredibly scenic and harrowing for Americans not used to driving on the left side of the road with the steering wheel on the right! After acclimating to the roads, we enjoying meandering through the charming little towns.
Our home base was Kingham, and the towns we chose to visit were Burford, Cirencester, Bibury, Bourton-on-the-Water, Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold, Oxfordshire, and a larger town called Bath that is one the edge of the Cotswolds. Because our visit fell in late May/early June, the flowers, especially the roses, were in full bloom. The towns were particularly festive with decorations in shop windows, as well as parades and festivals to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.
The Cottage
Our Airbnb in Kingham was a quintessential English cottage, complete with thatched roof and country kitchen. We enjoyed eating at The Wild Rabbit, which was only a short walk down the road.
In Stow-on-the-Wold we visited St. Edward’s church (which local lore says inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s Doors of Durin).
Bath
On the way back to London we made a stop in Bath, a town known for and named after its Roman-built baths. The Roman Baths and magnificent Temple were built around the the natural hot spring which were at the center of Roman life between the first and fifth centuries. Bath is a stunning city with Georgian architecture and looks straight out of a Jane Austen novel.