How Many Days for the Cotswolds?

We will be spending time post-cruise in London, and we are interested in visiting the Cotswolds. How many days should we allow for the Cotswolds? Any specific recommendations on places to see? Recommendations for Deluxe accommodations? Thanks for the help!

Shelley

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We had a day, so we took a day. We ended up visiting Northleach, which was a beautiful town!

Can't tell you where to stay. We actually stayed in Stratford-upon-Avon, and made our excursion to Northleach in between visiting Shakespeare sites. That is a reasonable option, if you want to do it.

It's a beautiful area!

Well I have lived here for 14 years and barely scratched the surface! Some people drive through for a few hours in a motor coach and proclaim they have “seen” the Cotswolds. So somewhere between the two, I suppose [emoji41]

How are you planning to get around - a car is extremely useful. What kind of deluxe accommodation do you have in mind - country house hotel, or something in a town?

What do you enjoy, and what are you expecting? We can offer castles, grand country houses, world famous gardens, museums, ancient market towns, beautiful small villages (most of which have an interesting old church), Neolithic and Roman history sites, and, of course, the quintessential English countryside of the wolds, rivers and woods.

These websites may help and of course I’ll answer any specific questions, but a few clues would be helpful!

cotswolds.com

cotswolds.info

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It's a how long is a piece of string question. It depends on what you are interested in, how you will travel, whether you want to stay over and enjoy the local hospitality. To turn the question back to the OP , how long do you need to see US/ Californian cities like SF , LA ,or to visit Yosemite NP. When we were in California, one of our favourites was to take a hydrofoil out from Long Beach to Catalina island, had a great day but not on page 1 of most guide books. Equally an earlier response mentions Northleach, not as high profile as Burton-on-the-water or Broadway or Stow-on-the-Wold.

My answer however is at least 2 days with travel too and from London and stay over in the area.

Well I have lived here for 14 years and barely scratched the surface! Some people drive through for a few hours in a motor coach and proclaim they have “seen” the Cotswolds. So somewhere between the two, I suppose [emoji41]

I did a two-day one-night trip (ie a weekend) a few years back, starting from London, and it was about enough to clock that I'd arrived in the Cotswolds.

We can offer castles, grand country houses, world famous gardens, museums, ancient market towns, beautiful small villages (most of which have an interesting old church), Neolithic and Roman history sites, and, of course, the quintessential English countryside of the wolds, rivers and woods.

Err - you forgot the pubs - ranging from high-end gastro-pubs where a lunch for two can set you back over £100 to tiny country pubs where an excellent meal can be had for a tenner each.

We have visited the Cotswolds several times, and have rented cottages through Rural Retreats. Their services and quality of lodgings has been excellent. https://www.ruralretreats.co.uk On our last trip (May, 2018) we spent four days in Stanton (near Broadway in Gloustershire) and two nights in Bath. I think that a rental car is a necessity. We have never done a group tour of the Cotswolds.

Four days for a first-timer, do you reckon? I think that's what I'd suggest. It's a reasonably wide geographical area.

Yes, I think that’s probably right and allows a possibility to go to (e.g.) Stratford or Warwick Castle for those looking to tick off the major destinations [emoji846]

We have visited the Cotswolds several times, and have rented cottages through Rural Retreats. Their services and quality of lodgings has been excellent. https://www.ruralretreats.co.uk On our last trip (May, 2018) we spent four days in Stanton (near Broadway in Gloustershire) and two nights in Bath. I think that a rental car is a necessity. We have never done a group tour of the Cotswolds.

This is an excellent idea. I have never used Rural Retreats, so under CC rules can’t recommend them as such, but can say they are a well known local company.

It comes with a warning, though - you start off doing that, then you rent a cottage for several weeks, then months, then you find yourself buying somewhere and staying half the year [emoji3] Know a couple of folk from across the pond in our village who went down that path.

Stanton is lovely (I am pretty close by) and if you pick a village with a pub or shop you can get to know some of the locals, who are also (mostly) lovely.

Err - you forgot the pubs - ranging from high-end gastro-pubs where a lunch for two can set you back over £100 to tiny country pubs where an excellent meal can be had for a tenner each.

 

Ah, yes, I really must get round to trying some of these “pubs” I hear so much about [emoji6]

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On our first visit we stayed 3 days and discovered new things all the time. I would definitely encourage a car as it allows you to get to some of the smaller towns that are less invaded by tourists