Designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and spanning nearly 800 square miles, The Cotswolds is all lush green rolling hills and achingly beautiful villages of honeysuckle stone houses. Its verdant radiance and beauty is matched only by its popularity. Some of the most popular villages can get also get overwhelmingly busy!
The Cotswolds is not a county. It is an area from the borders of South Warwickshire and Worcestershire, taking in West Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, parts of Wiltshire, Bath, and then North East Somerset in the south.
Are you planning a trip and in need of some Cotswolds day trip ideas? Maybe you live in the UK and are planning a long weekend, or maybe you’ve come from further afield and are touring the UK’s main attractions. We have put together a list of five attractions in the Cotswolds (including one fabulous lunch spot) for you to consider adding to your Cotswolds itinerary.
Painswick Rococo Garden
This glorious garden makes for a lovely relaxed Cotswolds afternoon out. Popular in the 1700s, the term ‘Rococo’ refers to a flamboyant style using curves and asymmetry. The wonderful gardens contain a variety of small ornamental buildings known as follies.
A ‘folly’ is a type of ornamental building constructed purely to add an element of decorative whimsy or character. A folly could perhaps be an indulgent way of demonstrating ones wealth.
We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon here taking in the gardens and quirky little buildings, and we were lucky enough to witness a female dragonfly laying her eggs in the pond. There are various quirky follies to see, and a maze in which you can get pleasantly lost!
Painswick Rococo Garden is open to the public Thursday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, except in the Winter. Check the website for the latest prices and opening hours.
While you’re in the area, a visit to nearby Painswick Beacon is also highly recommended. From the 283m elevation here you can enjoy spectacular panoramic views of the Cotswolds, and can see for miles in all directions. You’ll need to be reasonably fit and agile to make the walk up from the car park. See more info here
Broadway Tower
Broadway Tower is another example of a folly. It may look like a castle from afar, but as you approach on foot you soon realise that this building would be unlikely to be able to put up much of a defence if it were to come under siege!
The building was created by 18th century landscape designer “Capability Brown” for George William 6th Earl of Coventry, and was completed in 1798. The tower was actually created for hosting extravagant parties, and the Georgian interiors remain grandly furnished with dining tables and chairs.
Once you have had a look around these rooms and perhaps imagined yourselves decked out in your 18th century finery feasting on roast pheasant and red wine, you can ascend to the very top of the tower (312m above sea level). From the roof you can enjoy more 360 degree panoramic views of the Cotswolds glorious green undulating hills. Here you will be officially at the highest point in the Cotswolds!
While in the area, make sure you also stop by at nearby Broadway village. This has the usual pretty honey-tinged stone cottages. There are also a number of cafes, restaurants, and independent boutique shops to enjoy here too.
Dunkerton’s
Just outside Cheltenham is a fabulous spot called Dunkerton’s On this sprawling site there is an artisan bakery and an organic shop selling cider, cheese, charcuterie (one of my current favourite words!), and fruit & veg. Grab yourself a delicious freshly poured cider from the on site taproom, and browse the different street food vendors on site. There is ample parking on this sprawling site for your designated driver.
The taproom opens at 11am, and the food vendors start serving from 12 noon. There is quite a lot of under cover or open air seating, but we recommend getting here not long after 12 in order to get parked and find seating. The food from the different vendors is excellent across the board, but we particularly recommend the burgers from Woozy Pig. In fact, while eating the burger from here I promptly proclaimed it to be the best I have ever eaten!
The food situation is superbly organised. It gets busy, but each vendor gives you a little alarm to take back to your table. So instead of queuing and waiting around at each food stall, you simply wait at your table enjoying your cider until your alarm buzzes and flashes to prompt you to collect your meal.
Don’t forget to grab some ciders from the shop to take home as souvenirs!
Berkeley Castle
Located near to the River Severn, Berkeley Castle is perhaps rather unfairly overlooked in England’s (admittedly huge) list of castles. The castle is incredibly well preserved, and remains with the Berkeley family after 850 years.
Originally constructed as a defence against the Welsh, it has all the classic castle features such as arrow slits and great barred doors. It also has incredible interiors, so even on a rainy day it remains a viable and fascinating site to visit. Make sure you allow plenty of time to stroll around the interiors taking in the paintings fireplaces (especially the fireplaces, Chenai loves fireplaces!), and furnishings.
The grounds of the castle are also a delight in themselves, with beautiful well kept gardens and wooded areas too, there’s plenty to get lost in here. We hugely enjoyed ambling around the pretty and well kept gardens, admiring rainbow colours dancing in the pond’s fountain as the Autumn sun finally dispersed the clouds.
As we departed we noted that some locally grown produce was available to purchase near the café area. I left feeling very happy with our visit, and with some fresh English Jalapeño peppers in my pockets!
Gloucester Cathedral
A bit of a cheeky addition this, as it’s technically just outside of The Cotswolds. Gloucester Cathedral is quite magnificent, and is one of England’s finest medieval religious buildings. Boasting Gothic architecture and a 225ft high tower that is visible from all across the city centre. The interior with its elaborate fan vaulting is totally breath-taking.
We highly recommend taking the guided tour, during which your guide will enlighten you about the fascinating past of the cathedral, as well as various aspects of English history.
Harry Potter fans should take particular interest in visiting here, as the cathedral was used as a filming location for some Hogwarts scenes in several instalments of the famous movie series.
Two to avoid? (controversial opinion!)
The two most heavily photographed, visited, and Instagrammed Cotswolds locations are also undeniably and undoubtedly two of England’s most beautiful villages. Bourton-on-the-Water and Bibury both boast beautiful rivers (The Windrush and The Coln respectively) gently babbling under pretty little stone bridges, as ducks bob gently on the water.
Social media is awash with images and reels of the bridges of Bourton-on-the-Water, or the oh so pretty chocolate box cottages of Arlington Row in Bibury. The popularity of these villages may be their downfall however, as every day coachloads of people pile in en-masse, testing the infrastructure to breaking point. This can make a visit to either of these two quite a stressful experience, especially if you’ve come by car and are hoping to park!
The sheer numbers arriving on organised coach tours and by other means are having a great impact on the daily lives of the people who live here. Their gardens are trampled on in the high season, and it is not unknown for tourists to peer through people’s front windows as if they are at a museum. Many residents have put up signs pleading for respect and privacy. More and more articles are appearing online telling of local residents clashing with coach drivers.
The last time we were in The Cotswolds, the SatNav tried to take us through Bourton-on-the-Water. As we drove into the village we saw the traffic chaos, the crowds of people packing out every verge of the river bank, the bridges overloaded with people posing for photos. We did a three-point turn and promptly left!
It saddens me to advise avoiding these two beautiful villages, but as it is at the moment they stand as examples of the effects of over tourism. Perhaps this is a post-pandemic state of affairs, which will hopefully improve as people who spent months in lock-down finally get the travel bug out of their systems.
Lets hope that things balance out, that the local authorities can find a sustainable compromise between the numbers who want to see the villages, and the residents’ right to live normal lives.
Conclusion
In any case, The Cotswolds is a very large area of incredible natural beauty, which has a huge variety of delightful and quintessentially English attractions. I hope that our recommendations give you some fresh ideas and inspiration for your Cotswolds holiday or day trip, and that you are able to make the most of your excursion to these rolling green hills and honeypot villages of England.
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I feel like the Cotswolds are the place to be right now, I’ve heard a lot about it over the last few months and I can see why. I think I could spend a whole day in the Painswick Rococo Garden alone. Thanks for sharing!