We didn't get lost once!

Wells Cathedral
see all photos »

Practical Information: We picked up a car in Bath and drove into the Cotswolds, our B&B was about 1.5 hours away.  The B&B is in the little village of Draycott which has 20ish houses, a church, a post box and a phone booth.  The nearest "big" town is Moreton-in Marsh which is a 15-20 minute drive.

The Cotswolds are just lovely.  The old stone house crowded up against each other, the thatched cottages, the sheep, the rolling hills, the sheep and village after village with a beautiful stone church.  I felt very visually deprived when I came home.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage
see all photos »

There are main roads through the Cotswolds, but to really "see" the area you need to get off the main roads and that means you're driving on paved sheep paths with high hedgerows on either side.  We never hit anyone or was hit, but the bus was a bit of a shock.  We did get quite used to them and began to look for little white roads on the map so we could get out in the country.  We visited Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold, Upper and Lower Slaughter, Chipping Camden, Swell, Dorn, Aston Magna and several others.

Cotswolds Countryside
see all photos »

Stratford-Upon-Avon - Full of tourists, but still fun and interesting.  We visited Shakespeare's last residence and took the hop-on, hop-off, bus tour which took us out to Anne Hathaway's Cottage.  The cottage garden is so pretty and the cottage is pretty (on the outside), but tiny rooms that would be dark in the winter.  Stratford is approximately a 30-45 minute drive from Moreton-in-Marsh.

Warwick Castle - Warwick Castle was expensive, $29.50 per person at the current exchange rate, and the most commercial of any of the castles we visited.  The castle is very well kept and the State Apartments are lovely.  The Weekend Party is interesting and cute.  The peacocks were my favorites though.  There were 6-8 male peacocks and only 2 females (that we saw) and so the males were really strutting their stuff! Warwick Castle is an 1 hour drive from Moreton-in-Marsh.

Thatched Cottage
see all photos »

The day we were at Hidecote it was in the mid-80's and the garden was cool and inviting (in the shade).  We enjoyed walking through the "rooms" and down the long borders.  I'd swear that one of the Tom Baker episodes of Dr. Who was filmed near the summer houses.

Blenheim - We stopped at Blenheim on our way to Windsor.  From Moreton-in Marsh to Blenheim is about a 30-45 minutes drive. From Blenheim to Windsor is about 1.5-2 hours.

Blenheim is well, Blenheim.  I don't know that it compares to any place else although it invoked, in me, a similar feeling as Versailles.  I don't know how to describe it, it was just overwhelming.   The inside is beautiful as are the gardens.  There's a great Chruchill exhibition, you tour the room he was born in and the rooms he stayed in...

Hidecote
see all photos »

We stopped at the Terrace cafe for an ice cream and sat and watched the fountains on the Water Terrace.  It's a lovely place to sit and just be....