The Cotswolds: Escaping to the English Countryside

A couple of weeks ago, I told you all about our fantastic time in London. And while I absolutely love the city and could have probably stayed another week exploring, it was time for us to leave. And our next destination would be just as pretty – but a lot less busy. So we got a rental car, and let me just tell you that driving in England was an adventure in and of itself. After driving on the right side of the road for 10+ years, driving on the left was rather peculiar. And I came to crashing into (parked) cars more than once, if I’m being totally honest. But, miraculously, I managed to get to all my destinations without a single bump or scratch. Anyway, enough car chatter, lets get into our next destination: the Cotswolds.

About the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds are an AONB – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – located in the south of England. I actually told you all already in my 2023 travel bucket list, but it won’t hurt to tell you a little more about this truly phenomenal area. The Cotswolds basically look exactly like what you would think of when you think English countryside. The most beautiful sandstone cottages; marvelous, luscious gardens; rolling fields. A lot of nothing in between towns. Bridges. Castles. Towers. More churches than I could think of. The cutest shops, cafés and pubs. And while we’re talking about that: I have rarely ever come across a place where the people running the places pay so much attention to detail. Every single pub is styled to absolute perfection. Without being OTT. I actually took so many pictures of the interiors, just because I want my own home to feel like that as well.

If you’re a fan of the show Downton Abbey, you are most likely already familiar with the Cotswolds. Because the house – Downton Abbey – is actually Blenheim Palace, which is located in the north east of the Cotswolds, close to Oxford. Going there is definitely on the to do list for my next trip to England! Not just because I love the show, but also because they have a lot of events going on there. Or you can have afternoon tea. Very British.

Day 1: Driving from London to the Cotswolds

Like I said in the beginning of this post, we got a rental car to drive from London to our destination – Naunton – in the Cotswolds. If you were to drive straight from London to Naunton, it would probably be a 2 to 2,5 hour drive. However we went to Bicester Village first, to do some shopping. It really is like a small village, but rather than homes you find outlet stores in there. (Just like in Roermond, Netherlands; or Wertheim Village, Germany.)

There are a lot of luxury brands there, like Dior, Balenciaga, and Cartier, just to name a few. And of course we have to more budget friendly shops, like Under Armour, Levi’s, etc. there as well. One of my favorite boutiques there (and in general) is Holland Cooper, which make the most classic British fashion. I could have spent hours and hours looking around the shop, trying everything. I did feel however that to wear a lot of the stuff you would have to live in the British countryside. Not sure it would like running around Frankfurt like that.

If all that shopping has made you hungry, fear not: there are a lot of lovely restaurants in Bicester Village. We went to the Farmshop, which I would highly recommend. Great food as well as hot and cold drinks. And the interior was stunning – as ever.

The best airbnb ever

After spending all our money (and energy) in Bicester Village, we drove about an hour to our airbnb in Naunton. This one was the one I was looking forward to the most – the cutest little shepherd’s hut. Located in the middle of nothing. Right next to a horse pasture. The road didn’t even have a name, that’s how secluded it was. Just what I wanted after the hectic of London. Laying on the surprisingly comfy bed, looking out of the window you could watch the sunset and the horses. It was pure bliss and I would highly recommend staying there! Just make sure you have your own car, because you definitely need to get around.

On the first night in Naunton we went to the local pub – The Black Horse Inn, where I had a fish & chips (on of many on this trip!). The food was alright, not the best I’d ever had, but good enough. But one thing to point out, once again, was the interiors. Even this rather small local pub was styled to perfection. It even had bespoke window cushions with little pheasants on it, which matched the vibe perfectly. Absolutely love the attention to detail, and other countries could for sure take a leaf out of Britains book in that regard!

Day 2: Exploring the Cotswolds

Bibury

On our second day drove around a lot of the villages in the north of the Cotswolds. If you know anything about this area, you might have heard about Bibury, a small town that somehow got really famous. Namely Arlington Row. But until going there, I didn’t realize just how famous it was. Because there were coaches and coaches with tourists, just walking up the street. And, to be fair, it is a lovely street, but nothing completely out of the ordinary when you’re in the Cotswolds. You could find streets like that in basically every other town there. So I actually wouldn’t recommend going there.

But we of course went, and it wasn’t for nothing. Because for one, I bought the most beautiful oven mitts ever (with my beloved William Morris print), and got talking to one of the shop owners. She actually recommend to check out Cirencester, which is just a few minutes drive away from Bibury and the capitol of the Cotswolds.

Cirencester

Compared to Bibury, Cirencester was a much bigger town. But it still had all of the appearance I so love about the Cotswolds. Old buildings, little shops, fantastic cafés and restaurants. Another thing I really came to love about the UK is the fact that the high streets there have unique shops/boutiques, unlike German cities, for example. I actually don’t recall seeing something like H&M or Zara on any of the high streets I visited, but rather a lot of independent fashion stores. And since I love bringing back actually meaningful souvenirs for myself and my family, I way prefer these smaller shops.

For lunch we went to The Fleece for a nice sharing platter filled with local goodies. Absolutely delicious, 10/10 would recommend. And once again, I have to point out the decor inside. I am actually jealous and want my home to look like this place. If I took away anything from this trip, it’s interior related for sure!

Burford & Stow-on-the-Wold

Then we went to Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold, where we just did some exploring, window shopping, coffee drinking and people watching. I think I’ve said it in my London blog post already, but the coffees in England were just insanely good. So just sitting in one of the wonderful cafés, chatting, planning, watching, is one of the best things you can do in the Cotswolds. If you were to ask me, anyway.

Daylesford

Our last port of call for the second day in the Cotswolds was the Daylesford Organic Farmshop, where I could happily have spent my lifetime savings. This place is best describes as an organic farm shop meets butchery meets cheese monger meets café & restaurant, meets furniture & interiors store as well as health & wellness club. Oh, and you can also stay in one of their cottages. And there are paddle courts. It is insane. And I absolutely adored it. It was really such a shame that we had to travel back to Germany by plane eventually, so I couldn’t buy a whole new crockery set. Very upsetting. Maybe one day… a girl can dream, right? Anyway, if you ever happen to be in the area, I highly highly encourage you to go and check it out! There is sooo much to see, eat, do, you won’t regret it!

Dinner at The Fox at Oddington

For dinner we went to The Fox at Oddington, which is probably the most instagramable place in the entire Cotswolds. And I think it is somehow related to the Daylesford farmshop. Anyway – they to insanely good wood fired oven pizzas. Not necessarily very British, but delicious nonetheless! If you’re planning to go, make sure you book a table. We went there on a whim – no reservation – and had to wait a little to get a table. Not terribly long though, plus the amazing selection of cocktails, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, kept us well entertained.

Day 3: Back to Daylesford & Oxford

On day 3 in the Cotswolds it was pouring down with rain. All day long. See we had a nice slow start to our day and then actually went back to just mentioned Daylesford, where I did a restorative yoga class at their spy/gym, called Bamford. It was just me and another lady there, and super relaxing with the rain hammering down on the roof. Bamford offer all kinds of classes, and you can just pick and choose which ever you want to do.

Afterwards we went to do some shopping at Westgate in Oxford, just to escape the rain. It’s a nice enough mall I would say, with all your typical shops and stores. So this is where you would find H&M, Zara and the likes.

One thing we unfortunately didn’t get to do that was on my bucket list – partially due to the rain – was go to the Barefoot Bakery. Their stuff just looks sooo good! But alas, I’ve already decided I’m going back to England sooner rather than later, and it’s always good to have a few things to tick off, right?

Bye bye Cotswolds, heya Edinburgh!

That wraps up our little escape to the English countryside, that I can’t wait to get back to. Because we really didn’t luck out with the weather, I feel like we didn’t get to see a lot of the amazing natural beauty this area has to over. We mainly stuck to the village centers and high streets. Next time – and there will be a next time! – I definitely want to do a lot more exploring, hiking, etc.

Stick around the blog to see what I got up to in Edinburgh, Scotland next!

Lots of Love,

Lena

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored.