I am the queen of booking things early – I like to have my calendar well organised with all my trips planned in, so I have my flights and accommodation booked early and then I forget about it!! That’s what I did with the Cotswolds, the only thing I had planned was where we would be staying each night and then we just go with the flow when we get there!
We flew British Airways into London Heathrow and picked up a hire car directly from the car hire depot in terminal 5, as we had a late flight I had planned not to drive too far so we stayed the night in Slough which is a good base if you ever plan to go to Legoland. When I mention Heathrow to some customers you can see the scared look upon their face but I find it straightforward to navigate and just a few miles away in your hire car, you are into the open countryside.
After a comfortable sleep we rose the next morning and made our way to Blenheim Palace where Winston Churchill was born, we took a tour around the impressive rooms inside the palace but the wet weather prevented us from exploring the surrounding gardens. We drove a short distance from Blenheim to find a small country church where Winston Churchill’s grave was located. In the afternoon we made our way into the heart of the Cotswolds and stayed in the quaint town of Chipping Norton. This proved to be a great base to explore the Cotswold region and we stayed here for the next two nights.
We didn’t opt for the hotel breakfast, instead we went to Daylesford Organic Farm, tucked away in the middle of nowhere a few miles outside Chipping Norton but with a car park full of Range Rover Jeeps and Jaguar cars we knew breakfast wasn’t going to come cheap but it was delicious! We moved onto Stow on the Wold a quintessentially English town with beautiful stone clad shop fronts and qwirky little cafes all selling their own version of the cream tea. A little further down the road was Burton on the Water which was a beautiful town on a picturesque river setting but the rain was torrential so we didn’t venture out of the car. We decided we would take a drive to the famous Adam Henson’s farm of Countryfile fame only to find out that he wasn’t on site but did find out he was at the Royal Three Counties Show which we didn’t even know was on but planned to make a detour to the following day.
That’s exactly what we did – the show was about 1.5 hours drive from our base in Chipping Norton and we headed off in anticipation of what the day would bring and we weren’t disappointed. The Royal Three Counties is similar to the Balmoral Show and we spent a lovely day viewing the cattle, food, machinery and all the things that go with these types of shows and we got to meet the show ambassador himself Adam Henson! A real highlight was the Red Devil Parachute Stunt Diving team who put on an excellent aerial display.
The following day we made our journey back to Heathrow with time to spare we stopped into Windsor where there was a street food market happening and we got some delicious food for our final meal in England.
The next time your planning a trip to England come and speak to me. You can reach me on my direct number – 028 6632 1152 or email. [email protected]
