After a week of using local buses (which are few and far between), hitching rides between villages and making the most of my two sturdy feet, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s no easy matter to get around the Cotswolds without a car.
But since I have no license, even a car won’t help me! Luckily, my trusty friends Nir and Meir, who are on a driving holiday around England, have rocked up in this part of the world and we’ve planned a day of fun together, with Nir behind the wheel. We’re a far cry from our home country of Israel but the beauty around us, as we drive from village to village, is simply staggering - almost too much to devour one might say.
Truly, the Cotswolds is packed with the most beautiful spots imaginable and you could be forgiven for thinking you’re in a storybook as you drive along.
Old churches, cosy country pubs, lush green fields, and the distinctive honey-coloured stone cottages, it’s unfailingly beautiful.
A part of me actually feels like I’ve emerged from a Time Machine and realizing that I’ve been taken back a few centuries.
It’s so lovely that I’m can’t help fantasising about leaving urban life beyond and becoming a country gal, going for long rambles and picking fruit with which I can make jam.
Here’s Stow on the Wold (which means ‘Holy Place on the Hill’)- the highest village in), with a large central square and tiny high-walled alleyways around. It’s famous for its twice yearly horse fair and sits on the Roman Fosse Way, which will take you to the Midlands.
It’s home to some beautiful antique stores - Tara (spread over three floors) and the Fosse contemporary art gallery. For those that are dying to shop, don’t miss the Cotswold Company flagship store - they have some beautiful furniture - and ‘Rolys’ which is a fabulous fudge pantry and every dentist’s nightmare!
Then onto Upper and Lower Slaughter - a rather odd (and foreboding name) which derives from the Olde English ‘‘muddy waters’.
They’re two beautiful villages connected by the River Eye - you can walk between the two (it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes).
You can begin at the restored mill in Lower Slaughter - it stopped working backin 1958 but you can still see its giant waterwheel. Oh, and there’s a tea room inside, should you fancy a cuppa and a slice of cake.
It’s so glorious, we are all almost open-mouthed in awe. To think people actually live here! Few words can adequately describe just how picturesque it is.
As we walk around, drinking in all the beauty, we even come across a woman out for a ride, whose horse is dying for a bath and has dragged her into the river…
Then it’s onto Burton-on-the-Water, which is arguably the most picturesque of all the villages in the Cotswolds. This, no doubt, accounts for the hordes of Japanese tourists we encounter.
In huge groups, they descend from their coaches and head straight down to the River Windrush, which flows through the village.
This must be why it’s called the ‘Venice of the Cotswolds).
Bourton-on-the-Water is also crammed with pubs, cafes and street food stands and on this warm October day, with the sun shining brightly, we stand there, drinking it all in.
And then we spot a group of drivers all roaring down the main drag in their classic cars. I later learn they’re on their way to the Cotswold Motoring and Toy Museum
Apparently it’s full to the brim with cars, bikes and motoring memorabilia and the perfect day out for any automobile lover.
We all agree we could stay much longer but, alas, my friends have to head onto London (their trip is drawing to a close and before they leave Blighty they’re planning on taking in a musical and enjoying some Japanese food at one of their favourite restaurants in Piccadilly). They drop me in Chipping Campden and, as luck would have it, there’s a bus due in 15 minutes.
Cotswolds, you lovely villages, I have to leave tomorrow and return to the big city but this week has been so fun, I’m yearning to return (and even considering learning to drive!)