The Cotswolds
We found out last weekend our shower was leaking into the apartment downstairs (luckily, no one is living there currently) and a plumber was going to have to do some repair work which meant we would end up without a working bathroom for two days. We decided since we had to vacate the apartment anyway, we would head to south central England to visit the Cotswolds.
I have been wanting to go to the Cotswolds for a long time as the homes are beautiful and look like they were pulled straight from a fairytale. We quickly put together an itinerary, rented a car, and headed out Tuesday morning for our first stop, Great Tew.
The town was so stinking cute I could hardly take it! The cottages in Great Tew have thatched roofs which is not particularly common in the Cotswolds, as slate roofs are more popular. Because the area gets so much rain, the flowers were in full bloom. We spent our time walking around the village and ate lunch at the local pub, The Falkland Arms.
After lunch, we made our way to The Slaughters. The name comes from old English "Slohtre" which means, 'muddy place". We took a short hike between Upper and Lower Slaughter.
The Old Mill, Lower Slaughter
We then drove north to Broadway where we stopped briefly to look around and then up to Chipping Campden. We had dinner outside of Chipping Campden at The Ebrington Arms.
St. Michael's & All Angels Church, Broadway
On Wednesday morning, we headed to Sudeley Castle. The castle was built in the 15th century and its most famous owner was Katherine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII. It was raining while we were there and the surrounding gardens were quiet, lush and green.
The Church of St. Mary at Sudeley Castle
After touring the castle, we headed south where we grabbed a late lunch at The Potting Shed in the small town of Crudwell. We then headed to Stow-on-the-Wold (where we stayed overnight) and walked around and rested before having dinner nearby at the Wheatsheaf Inn.
The Potting Shed
Thursday morning, we ended our time in the Cotswolds by visiting Bibury. The homes here are built along the River Coin and are so quaint. Both Alex and I loved our time in the Cotswolds and are glad we were able to visit.
As it turns out, our shower is still not finished and we were informed the work would not be completed until after the weekend! What could be a nuisance, we have decided to turn into a positive and booked a last minute flight to Amsterdam for the weekend! Off we go!