Staycation in the Cotswolds
We chose Barn End cottage in the pretty village of Paxford which boasts the lovely Churchill Arms where we had an excellent meal from award winning chef Nick Deverell-Smith. We were only 10 minutes drive from the very lovely town of Chipping Campden where all the houses are built from Cotswolds limestone and there a pleasant afternoon can be spent amongst the shops and tea rooms and restaurants and I would also recommend looking around the Ernest Wilson memorial garden in the high street which is free to visit and is a tribute to one of countries greatest plant collectors.
Also close to our cottage base is Hidcote Manor gardens a national trust house although most visitors come to see the spectacular gardens and flower/tree displays and there is also the pretty village of Blockley which has a wonderful cafe and from where you can enjoy some lovely walks across the Cotswolds countryside. Other places worth visiting include Stow on the wold a pretty village with interesting shops and the doorway to St Edwards chuch which looks like a doorway into another world and is said to have inspired JRR Tolkein.
Broadway is another lovely village which as its names suggests is bisected by a wide road where the Lygon Arms hotel and restaurant is located as well as Boadway Deli which is another fab place for a lunchtime bite to eat. From Broadway you can also walk up to Broadway tower which is the highest point in the Cotswolds and you have spectacular view across to landscape towards Wales. I would thoroughly recommend the Cotswolds for a break of a few days for even a week or more.