The Cotswolds in a motorhome

Upon leaving Bath we drove north to the Cotswolds, an area designated in the UK as having Outstanding Beauty. Our first stop was the delightfully ancient village of Castle Combe. 

Castle Combe cottages

It was full of old stone cottages with steep slate roofs, overflowing flower boxes, and abundant gardens. It was a very charming village to walk around.

Its history is in weaving, with red and white cloth being its specialty. We walked past some old weavers cottages, and it wasn’t hard to imagine it as a busy, bustling place of industry.

As we were leaving, the rain really set in making for a slow trip northwards. However, our big motorhome Vtee, didn't seem to mind the wet weather.

On our drive, we visited Cirencester, another ancient and pretty town. However, the rain hampered our visit somewhat, and it became more of a drive-by.

Burford shops

We then moved on to Burford. The rain eased, and we saw an interesting mix of stone and Tudor half-timber houses and shops, all beautifully presented with colour and flower baskets. This is a very attractive town and it was buzzing while we were there.

After that, the incredibly fickle weather cleared up further as we reached Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

We parked in the Palace Park and walked through the beautiful grounds to the Great Court.

Blenheim Palace

As we entered, we realised how huge this Palace is, and it is so wonderfully Baroque. 

Once inside, we found there was lots of really good information about the history of the Palace and Winston Churchill’s connection to it. It was well set out and easy to follow, as well as very interesting.

Blenheim Palace salon

The Palace is still in use as a home, but we were able to visit certain of the Palace rooms. They are all very large and beautifully decorated.

Outside, we viewed the formal gardens, two lakes and the huge beautiful green parklands that surround the Palace.

  

Later, we walked over some of the parklands and out through a grand gate with a security guard, taking us into the town of Woodstock. 

Woodstock

Located right next door to the Palace, it is a very lovely village with stone houses, narrow streets, plenty of shops, and the obligatory pub.

Leaving Blenheim Palace and Woodstock, we headed to Morton-on-Marsh and the Greedy Goose Pub, where we were going to camp for the night. They had a nice little campsite out the back of the pub with facilities and electricity for Vtee.

We decided it was a good evening to dine at the cosy-looking pub, and so enjoyed a nice local meal before retiring to the camp ground.

The next morning we set off to view more Cotswold villages.

Stow-on-the-Wold

Our first stop was Stow-on-the-Wold, a small market town located on the Roman Fosse Way. It has a large market square, and an elegant array of golden stone cottages and shops. The whole town just reeks of history and is very lovely. 

Our next stop was the tiny village of Snowshill tucked away down some very narrow roads. We parked at the local Manor car park and walked back up to a row of beautiful, typical Cotswold stone cottages, shops, pubs, and a church.

Broadway

Continuing on along more narrow roads we arrived in Broadway which is called the ‘Jewel of the Cotswolds’ and we could soon see why.

While there were lots of tourists wandering around, we could see that it was rather gorgeous. It has a wide and very long main street, lovely houses and shops, and a mix of Tudor, Stuart and Georgian buildings.

We stopped at the local deli which had a very tempting array of goodies. So we bought some of course!

Onwards we went to yet another very small village, down another very small road. 

Typical, tiny Cotswold road

Entering the village, we were pondering the small size of the road, wondering whether Vtee would fit through. Suddenly our hearts lifted as we met a bus coming toward us.

Throughout the trip so far, when we see a bus in a narrow road, its a good sign - if a bus can get in and out so can we!

We drove on, then found a parking space at the edge of the village. 

We had arrived into a rather sleepy place with a number of lovely 16th and 17th century houses. The village was Stanton, a refreshingly non-touristic and reasonably authentic Cotswold village.

A Stanton house

On this leg of the trip, we have driven through many beautiful villages. 

We've seen lots of yellow sandstone cottages lined up along the roadside like soldiers on parade, differing only in their door colour and gardens, and so many stone cottages with impossibly thick thatched roofs - it is all so picturesque.

What a great few days. We've had a lovely time exploring the Cotswolds, but now it's time to move on. So our next stop will be Wales.

This is part of a bigger blog on our travels around England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium and Luxembourg. The first blog is called "Off to do the UK in a motorhome".