Cotswold countryside
Stay either at:
Option 1 - luxury Lower Slaughter Manor
Option 2 - 3* Swan Hotel in Bibury
Option 3 - 3* Three Ways House near Chipping Campden
Option 4 - 3* Royalist Inn at Stow-on-the-Wold
Book through a South West Specialist travel agent.
Option 1
Make sure you enjoy what's on your doorstep, and spend a little time exploring the Slaughters during your stay. There's a pleasant stroll to Upper Slaughter from Lower Slaughter (15 mins.).
Day 1 (red route)
Head to Bourton on the Water (a 10 minute drive), then on to Stow on the Wold with it's antique and small individual shops. Why not have lunch at the Horse and Groom pub at Bourton-on-the-Hill followed by a visit to Bourton House Garden.
Day 2 - (blue route)
Head into Cheltenham today. Then return via Winchcombe and Sudeley Castle.
Day 3 (pink route)
Head across to Gloucester today visiting the cathedral (film location for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone), and continuing south to the village of Painswick and the Rococo Garden.
Day 4 (green route)
If you've not been before, you might like to head to Oxford today via Blenheim Palace.
Day 5 (orange route)
Head north to Chipping Campden and Broadway today, perhaps paying a visit to either Hidcote Manor, Snowshill Manor, or Stanway. Snowshill village was a film location for Bridget Jone's diary.
Option 2
Day 1 - red route
Wander round the pretty village of Bibury and see the much photographed Arlington Row. In the afternoon, Sudeley Castlehead north west to visit Sudeley Castle and Winchcombe.
Day 2 - blue route
If you've not been to Oxford, you might like to head across east to Oxford today via the pretty village of Burford.
Day 3 - pink route
Head to Tetbury, an attractive town famed for antique shops and with a good pub for lunch, the Priory Inn. In the afternoon, you might like to visit Westonbirt Arboretum or Malmesbury with it's Abbey and Gardens.
Day 4 - green route
It's regency Cheltenham today.
Day 5 - orange route
Discover more Cotswolds villages today - Bourton on the Water and Stow on the Wold continuing on to Snowshill and the Manor.
Option 3
Day 1 (orange route)
Visit Hidcote Manor garden and the well known Cotswolds villages Chipping Campden and Broadway.
Day 2 (blue route)
Head for the elegant spa town of Cheltenham, renowned for its Regency architecture, stylish shopping, colourful parks, music and literature festivals. Take a walking tour and visit the Pittville Pump Room. Return via the village of Winchcombe and Sudeley Castle (you might even be able to see some medieval jousting there!)
Day 3 (red route)
Explore more Cotswolds villages. Head to Stow on the Wold via Batsford Arboretum and Moreton-in-Marsh. You could have lunch in Stow at the Eagle and Child pub adjacent to the Royalist Hotel (England's oldest inn). Continue to pretty Bourton on the Water known as the little Venice of the Cotswolds.
Day 4 (green route)
If you haven't been to Stratford on Avon, you should include a day there. This is Shakespeare's birthplace and home of the Royal Shakespeare Company. As well as visiting Shakespeare's birthplace, you could take the hop on hop off City Sightseeing tour.
Option 4
Day 1 (red route)
Stay local today exploring Stow and then heading out to Bourton on the Hill for lunch at the Horse and Groom pub followed by a visit to Bourton House Garden.
Day 2 - (blue route)
Head into Regency Cheltenham today via pretty Bourton on the Water (the little Venice of the Cotswolds). Return via the village of Winchcombe and Sudeley Castle (you might even be able to see some medieval jousting there!) and be ready for afternoon tea.
Day 3 (green route)
If you've not been before, you might like to head to Oxford today via Woodstock and Blenheim Palace.
Day 4 (orange route)
Head north to Broadway and Chipping Campden today, perhaps paying a visit to Hidcote Manor Garden (just north of Chipping Campden), Snowshill Manor, or Stanway. Snowshill village was a film location for Bridget Jone's diary.
Day 5 (pink route)
Head across to Gloucester today visiting the cathedral (film location for the Harry Potter films), and continuing south to the village of Painswick and the Rococo Garden.
