You could spend a week, a month or evenlonger in the Cotswolds, that rural, magical piece of south central Englandthat devotees of British television are so enamored of.
But believe it or not, even a long weekend is enough to make a pretty good dent in this picturesque region. Here’s my recent itinerary while visiting the area, but feel free to strike out on your own. With the Cotswolds, you just can’t go wrong.
Day 1
Known for its rolling hills, quintessentialEnglish villages and markets and honey-colored limestone cottages, theCotswolds is best explored by car. With some planning, you could get by withpublic transportation, but it will leave you less able to wander off thewell-traveled — and often quite crowded — path.
If you’re going the rental route, plan wellahead (preferably before you leave home) and order a car with a GPS alreadyinstalled, or you’ll be paying a pretty pound or two in data downloads on yourpersonal cell phone.
Starting out from London — where we stayed at the delightful Athenaeum Hotel — we caught the train from Paddington Station to the village of Kemble, where we picked up our car.
Then, it was on to our first night’s stop in Cirencester at the beautifully restored Kings Head Hotel, a stylish, elegant, 45-room boutique hotel. The Kings Head is an ideal location for exploring this lively town, with its twice-weekly street market, farmers markets, and antiques and crafts fairs.
Dominating the town center and serving as apoint of reference is the parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul, known as the“Cathedral of the Cotswolds” and a symbol of the wealth and influence thatCirencester had as a thriving wool town in medieval England.
Cirencester had its beginnings in the Roman period and was one of the regional capitals of Roman Britain. The award-winning, interactive Corinium Museum is well worth a visit for a look at how Cirencester has evolved through the centuries.
We also enjoyed the New Brewery Arts Centre, which includes exhibition space, classes, special events such as crafts fairsand a shop well-stocked with handmade British crafts.
Day 2
The sun was shining the next morning (notsomething to be taken for granted or ignored in this part of the world), so wetook the opportunity for an early morning walk in the 19th-century landscapedCirencester Park, owned by the Bathurst family for more than three centuries.
After sufficiently stretching our legs, weleft Cirencester (no time for dilly-dallying on this quick trip) for Tetbury,whose centrally located Market House was built in 1655 for the sale of wool andyarn. Tetbury itself dates back to at least the seventh century. Today,Tetbury’s streets are lined with historic buildings, many of which house a widevariety of art galleries and antiques shops.
For souvenirs with a royal pedigree, try theHighgrove Shop, which sells exclusive items for the home and garden that oftenreflect the personal interests of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales,whose estate is nearby. It’s a good place to stock up on gifts. (I’m stillregretting passing on the cashmere socks.)
Sans cashmere socks, we had a quick lunch at local eatery Café 53 and then were on our way to our next overnight destination, Cheltenham, where we tucked in for the night at The Malmaison Cheltenham, a restored Victorian villa with a decidedly contemporary vibe. Among the most famous natives of Cheltenham was Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones.
Day 3
The following morning, we walked into townand strolled down Cheltenham’s Promenade, with its many stylish boutiques, andthen on through the open-air market. Known as a spa town since its firstnatural springs were discovered in 1716, Cheltenham also is host to numerousinternational festivals and events, beautiful parks and gardens and impressiveRegency architecture. The Cheltenham Gold Cup marks the beginning of the town’swell-known racing season.
After a morning exploring, it was back into the car for the drive to Stow-on the-Wold and a quick walk around this quintessentially English village, with its many boutiques and antiques shops. Stop for a bite to eat at Huffkins, a family-owned Cotswolds bakery and tearoom that dates back to the late 19th century and includes such traditional treats as Lardy cake (sweet dough with currants, brown sugar and, in deference to healthier times, butter instead of lard).
Well-fortified, we were off to Bourton-onthe-Water, a particularly scenic village. Many of its cottages and houses areat least three centuries old, some going back as far as Elizabethan times.
With the River Windrush running through town,crossed at regular intervals by small stone bridges, Bourton-on-the-Water haswell earned its nickname as the “Venice of the Cotswolds.”
Day 4
We started out the next day for a quick visit to the sleepy but picturesque village of Burford, known as the “Gateway to the Cotswolds.” If you’re an architecture buff, you’ll appreciate the variety of styles and periods here, more than in most Cotswolds towns. And if you have artistic leanings, check out the exhibitions at the James Fletcher-Watson Gallery. Fletcher-Watson, who died in 2004, was one of Britain’s leading landscape watercolorists, establishing the gallery when he moved to the area. Artists from all over the world come here to take classes of all levels.
By mid-morning, it was time to leave theCotswolds, as we were heading back to the States the following day and wantedto make a quick visit to Oxford before our overnight stay in Windsor (it’seasier to get to Heathrow Airport from there than from the heart of London).
There is, of course, much more to see and doin the Cotswolds, but our quick visit was certainly enough to entice us toreturn for a longer stay.
For information, go to visitbritain.com and cotswolds.com.
Steve Hofstetter, who will perform at Soundstage next week, recently made headlines for his social media post ridiculing some fans' warnings about Charm City's safety.
Israeli-Americans Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin talked about the pain of losing their 23-year-old son, who was kidnapped and later murdered in the Oct. 7th tragedy.
Rabbi David Wolpe looks at the recent interest in Hollywood productions about King David and why the story is resonating now.
Directed by Johanna Gruenhut, the production is based on of the 1998 novel and 2003 film of the same name.