Bibury - July 2018
This is a very beautiful little village, parking is roadside only and it is very popular, so we were lucky to find a space after turning down Cemeterey Road, a one-way road that then became Church Road looping back towards the main road.
There are many stand out things in the village, the river running alongside the main road, the beautiful buildings, The Swan Hotel, which is used as a wedding venue and has beautiful gardens and the trout farm. The Bibury trout farm covers a large area, we didn't go in, but if you wanted to it's £4.50 entry.
There's a small circular walk going up the side of a row of pretty cottages along the other side of the river and back towards the swan hotel, map of the route we walked can be seen in the picture slideshow below.
This is a very beautiful little village, parking is roadside only and it is very popular, so we were lucky to find a space after turning down Cemeterey Road, a one-way road that then became Church Road looping back towards the main road.
There are many stand out things in the village, the river running alongside the main road, the beautiful buildings, The Swan Hotel, which is used as a wedding venue and has beautiful gardens and the trout farm. The Bibury trout farm covers a large area, we didn't go in, but if you wanted to it's £4.50 entry.
There's a small circular walk going up the side of a row of pretty cottages along the other side of the river and back towards the swan hotel, map of the route we walked can be seen in the picture slideshow below.
Chipping Sodbury - July 2018
Next to Waitrose, down a road off the high street is a town car park, it's not a bad size, but was busy, we just managed to find 1 space left, however it is free. The high street reminds me of Northallerton, just more picturesque, with it's lovely stone buildings and wide high street, with shops/cafes running up both sides.
If you are looking for somewhere to get some food, we recommend The Coffee Bean, we called in for some lunch, they got an outdoor area at the rear. I ordered jacket potato with coronation chicken, was a bigger meal than I was expecting, as it came with a carrot and chickpea salad, potato salad with spicy tomato and olives and a mini pot of coleslaw it was lovely and very well presented.
Next to Waitrose, down a road off the high street is a town car park, it's not a bad size, but was busy, we just managed to find 1 space left, however it is free. The high street reminds me of Northallerton, just more picturesque, with it's lovely stone buildings and wide high street, with shops/cafes running up both sides.
If you are looking for somewhere to get some food, we recommend The Coffee Bean, we called in for some lunch, they got an outdoor area at the rear. I ordered jacket potato with coronation chicken, was a bigger meal than I was expecting, as it came with a carrot and chickpea salad, potato salad with spicy tomato and olives and a mini pot of coleslaw it was lovely and very well presented.
Cirencester - July 2018
First impressions it was like every other town, until I saw the impressive church, which looked like two different buildings to start with, as the prominent section you see from the high street is a sandy colour, whereas the other is grey, but looking closer and around the building you can see the sandy colour behind the grey.
Down from the church the shops are quite colourful, and many are built from beautiful stone, making it a more interesting town to look around, with many shops, cafes and restaurants to go in.
First impressions it was like every other town, until I saw the impressive church, which looked like two different buildings to start with, as the prominent section you see from the high street is a sandy colour, whereas the other is grey, but looking closer and around the building you can see the sandy colour behind the grey.
Down from the church the shops are quite colourful, and many are built from beautiful stone, making it a more interesting town to look around, with many shops, cafes and restaurants to go in.
Tetbury - July 2018
Having drove through in the morning, we decided to stop off at Tetbury on the way back. It's a nice, pretty village, with the market house prominent in the centre and shops/cafes along the roads leading off from it and a beautiful church.
Having drove through in the morning, we decided to stop off at Tetbury on the way back. It's a nice, pretty village, with the market house prominent in the centre and shops/cafes along the roads leading off from it and a beautiful church.
Bourton-on-the-Water - Last Visit September 2015
Arriving in Bourton-on-the-Water for the first time, we initially thought to park in one of the spaces lining the high street, however they had a limited stay and after driving through the village we found a large car park (with toilets) on the right, which really needs more sign posts directing you from the village.
Thankfully we had just missed the rain and the sun was shining on this beautiful place and it's bigger than I first imagined it to be. It's a picture perfect setting, with the wide shallow stream being the focal point and truly is what I expect a Cotswold village to look like
Everything is on the main high street, which is lined with shops and cafes, but unlike most villages, there are many family attractions to visit, including The Model Village, The Dragonfly Maze, Cotswold Motoring Museum and Birdland Park and Gardens, making it a great place for a family day out and picnic by the water’s edge. On a return visit while staying at the Field Barn Park campsite, we chose to follow a walk from Bourton to lower and upper slaughter, which are beautiful little villages to visit, you can check out our pictures from the walk on our Walks, Cycle and boat routes page here.
Arriving in Bourton-on-the-Water for the first time, we initially thought to park in one of the spaces lining the high street, however they had a limited stay and after driving through the village we found a large car park (with toilets) on the right, which really needs more sign posts directing you from the village.
Thankfully we had just missed the rain and the sun was shining on this beautiful place and it's bigger than I first imagined it to be. It's a picture perfect setting, with the wide shallow stream being the focal point and truly is what I expect a Cotswold village to look like
Everything is on the main high street, which is lined with shops and cafes, but unlike most villages, there are many family attractions to visit, including The Model Village, The Dragonfly Maze, Cotswold Motoring Museum and Birdland Park and Gardens, making it a great place for a family day out and picnic by the water’s edge. On a return visit while staying at the Field Barn Park campsite, we chose to follow a walk from Bourton to lower and upper slaughter, which are beautiful little villages to visit, you can check out our pictures from the walk on our Walks, Cycle and boat routes page here.
Lower and Upper Slaughter - Visited September 2015
We visited Lower and Upper Slaughter, walking from Bourton-on-the-Water (see our Walks page here) and they are only small, pretty little villages, with not much there, however they are nice places to walk to, but the route we took was down some muddy paths and through fields, so you may want to check which route you take if you choose to walk, parking is limited if you want to drive.
We visited Lower and Upper Slaughter, walking from Bourton-on-the-Water (see our Walks page here) and they are only small, pretty little villages, with not much there, however they are nice places to walk to, but the route we took was down some muddy paths and through fields, so you may want to check which route you take if you choose to walk, parking is limited if you want to drive.
Stow-on-the-Wold – Visited September 2015
Just 10 minutes drive from Bourton-on-the-Water, this lovely little town is definitely worth a visit, with many shops surrounding a fairly decent size parking square/area.
Just 10 minutes drive from Bourton-on-the-Water, this lovely little town is definitely worth a visit, with many shops surrounding a fairly decent size parking square/area.
Cheltenham - Visited September 2015
Arriving into Cheltenham town centre on the racecourse park and ride bus, the stop was at the back of the Debenhams store in the Beechwood Shoppin Centre, which not only had shops that had closed down/moved, but shops that just weren't open, on a Thursday? It's only a small shopping centre and is need of more new funky shops to revitalise it and make it more appealing. Walking around some of the town centre streets, it's not much different to many other town centres. Regent arcade is a more modern shopping centre and larger than beechwood, however it seems to lack atmosphere, but funky shops like Tiger are needed. The Brewery in Cheltenham is described as a leisure and retail destination and when we visited it was into a second stage of building, we went for a lunch stop at Chiquitos, which was really nice inside and the food was lovely. Heading to the south part of the town you arrive at Imperial Square and Gardens, which are beautiful and clearly looked after and further up the road you will then arrive at Montpellier Gardens, which was just an open grass area, with shops and cafes close by. Getting the bus back to the racecourse park and ride was a little more confusing, returning to the back of Debenhams, we couldn’t find a return bus stop, so we asked a driver and he told us to go to up the road to a different bus stop, which having got on a bus that we thought was correct, the driver told us we needed to get the bus from outside the Superdry store. It’s not a bad sized town centre to go shopping in and in some respects is similar to any other town centre, but with the Brewery, hopefully future new shops to the two shopping centres and the outer green spaces, it's a real nice all 'round place to visit.
Arriving into Cheltenham town centre on the racecourse park and ride bus, the stop was at the back of the Debenhams store in the Beechwood Shoppin Centre, which not only had shops that had closed down/moved, but shops that just weren't open, on a Thursday? It's only a small shopping centre and is need of more new funky shops to revitalise it and make it more appealing. Walking around some of the town centre streets, it's not much different to many other town centres. Regent arcade is a more modern shopping centre and larger than beechwood, however it seems to lack atmosphere, but funky shops like Tiger are needed. The Brewery in Cheltenham is described as a leisure and retail destination and when we visited it was into a second stage of building, we went for a lunch stop at Chiquitos, which was really nice inside and the food was lovely. Heading to the south part of the town you arrive at Imperial Square and Gardens, which are beautiful and clearly looked after and further up the road you will then arrive at Montpellier Gardens, which was just an open grass area, with shops and cafes close by. Getting the bus back to the racecourse park and ride was a little more confusing, returning to the back of Debenhams, we couldn’t find a return bus stop, so we asked a driver and he told us to go to up the road to a different bus stop, which having got on a bus that we thought was correct, the driver told us we needed to get the bus from outside the Superdry store. It’s not a bad sized town centre to go shopping in and in some respects is similar to any other town centre, but with the Brewery, hopefully future new shops to the two shopping centres and the outer green spaces, it's a real nice all 'round place to visit.