Villages of The Cotswolds

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Day 2: Villages of The Cotswolds: Castle Combe, Lacock, Tetbury, Painswick, Winchcombe and Broadway

Waking up to the sound of the birds and facing a window overlooking the English countryside is priceless, something we are enjoying in the villages of Los Cotswolds and that is precisely the way in which we welcome you to this second day of the trip to Cotswolds in 4 days that is being a discovery for us.
It's a little after six in the morning when we get ready and leave everything ready to go out to enjoy the surroundings of Fosse Farmhouse, the accommodation of Castle Combe where we stayed, an accommodation especially famous for the Japanese, for the anime series inspired by the area, as we explained yesterday, when we arrived at The Cotswolds.


The day has dawned quite sunny, but also with some clouds, although the forecast is that the sun shines as the day progresses, something that undoubtedly encourages us more than we are to start this first day touring the villages of Los Cotswolds.
Before we get going, we enjoy with Coron the incredible enclosure that Fosse Farmhouse has, and then enjoy a typical English breakfast in the lounge, which gives us energy for the whole day. It is 8:15 in the morning when we say goodbye to her (and her immense kindness) and the guests with whom we shared dinner yesterday and make way for Castle Combe, which will be the first of villages of Los Cotswolds We will visit.

Road trip to the English countryside - Villages of The Cotswolds

We leave you what will be today's route, a route in which we will know some of the villages of Los Cotswolds More tourist and also more known. At first glance, it may seem like an itinerary practically impossible to realize, but counting that at this time of the year there are quite a few hours of light and that the distances between them are short, this is an itinerary that can be done without problems.
Castle Combe - Lacock 17 min (8.9 miles)
Lacock - Tetbury 35 min (19 miles)
Tetbury - Painswick 30 min (14.6 miles)
Painswick - Winchcombe 40 min (27.7 miles)
Winchcombe - Broadway 16 min (8.5 miles)

We arrived to Castle Combe When it's 8:30 in the morning, a perfect time to get into one of the most beautiful villages of The Cotswolds Since at this time there is practically no one, it is more, we can confirm that the only tourists are us, something that is greatly appreciated in a place as scenic as this, that looks amazing without people.

Castle Combe

At the entrance of the town, a few meters before reaching the main street, you will see that there is a sign that says Parking, if it is out of season we advise you to go directly to the town since you will have no problem finding parking, especially if you come soon. In our case we park very close to the exit of the town, in the direction of Lacock. It is not difficult to locate the main street of Castle Combe and we can say that this beautiful town of the CotswoldsIt practically has a single street, one of the most scenic in the English countryside, which today looks especially spectacular under this sunny day.

Castle Combe Villages of The Cotswolds

Visiting this charming town is like entering another era, surrounding us with picturesque houses, honey-colored stones, in which its 350 inhabitants live, sheltered by what is considered by many people as the most beautiful town in England. Something that after visiting it, we can say that recognition is totally deserved.

Castle Combe houses

We cross its main street on several occasions and it is that they are not more than a few meters, but a few meters that leave us one of the most beautiful perspectives of the town, with its main street surrounded by honey-colored houses, in which we even find something very characteristic of the area: the typical tables with biscuits, cakes or jams that they put in the houses, with no one to attend you and where you can take whatever you want and leave the money in an envelope in the mailbox. Something unthinkable here, right?

Castle Combe

A cake?

As we move along its main street we find the medieval church of Castle Combe, a building that stands out from the rest, giving a much more special air, if possible, to this incredible town of the Cotswolds.

Castle Combe Church

How could it be otherwise we visited the church and a charming cemetery that surrounds it, arriving, just on the opposite side of the door that gives access to The Manor House, a truly incredible luxury hotel, where you can see the enclosure , we can say that it is really spectacular.

The Manor House

After walking around the area, we approached Market Cross, the market cross, which represents the precise place where one of the most important markets in the area of ​​wool and sheep was located, apart from indicating the exact place where the three main streets of the town intersect.

Market cross

Here we can also see the poster of The White Hart, a pub of five centuries of history, which surely more than one would have wanted to visit. Although with the time it is and hoping to take a final tour of the area, we resolve that the time has come to say goodbye to Castle Combe, without a doubt one of the most beautiful villages of the Cotswolds.

Castle Combe

Castle Combe Villages of The Cotswolds

When we realize we see that we have been in Castle Combe just over an hour, a fairly long time, considering that it is a tiny town and we have not done any of the walks they recommend in the area. Although it is true that we could not contain ourselves to sit in one of the banks of the entrance, simply to enjoy watch life go by, what we do so often and what we have to say, we like it so much and we repeat so much.

Castle Combe

Sitting here, we understand the reason for considering most beautiful village in England, even ahead of Bibury, another one of the most scenic places in the area.

It's a little after 9:30 when we make our way to what will be our next visit on this trip to the English countryside: Lackok, located 15 minutes by car from Castle Combe and where to get there, we go back into those roads in the that we would be driving hours and hours without getting tired.

Road to Lacock

As soon as we approached Lacock we found a sign of parking that we follow and that takes us to an esplanade that is a few meters from the town, where at this time of the morning we find several visitors. The parking has a price of 3 pounds that allow you to park throughout the day, a price that we believe is more than adjusted. Keep in mind that you have to pay in coins, do not accept tickets or credit card, so it is better to carry coins, since we have only tickets we had to go to town for a moment (which in the end is almost 10 minutes walking), to buy water and be able to return later and leave the parking ticket in the car, since if you do not pay the fine is 50 pounds. Something to keep in mind if we do not want to get a surprise after the visit.

Entering the main street of Lacock

A visit to Lacock is like taking several steps back in time, and we only need to set foot in its central area to realize that this is another of the villages of Los Cotswolds more scenic Taking into account that Lakock has changed little over the years, staying since it was a prosperous municipality that negotiated the wool, you can imagine the sensation of walking through its streets, full of details in every corner.

Main street of Lacock

Lacock houses. Cotswolds villages

Apart from the many details that the town gives us, home of many film producers, a popular television show and even some scenes of Harry Potter, we also have to highlight the St.Cyriack church, one of the most outstanding places in the population.
As we did a while ago in Castle Combe, we realize that in this journey through the villages of The Cotswolds, rather than visits themselves, what we are going to enjoy is the walks, of getting lost in the streets of these typical villages of the English countryside, in which we would not mind staying for a while.

Sale of jams in a Lacock house

The main street of Lacock shows us some of the most charming houses and shops in the town, many of them taken care of to the smallest detail, from the windows to the flowers, through the posters that identify them, showing us once again , one of the reasons why this area is considered one of the most beautiful in the country.

Bakery Lacock

Another of the most beautiful corners of Lacock is found at the end of the main street, turning right and again to the right, from where a narrow street that leads to another street in the town, where we find some charming little houses , where, as we mentioned earlier, we would not hesitate to stay for a season.

After a walk around this area of ​​the town, with a wide variety of craft and gastronomy shops, where we have to say that despite being super scenic, allowing cars to park on the streets this makes photography a little bit less interesting what we would have liked, but we forgot that when we reached the end of the town and found some houses, including an old telephone booth, the typical British red, which undoubtedly gives the area a very special air. Apart from getting lost among the many stalls of cakes, books or even eggs that are in the doors of the houses, where as we saw in Castle Combe, there is no one to attend, if not a price list and a mailbox where to leave the money .

Lacock

Details in the corners of Lacock

Another important feature in Lacock is the presence of an abbey founded in 1229 by Ela, widow of Salisbury, who served as the setting for one of the Harry Potter films where you have to pay a ticket of 13.50 pounds. The initial idea was to visit it, although after looking at the clock and seeing that in the end we have entertained more than expected walking through the town, we prefer to leave it for another occasion and it is very clear that we will return to this area.

Lacock Abbey

It's almost 11:00 in the morning when we look back at the clock, and considering all the villages of Los Cotswolds We still have to visit today, we decided to set off to Tetbury, another of the most important and famous points of The Cotswolds, especially for its antique shops, where it took 40 minutes to get from Lacock.
We are very lucky and that is that at this time the parking is scarce and just when we pass the Market Place area, we see how a car goes from the blue zone, so we do not think about it and there we park, already with our heads on In this town of Cotswolds and also in eating, we have already begun to notice our stomach since breakfast this morning. But as not everything could be so perfect and you have to think that in Tetbury you can park in the streets of the town for free one hour, but then they fine you, we do not want to worry we prefer to go a little later, to Chipping Street where There is paid parking and thus save us having to return to change the rental car in Los Cotswolds.
The price of parking is 50 pence for one hour, 1.30 pounds for two hours or 1.90 for three, the truth is that much cheaper than we imagined.

Shop in front of the parking lot in Tetbury

Although as we said hunger begins to tighten, we can not resist taking a walk through some of its most central streets, finding ourselves, as we had read with an antique shop at every step we take.
With 1300 years of history recorded since 681 linked to the important Cotswolds wool market, in the city center we can see the Columns Market Built in 1655, what we have to say is a real wonder, surrounded by shops, cafes, bars and restaurants that offer a good selection of food and drink, being a perfect place to make a small stop.

Columns Market

We have read that Tetbury is a real architectural jewel since many of the houses of the wool merchants, today are still seen as 300 years ago, surrounded by the more than 25 antique stores in the city. Many of them have received awards of excellence and even some of them bear the Prince of Wales badge, which grants them real authorization.

Tetbury Villages of The Cotswolds

Antique shop

While we are looking for a place to eat, we pass through the Santa María La Virgen Church, built between 1777 and 1781, which has been described as "one of the best Georgian gothic designs"and owns the fourth tower of the tallest church in England.

Church Santa María La Virgen

It's a little after 1:00 at noon when we decide to look for a place to eat looking at TripAdvisor, as I have usual in us, deciding on The Priory Inn restaurant, which has very good opinions, where we ask for a traditional fish and chips and a Burger plus a coke and a local beer, for £ 37 including tip.

Eating at The Priory Inn in Tetbury

After lunch and already ending the visit to Tetbury, we return to the parking lot, but without forgetting one of the most interesting and most photographed places in the city: Chipping Steps, the most famous street in Tetbury, where there is a row of houses located on stairs, which are the most scenic in town.

Chipping steps

It is worth enjoying this area, even strolling around the surroundings, since many of the surrounding buildings have medieval origins, with a charm that is worth seeing and more at this time of year, in which the houses are particularly attractive with a lot of floral arrangements, which put both the town hall and the owners.

Chipping Steeps Tetbury

And now that ending the visit to Tetbury, when it is a little after 2 pm, we are on our way to the next villages of Los Cotswolds: Painswick, where we will arrive in about 30 minutes or so from Tetbury.
As it has been taking us since we arrived in the English countryside, the road trips are through incredible landscapes, which leave us wanting to make a much more extensive route through this area of ​​England, something that we will surely do and wait for in a Next future.
We arrived in Painswick when it is a quarter to three in the afternoon and seeing that right next to the Painswick Church, which is the place we are most interested in living, we have free parking (on the street for an hour) and knowing that no We will be more than that time, we leave the car and we will visit another of the most representative villages of Cotswolds.

Painswick Church

Apart from taking a walk through the impressive Painswick Church, where the famous 99 trees are, tell us that every time they planted the one that made the number 100 this one died, we approached the oldest house in the town, which is right next door, where we make a short stop to rest and continue stretching the legs, before returning back to the car.
If you can and have time, the visit in total does not take more than 45 minutes, we recommend that you make a stop as the Painswick Church It is a true wonder.

Painswick's oldest house

It's almost 4 in the afternoon when we set off for Wichcombe, which will be our last stop of the day at this route through the villages of Los Cotswolds, before going to Brodway where we will stay tonight.
As soon as we reach the most central area of ​​the town, we see that cars are parked on the sidewalk on the main street, so we do not doubt it and leave ours in front of the St. Peters church, one of the most important points of this People, we have aimed not to miss it.

St Peters Wichcombe

Once in front of the church we can not stop looking at the 40 gargoyles we have read, they represent local characters, who protect the temple and scare sinners. It is worth spending a few minutes in this area, apart from being one of the liveliest streets, with cozy shops, tea rooms and restaurants.

Wichcombe

Winchcombe It has the nickname of walkers town Since most of the routes for walking in this area of ​​Los Cotswolds pass through here, another of the things that we believe are very worthwhile, especially if you have several days more than us and can spend some day doing some trekking. Almost without realizing it we get lost in some of the most tourist streets, although at this time they are practically empty, leaving us with really beautiful images of one of the most beautiful villages of The Cotswolds.

Wichcombe Villages of The Cotswolds

Although apart from being the town of the walkers, Wichcombe means "valley with a curve", something that we can still see since a curving street is preserved, leaving us one of the most scenic images of the city, where restaurants, tea rooms and shops await us with that character of the past times, so present in the English countryside.

Curved street in Wichcombe

After touring the most commercial streets of the town we approach until Vineyard street, the most photographed street in the town for its row of houses with slate roofs and which were initially used for charity. Although we have to say that it disappoints us a bit and it is that being able to park cars in front of them it is practically impossible to see them clearly.

Vineyard street

It's almost 5 in the afternoon when we return to the car, after about 45 minutes of visiting Wichcombe, to go to Broadway which will be our last point of the day and place where we will stay and which is only ten minutes from Wichcombe . Today we will stay at Windrush House, thanks to the British Tourism and Tourism Office Cotswolds that have lent us all the information for this incredible trip to The Cotswolds, one of the most incredible areas we have visited in recent times and a corner of the world what we believe is quite unknown, at least for mass tourism.
We had met with Kate and Robin, the owners, that we would arrive around 6 in the afternoon, so seeing that the day is still the sunniest and we still have a while until the hour, we decided to approach the Broadway Tower, one of The places we have read cannot be missed.

Currently the Broadway Tower is an important tourist attraction in the area, from which you have stunning views of the surroundings, apart from being by itself, one of the most bucolic areas of the English countryside.
Contrary to what it may seem, the Broadway Tower is not a castle, if not a tower, with a very peculiar feature, being very stylized and narrow that during World War II it was a strategic point of surveillance on airstrikes in this zone. Although we have given up, you can enter the Broadway Tower and climb to the top, from where we have read you have incredible views of the English countryside.

Broadway Tower

From here and after enjoying spectacular views and this architectural whim we go directly to Windrush House, in Brodway, where after introducing ourselves and chatting for a while about our trip, we go up to our room to rest for a while.
Being on Broadway with the day and being in the room is practically incompatible, so we decided that the time has come to go back out and take advantage of the fact that we still have more than an hour to go ahead and take a walk on Broadway , a population that has pleasantly surprised us, although so far we have only seen it from the car.
Windrush House is located on the outskirts of the central area proper, but not more than 5 minutes walk, something that allows us to see how scenic the road through the town is, as if it were a seam, leaving the sides views of small houses, shops and restaurants, to each one more flirtatious.

Broadway road. Villages of The Cotswolds

Casitas on Broadway

Known as The Jewel of the Cotswolds, Broadway is one of the most beautiful villages of The Cotswolds, which can be an excellent base for exploring the English countryside. Here we can find many national heritage assets, such as museums, routes and walks, which run through some of the most beautiful areas of the countryside.
A part here is an excellent offer, both in accommodation and in exclusive stores, as in restaurants or bars, each with more history.

Broadway Stores

Broadway

It's almost 9 at night when we decide that dinner time has come, so we approach Russell's Fish and Chips, where we order some fish fingers, plus a plate of grilled salmon and beer and cola for 26 pounds with the tip included that we practically devour and it is that after a day of the most complete touring some of the villages of Los Cotswolds more spectacular, ending the day with a good dinner, is the final touch.

Dinner on Broadway

It's almost 10 at night when we return to Windrush House, our accommodation on Broadway, where a bed so soft awaits us that we only need 2 minutes to fall into a deep sleep.

Day 3: English countryside villages: Broadway - Snowshill - Chipping Campden - Upper Slaughter - Lower Slaughter - Bourton-on the-Water - Bibury

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