The weekend had finally arrived and getting out of London was first on our list! We rented a car from the airport and trekked out to the Cotswolds.

🚗 Tip: We always book our rental cars from Priceline ahead of time as you can compare costs and book the best rate.

The Cotswolds are made up of very old, small, and charming British villages. When you think of the gorgeous English countryside, you are probably envisioning the Cotswolds. Needless to say, Pete and I had never been and this seemed like the perfect weekend getaway.

Since the towns are extremely small, it is incredibly easy to see and do a lot in just one day. So that was our plan; the exploration of 7 villages on a rainy Friday.

We departed London, grabbed a roadside coffee for the trip, and made our way to the first stop on our list, Bibury.

Bibury

Bibury was cute, it was small with a few main buildings. We parked the car and took a walking tour around. There were a couple gorgeous inns and a little river running through the area. We did not stay in Bibury too long as we were getting quite hungry and knew that Burford was where we wanted to grab lunch.

Burford

So off we went, to our second stop, Burford. I liked Burford a lot! There were many cute shops, farm stalls, and cafes. There is a lot more happening in Burford compared to some of the other villages. We popped into one of the cafes for a light lunch of soup and falafel. The soup was nice but the falafel was pretty much raw in the center, not really ideal, nor delicious.

Bourton-on-the-Water

Onward to stop number 3, Bourton-on-the-Water. This village is pretty much known to be the most charming and beautiful, and it was! It felt like we were walking through a gorgeous garden on the river with cute shops and cafes. It is extremely picturesque. We stopped at Cotswolds Distillery, which you should definitely add to your list of stops if you find yourself in the area. We tried their Dry Gin, Cream Liquor, and Baharat Gin (infused with exotic spices). The Baharat Gin and Cream Liquor took the cake. We decided to hold off on buying a couple of bottles; however, in retrospect, this was a mistake. Sad to say, I am still slightly kicking myself.

Upper and Lower Slaughters

Anyways, after we had a nice little tasting we decided it was time to explore the Slaughters. Those are the Upper and Lower Slaughters if you will. The slaughters are small, cute and very pretty. I am not going to lie, we did more of a driving tour through these two towns as they were quite small. It was raining and we were getting a bit tired at this point.

Stow-on-the-Wold

The sixth stop on our list was Stow-on-the-Wold. However, by the time we got to Stow on the Wold, it was already 5pm and most of the shops and cafes had already closed up for the day. So we decided to stop in a pub and grab a well deserved afternoon pint.

Longborough

After our pit stop, we were ready to scout out our AirBnb and relax. We booked a pretty cute little annex in Longborough. So we checked in, freshened up, and headed out for some Indian food in the town center. Apparently, this restaurant was supposed to be pretty delish. Well, we ordered the vindaloo, tikka masala, and coconut rice. The vindaloo was good but the tikka masala and coconut rice were so sweet that it was actually inedible, so we sent them back. I am not going to lie, we were really striking out on meals this trip.

The next day we decided to explore Stow on the Wold since we did not have the opportunity the previous day. It is a really cute town and definitely one of my favorites. We popped into a café for some coffee and lunch, which was the perfect way to end our time in the Cotswolds.

So in a day and a half, we managed to see 7 towns in the Cotswolds. You could definitely stretch this out over a period of a few days if you wanted the ultimate relaxing vacation. However, for Pete and I, this was a really good amount of time.

The Cotswold villages are small, quaint, and easily accessible by vehicle. They are no doubt perfect for a romantic weekend getaway.

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