Autumn Weekend Breaks in The Cotswolds
Mellow, Gold and Peaceful: The Cotswolds in Autumn
Summer 2019 will be remembered fondly – so many warm and super-hot sunny days: Barbecues, plenty of festival-goers revelling in the warmth, abandoning the usual wellies and raincoats. While we reminisce about summer, we also look forward to those crisp autumn days. We think not of the beach but of our plans to visit inland gems like The Cotswolds.
The Cotswolds is an all-year-round destination, but as autumn rolls in and summer crowds are gone, the honey traps of Bourton-on-the Water, Broadway, Stow on the Wold and the Slaughters come into their oIt’sIt’s not just easier to pait’sit’s easier to get a table at a favoured café too. Step off the beaten track for a weekend break in a local holiday cottage in autumn to experience an authentic slice of Cotswolds living.
The southeastern corner of the Cotswolds is often overlooked but easily has enough to keep you captivated for a week, let alone a weekend. Food, history or more active rural pursuits: this corner of the Cotswolds has it all.
Lechlade-on-Thames is a great place to start. As the name implies, the Thames ambles by. You can hire a boat and live out your Three Men in a Boat dream, but walking along the river’s edge offers just as much pleasure.
Kingfishers, swans, and herons fill this stretch of the river, and as the morning mist rises, you get a glimpse of the magnificent spireLechlade’sde’s St Lawrence church. This is a leisurely amble, but you should still reward yourself with breakfast at Lynwood café in the town square. Lynwood opened here but has since opened cafes in Fairford and Burford. It is open all day, and you can enjoy a fine coffee or a meal and pick up a freshly baked sourdough loaf.
Cotswold Wool, Crocodiles and a Dragon
A short drive from Lechlade takes you to the hamlet of Filkins. It is renowned for its Woollen Weavers Museum, celebrating Cotswold woolcraft skills. The sale of woollen fleeces in the 1500s was the basis of Cotswold wealth. Those hugely valuable fleeces funded the magnificent honey-coloured manor houses and churches across the countryside. Today, the Filkins Woollen Museum is a free museum and retail haven; get your Christmas present buying off to a stress-free start with unique gifts.
The next stop, a must for more exotic animal lovers, is the Cotswolds Wildlife Park, just a ten-minute drive from Filkins. Take the evocatively named Hen and Chicks Lane via Shilton to visit Crocodiles of the World.
With your animal fix sorted, it’s time to head to Downton Abbey. Bampton village served as Downton Abbey’s village in the TV and film series. You’ll recognise the church, the hospital and many other village scenes.
The Historic Secrets of Eastleach Turville
If stepping back in real-time is more your thing, visit the market town of Fairford. A countryside drive takes you along Roman Akeman Street and through the picturesque village of Eastleach Turville. Set on the River Leach, Eastleach is famous for its ancient clapper bridge and two churches. Fairford church is your destination this time, though – where you can still see England’s oldest medieval stained glass. Don’t miss the window depicting the Devil, which is still vibrant in red glass.
Peckish again, you could stop at the Bull Inn in the marketplace or back-track to Southrop and lunch at The Swan pub.
If you love gardening, a post-lunch visit to Burford Garden Centre is a must.
Multi-award-winning, this is no ordinary purveyor of plants. It also sells homewares, art, designer clothing and all things horticultural. At this time of year, the spring bulbs are displayed in colour-coded waves. It is a great place to take afternoon tea.
Medieval Burford town is five minutes away and worth a mooch around the shops – there is so much more to discover just off the usual tourist track.
Recommended Places to Stay
Eco Chic Cottages has two Luxury five-star holiday cottages in the area. These luxury eco-cottages are available for weekend, mid-week or longer stays and are open all year (click on the cottage names for further information).
The Chestnuts at Shilton (Sleeps eight) is just five minutes drive from Burford.