Exploring a corner of the Cotswolds
June 22, 2021
For a recent dog and house sit we were staying on a farm near Chippenham, just outside the Cotswolds. Â We were surrounded by beautiful countryside but more tempting than that was the idea of visiting some of the surrounding Cotswold towns and villages. Â But where to go? Â Most people have heard of the Cotswolds, but where exactly do you go to see the quintessential Cotswold village? Â
What exactly are The Cotswolds?
The Cotswolds is an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in the south of England. Â It covers around 800 square miles and is situated over five counties; Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire.
Pronunciation tips for the Americans out there (and anyone else – English pronunciation is so illogical, and this is coming from an English teacher!)
The “shire” is pronounced /sheer/ not /shy-er/.
Worcester is pronounced /woos-ter/ (the ‘oo’ like in book).  Gloucester is /gloss-ter/.
Which villages to visit in the Cotswolds
Where to go? Â It’s a bit of a ‘stick a pin in a map’ moment when trying to decide which villages to visit. Â As the Cotswolds is so vast we stuck to the area surrounding our base in the Southern-most part of the Cotswolds in the county of Wiltshire. Â We had a couple of unimpressive stops, but we definitely found some beautiful and definitely Cotswold villages:
Castle Combe
One of the most iconic photos of the Cotswolds is actually from the village of Castle Combe.  Apparently the village is often named “the prettiest village in England” and with an accolade such as that, we absolutely had to visit.  The village is solely honey coloured buildings, with two pubs, a Manor House (with Michelin starred restaurant) and By Brook running through its centre. 
We were so struck by the village we decided a return was needed in order to lunch at The Castle Inn, a 12th century pub serving fine dining comfort food (is that a thing?  It definitely should be!). We were not disappointed with the food.  We dined on local produce; cheese soufflé’, dishes with foraged wild garlic, and the garlic and nettle stuffed porchetta with Cotswold cider sauce was delicious.  This is what eating out should be.  Yum.
Biddestone
A tiny village with no shops…but worthy of a walk around for its picturesque oldy-worldy looking pub, pond and village green as well as the signature honey-colour houses. Â
Grittleton
Our visit to Grittleton was solely because we got chatting to a local who told us it was a beautiful Cotswold village and it had a real “local” pub. Â OK, sold.
The pub in question was The Neeld Arms and indeed, it seemed to be a locals local. Â On arriving there were two gentlemen sat in the garden waiting for opening time. Â As soon as the doors opened, the landlady came out holding two pints of beer for said gentlemen. Â Regular much? Â Quite right too.
Added bonus, they had a local-just-down-the-road beer on tap; Flying Monk’s ‘Mighty Monk’. Â Time to take a trip to the brewery and stock up I think.Â
Corsham
On the very edge of the Cotswolds, this is a very pretty medieval market town with cobbled streets, pokey shops, independent cafes and the stunning  Corsham Court.  An interesting piece of trivia, it’s the filming location for the town of Truro in the series Poldark…a personal favourite and if you like historical dramas where handsome toned men find excuses to take off their shirts on a regular basis, I would highly recommend it.  Currently available on Netflix.
Lacock
Not actually in The Cotswolds but worthy of a visit.  Almost the entire village is owned by The  National Trust, including Lacock Abbey (sadly not accessible for dogs…another day).  A beautiful village for a stroll and photos and a poke in the local independent shops…local gin anyone?  We ventured a little further for a circular walk along the river Avon and stumbled across Lacock Dairy located on a farm.  Ring the bell and someone appears to sell ice-cream…oh happy days. Â
Another discovery on our walk was definitely dog friendly. Â Anyone who is a regular walker in the UK, will know about stiles – a way for walkers to pass through a boundary; steps over a wall or fence, narrow gaps through stone walls, or ladders over the boundary. Â We had a thigh high stone to step over…what of our short-legged Border Terrier companion? Â The Solution was a doggy-size hole in the wall. Â Simple but genius.
Where next?...
There’s still so much of the Cotswolds to discover, we will definitely be back.
Our next stop? Â Another part of the country we are not familiar with, Kent. Â The garden of England.
Great post!! Enjoy friends. Miss you both.