England and Wales Road Trip – Part 1
We just recently got back from our first couples trip to Europe since COVID!! We were supposed to do this trip in September 2020 but clearly that did not happen! It was worth the wait though because we had a great time!
I’ve been obsessively watching The Great British Baking Championship and after seeing contestants bake delicious Victoria Sponges and brandy snaps, scones and hand-raised pies – I wanted to eat all those yummy things so naturally we decided to go to England:)
Victor and I’ve been to London a few times (I even worked there briefly back in 2001!) but have not spent any time in the English Country Side so that was the main focus on this trip. And since we were in England we figured we might as well explore Wales – so glad we did because it was beautiful up there!
We saw beautiful cliffs of Seven Sisters, stunning scenery of Wales and charming villages of Cotswolds. We drove hundreds of miles (on the ‘wrong side’) on highways, country roads and roads so narrow that we barely avoided having our car scratched by hedges. We stayed at grand manor houses, charming village hotels and cool B&Bs. We had cream tea and afternoon tea. We saw grand cathedrals (Salisbury one is amazing!) and pre-historical monuments. We had 8 course meals that lasted over 3.5 hours and on-the-go lunches from local markets. We saw cool dogs and lots and lots and lots of sheep!
This is not an off-the-beaten track type of place I love going to but we absolutely loved England and Wales and definitely recommend it as an easy destination to everyone!
And if you are planning your own trip to England and Wales (or would like to virtually follow what we did check out below for practical info such as hotels, restaurants, etc.
BATH
We were in Bath only for a day but absolutely loved this quaint little town – it definitely deserves a visit!
I was looking for a small boutique hotel and I found exactly what I was looking for in #15 by GuestHouse. This place is awesome – great location (less than a 5 minute walk to Pulteney Bridge), very cool decor, great service and delicious breakfast – what else can you ask for?! I would stay there again and again and again!
We had dinner at Crescent Restaurant and it was SOOOO good!! The place is TINY but really charming – the chef/owner was serving us and everything we got was really good. I am getting hungry just writing about it:)
COTSWOLDS
Cotswolds is a pretty large area with lots and lots and lots of charming villages. There are so many of them there that I took us a while to narrow it down to the ones we wanted to visit. We ended up splitting our time there before a stay at Castle Combe and Broadway.
We drove all over the place but our favorite villages were Lower and Upper Slaughters – don’t judge them based on the name – they were the most fairy-tale like places I’ve ever been to). Another favorite was Burford – it was a bit stressful finding a parking spot (as difficult as it is finding street parking in the city!) but it was definitely worth it!
Chipping Campden with its fairytale houses with thatched roofs was absolutely charming.
While on a quest to find a great food market we came across a village of Malmesbury – there was no market there but it was lovely to walk around.
We did find a market at Stroud and it was glorious – so much delicious food! So if you are in the Cotswolds and looking for a food market – Stroud is the place to be!
Castle Combe (I read somewhere that it was considered one of the prettiest villages in the Cotswolds) was beautiful – but TINY – it took all of 5 minutes to walk the place. We stayed at the Manor House – it was stately and grand and definitely a cool place to stay. And we booked dinner at the Michelin starred By Brook restaurant – it was hands-down the best meal we’ve had on the trip and definitely one of the best meals of all times!
Broadway was a prefect place to stay for a couple of nights – it’s a very pretty place that’s right in the center of the Cotswolds with plenty (for the area!) restaurant options. We stayed at the Broadway Hotel which was exactly what I was looking for – charming small hotel in a historic building (from 15 century if I am not mistaken) right in the center of town! We had one dinner at the hotel restaurant (definitely make reservations because this place FILLS UP!) and it was great! And we had our first indian meal of the trip (when in the UK you gotta have Indian food right?!) at The Broadway Restaurant – and it was as great as we hoped it would be!
There are so many charming towns and villages in the Cotswolds and we definitely did not cover them all – so many places, so little time!
And to continue with our adventure and see what we were up to in Wales and London click here.
