I’ve visited the Cotswolds twice before, many years ago, but it’s the place that lingers with you long after your trip. Rolling elegantly across not one but six English counties, the thatch-roofed cottages, rickety almshouses, and ancient mansions of honey-coloured stone are the kind of sights you won’t forget in a hurry.
Springtime – before the summer crowds arrive and when fresh greenery, colourful wildflowers and playful lambs fill the long stretches of unspoiled landscapes – is arguably the best time to make a return visit.
After a week-long photography trip in Kent, we then decided to stay at the gorgeous historic boutique hotel The Wood Norton and explore the area in a quintessentially English convertible Morgan car to renew memories of the chocolate-box pretty area…
The Wood Norton is a perfectly preserved and beautifully presented Grade II-listed hotel. Once a hunting lodge, a home for exiled European Royalty, a listening post during the Cold War, and, more recently, a Doctor Who filming location.
The extraordinary hotel is all dark wooden panelling, large open fireplaces, immaculate gardens, and ornate balconies that take advantage of the beautiful surrounding vistas. I loved how elegant the place was and felt I was in an English Period drama as I wandered around!
With more than a whiff of aristocratic nostalgia, it’s the place that satisfies a lust for all things historic and ornate….and satiates a restless romantic soul. It’s also a place where you know has a story – or several – to tell!
Offering 50 rooms and five spectacular suites, a restaurant using the finest local produce, a contemporary bar and an alfresco dining terrace, the hotel seamlessly fuses historic features with modern luxuries. I thought it was beautiful!
We stayed in the grandest suite with a separate living area, a vast, sprawling bedroom, and a sizeable marble-clad bathroom with a sumptuous Turkish-style bath and a two-person rain shower.
Brimming with character and impressive original features, I felt transported back into a time of hat-tipping gents and corseted ladies from the moment I walked through the door.
I love that the gentle limestone hills that make up the Cotswolds are astoundingly photogenic. They are dotted with a string of suspended-in-time, storybook villages and crisscrossed by a network of long-distance tracks and picturesque lanes, offering the perfect antidote to smoggy, fast-paced city life.
There was no better way to explore an area teeming with history and nostalgia than in an iconic Morgan – a truly beautiful classic car handcrafted by dedicated local artisans! It was a wow-inducing way to explore The Cotswolds!
Over two days, we carved our way through the idyllic countryside and satisfied our hunger pangs in traditional tea shops.
We wandered into churches decorated with beautiful carvings, negotiated precarious-looking fords, supped real ale in wood-beamed pubs, scaled rolling green hills and an imposing Gothic Folly, and basked in the waves and nods of road-side admiration (there’s a lot of love out there for convertible Morgans)!
In the forty-eight hours, we’d managed to squeeze in local highlights such as Moreton-in-the Marsh, Stow-the-Wold, nearby Evesham, Broadway (known as the most beautiful village in the Cotswolds), and Upper and Lower Slaughter—two impossibly gorgeous villages that have strayed into the 21st century from another era.
More About The Wood Norton Hotel
The Wood Norton Hotel is a historic and luxurious hotel nestled in the picturesque countryside of Worcestershire, England. Initially built in the early 20th century as a hunting lodge for European royalty, the hotel has since been meticulously restored to its former glory. I was impressed with how it seamlessly blended modern amenities with its classic charm.
Surrounded by lush gardens and expansive grounds, the Wood Norton Hotel offers a tranquil and romantic retreat for guests seeking relaxation and a country getaway far away from any city hassles; it’s located in the peaceful heart of The Cotswolds!
Guests can indulge in gourmet cuisine at the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, which sources local ingredients to create delectable dishes inspired by traditional British fare and international flavours.
Beyond its luxurious amenities, the Wood Norton Hotel is also an ideal venue for weddings, conferences, and other special events. With its stunning backdrop of rolling hills and manicured gardens, the hotel provides an enchanting setting for celebrations of all kinds.
More About the Cotswolds
Located primarily in the counties of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, as well as parts of Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire, the Cotswolds covers an area of approximately 800 square miles. This designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) offers various outdoor activities, including hiking, cycling, horseback riding, and wildlife watching.
Here, you can explore chocolate-box-pretty villages and stately homes such as Blenheim Palace and Sudeley Castle, wander through medieval market towns like Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold, or take your dog in seriously beautiful landscapes. The views here are just incredible!
I love its thriving culinary scene, which includes numerous gastro pubs, quaint tearooms, and farm-to-table restaurants showcasing the region’s finest local produce. I highly recommend trying Lords of the Manor in Upper Slaughter and YOKU in Cheltenham. If you’re looking for a traditional tearoom, I suggest Rixy’s Cotswold’s Tearooms.
