For more information and to book please visit www.mrandmrssmith.com or let us arrange your whole trip, by calling +44 (0)20 8987 4312 or from the USA dial 1 866 610 3867.
Britain’s largest designated area of natural beauty, the Cotswolds covers an area roughly bounded by Oxford to the east, Cheltenham to the west, Stratford to the north and Bath to the south. Long before the tourist invasion, the Romans left their legacy in towns such as Cirencester, and remains of villas and forts can be seen from Bury Hill to Woodchester. Today, besides sheep, the area is home to some of the country’s most scenic towns and villages – all thatched cottages, ducks waddling across village greens and honey-hued churches. Other sensory delights include strolls on the beautiful banks of the River Wye, or following Fosse Way, the arrow-straight Roman road that still pierces through the loveliest landscapes imaginable.
The area’s famously photogenic hamlets and villages owe much of their attractiveness to Cotwold stone, a yellow limestone quarried in the region’s eponymous hills. The hue changes depending on the source: Northern Cotswold stone is characterised by a rich, honeyed gold; as you approach Bath, the colour is a delicate pale buttermilk.
… buying a bottle of easy-drinking English white from the Three Choirs Vineyards in Newent (+44 (0)1531 890223). Team it with Double Gloucester at your next Seventies-themed cheese-and-wine party.
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and romantic boutique hotels in Cotswolds
The ultra-cool modern furniture doesn’t seem remotely out of place in 17th-century Barnsley House; this spa-enhanced boutique hotel is set in beautiful countryside, less than two hours from London.
Cotswolds88hotel is a temple to Italian design. Gloriously over-the-top touches such as PVC-backed chairs and chrome mannequins vie for attention with the hotel’s own Palladian backdrop, and the result is a space with its own cheeky sense of humour.
A stylishly serene boutique hotel within an ivy-clad country inn, the Bath Arms hides at the end of a twisting lane on the Marquess of Bath's Longleat Estate.
Few places can boast being both the perfect venue for a child-friendly stay and for a romantic rendezvous, but coddling Cotswolds spa retreat Calcot Manor has the flair and features to pull it off with panache.
If you want your country retreat with all the mod cons, then Cotswold House hotel is your dream designer pad, in a breathtaking rural setting. It's a family-friendly hotel, too.
To call the look ‘designer’ doesn’t do justice to Cowley Manor’s funky, flamboyant aesthetic; the exuberant decor is a world away from the usual country-house hotels.
Set on a 260-acre working farm, the family run Lower End House in the Cotswolds is an enticing blend of mediaeval architecture and utterly up-to-the-minute fittings.
This stately Cotswolds country manor knocks the stuffing out of traditional rural retreats, with all the boutique-hotel trimmings you'd expect of a designer pad in town. At Lower Slaughter Manor, you get your fresh air, fine dining and fabulously romantic weekend away all in one fell swoop…
With its open log fires, canoodle‑friendly armchairs and all that crisp Egyptian linen waiting for you in the bedrooms upstairs, Rectory Hotel in the Cotswolds is the perfect place to kickstart or rekindle a romance – with or without the kids in tow.
A beautifully boutique B&B inside a grand Regency townhouse shell, Thirty Two overlooks Cheltenham’s main Imperial Square gardens and is just a short walk from the artistic Montpellier quarter.
This West Country boutique hotel and spa is grade II-listed Cotswold stone set in magnificent grounds. The Whatley Manor restaurant has a Michelin star.
Woolley Grange is a small luxury family-friendly hotel set in 14 acres of glorious private grounds on the outskirts of Bradford on Avon. Laze by the pool in summer, retire to the fireside in winter, and enjoy the glorious English countryside all year round. Your children will love it, too.
Formerly a wool merchant’s house, like the majority of the architecture in this wealthy town, No 12 is suitably grand with a handsome, Cotswold stone façade.
Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.
March The Cheltenham Festival horse-racing fixture culminates in the famous Gold Cup in the middle of the month (www.cheltenham.co.uk). May Cheltenham Jazz Festival brings in big musical names for goateed men to nod along to (www.cheltenhamfestivals.com). May/June Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire hosts an annual cheese-rolling competition in which people hurtle down the slope in pursuit of an eight-pound ‘squircle’ of Double Gloucester – then wince at the broken bones that inevitably result. August If it’s flared nostrils and shimmering fetlocks you’re after, head to the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park for daredevil displays of dressage, showjumping and cross-country riding (www.gatcombe-horse.co.uk). September Find a tuffet to sit on and enjoy the curds and whey at Cheltenham’s Great British Cheese Festival and British Cheese Awards. Tastings, workshops and cheese tossing! Ring +44 (0)845 241 2026 for details.
A deli up in the Suffolks, Cheltenham’s villagey quarter, with shelves of chili jelly and a dappled, sunlit courtyard. Great hot paninis, white chocolate and berry slices and home-made lemonade.
42 Suffolk Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 2AQ
This Italian deli shakes the best coffee beans in Cheltenham and will pop goodies from the shop into a picnic hamper for you.
12 Montpellier Walk, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 1SD
A stalwart of Stroud’s well-established café scene, Mills Café’s espressos are Continental, but its tarts and teacakes are truly British. The daily changing lunch menu includes meat from herds reared on a nearby farm.
8 Witheys Yard, High Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 1AS
A stylish, Spanish-y place with retro furniture, paella-yellow walls, and a large selection of organic tapas, much of it veggie-friendly. There’s also jazz on Friday evenings, and less regular Spanish guitar and flamenco sessions. ¡Olé!
12 Union Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2HE
Thanks to this street-corner spot, Stroud lays claim to being the birthplace of Britain’s organic food movement; in 1988, it was the first café in the UK to go organic. These days it offers a strong vegetarian menu, Fairtrade coffee and – so as not to be too wholesome – whacking great cream cakes.
24 High Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 1AJ
Having moved on from the excellent Trouble House Inn, Michelin starred chef Michael Bedford's new project is a top-notch gastro deli and bistro in Tetbury. The presentation may be different, but the philosophy is the same: seasonal, local, discerning. Here, the epicurean ingredients and pantry delights will stimulate your taste buds and your culinary imagination – pop in and graze while you shop for kitchen-cupboard treats.
49 Long Street, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8AA
A foodie’s paradise with fresh, delicious home cooking and locally sourced produce; either eat in, in a sweet mews setting, or take away. Squirrel away some freshly baked biscuits for the car journey home, some picnic snacks, or a jar of the Rectory's lemon curd as a souvenir.
2 Templar Mews, 8 Black Jack Street, Cirencester GL7 2AA
Having done stints at respected London venues Caprice, Bibendum and Chez Bruce, chef Graham Grafton knows a thing or two about turning out a decent plate of food. Here, he makes the most of produce grown in the restaurant’s own kitchen garden, giving it an Italian spin for modern palates. On fine days, a table on the terrace is a lovely treat.
Barnsley, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5EE
Situated in a stableyard behind one of Cirencester’s highly respected butchers, this small and relaxed restaurant specialises in fresh meat and fish. In the summer, there’s live jazz in the courtyard (www.jessesbistro.co.uk).
The Stableyard, Black Jack Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 2AA
The two Michelin-stars say it all: this is the destination restaurant in the Cotswolds, serving audacious, high-wire dishes where English and French cuisine collide (www.lechampignonsauvage.co.uk).
24–26 Suffolk Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 2AQ
The atmosphere’s as high as the ceilings at this buzzing restaurant that’s set inside a converted art deco cinema, complete with 1920s movie artefacts on the walls. Expect a neat line in mouthwatering modern Anglo-Mediterranean dishes (www.thedaffodil.com).
18–20 Suffolk Parade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 2AE
Set in a honey-coloured former rectory in the gorgeous (and gorgeously named) Cotswolds village of Upper Slaughter, this whisper-quiet, romantic hotel restaurant is known for its on-trend British cuisine. That said, its signature dish of slow-roast beef is a melt-in-the-mouth classic (www.lordsofthemanor.com).
Upper Slaughter, near Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire GL54 2JD
With its panelled wooden pews and enthusiastic service, this Chipping Campden hotel restaurant oozes country charm and cheer. The menu combines ‘greatest hits’ Brit dishes with more experimental international fare: try the king prawns flamed in brandy, or the steak and kidney sausages with bubble and squeak (www.thekingsarmshotel.com).
The Square, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire GL55 6AW
A lovely country-house hotel restaurant, rightly popular with Mr & Mrs Smiths, just three miles outside Tetbury, with two restaurants. The Conservatory offers fine dining that makes the most of fresh, local ingredients, in an airy and informal setting; have a quick drink at the Gumstool Inn first, the hotel's snuggle-up gastropub.
Calcot Manor, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8YJ
This glass-fronted restaurant with an elegant, 28-cover dining room offers an upbeat, ‘modern global’ menu that tends oh-so-slightly towards the Pacific Rim. All dishes are robustly flavoured and herb-heavy – there’s even a snippet of greenery in the lemon sorbet. Worth the splurge.
Clarence Parade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3PA
This hotel restaurant’s food brings mediaeval banqueting to mind with its rich array of meat, fish and game. Braised osso bucco and ox cheeks, mackerel and guinea fowl can all be savoured in the stylish and atmospheric dining room – you can’t throw your chicken bones over your shoulder, though… Booking advisable.
The Royalist Hotel, Digbeth Street, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire GL54 1BN
Built from Cotswold stone, this low-lit 16th-century inn is a step-back-in-time treat, with oak panelling, an enormous fireplace and ancestral oil paintings hanging from the deep red walls. There’s a handful of real ales on tap and a killer wine list in the restaurant – but the big draw is the canopied summer courtyard with an ancient apple tree at its, ahem, core (www.thewildduckinn.co.uk).
Drakes Island, Ewen, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6BY
Smart and quietly elegant, this restaurant at Cotswold House serves Modern British and Mediterranean food with an emphasis on local produce, fish and game. It's popular, so book a table if you want to dine there at the weekend; get there early and have a pre-dinner drink at the bar. It's open for Sunday lunch, too – choose a table by the French windows for a view of the garden.
The Square, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire GL55 6AW
A foodie’s paradise with fresh, delicious homecooking to either eat in this sweet mews setting, or to take away. Squirrel away some freshly baked biscuits for the car journey home, or a jar of The Rectory lemon curd as a souvenir.
2 Templar Mews, Black Jack Street, Cirencester GL7 2AA
Set over several floors of a restored Regency townhouse, this after-hours bar is a well-heeled cocktail hangout, with regular DJs and well-attended live music events (thirteendegrees.co.uk).
1 Chapel Walk, 13 St Georges Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3DT
Light and modern, the bar at Cotswold House hotel's Hicks' Brassserie is good for a quick kick-back. A popular pitstop for pre-dinner cocktails or a glass of champagne. During the day, the brasserie menu is appealing.
Cotswold House, the Square, Chipping Camden, Gloucestershire GL55 6AN
This traditional pub, in the centre of the village, is ideal for a Sunday roast after a long walk, or an informal dinner. With only six tables, you’ll have to book – though there’s a lovely terrace for alfresco dining (www.eightbellsinn.co.uk).
Church Street, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire GL55 6JG
A lovely snuggle-up gastropub attached to country-house hotel Calcot Manor, rightly popular with Mr & Mrs Smiths, just three miles outside Tetbury. The Manor also has a fine-dining restaurant, the Conservatory, which makes the most of fresh, local ingredients, in an airy and informal setting.
Calcot Manor, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8YJ
In the most idyllic of settings – down a narrow lane and overlooking a valley – this charming pub serves adventurous grub. The madeira-marinated herring crostini and parma-wrapped baked figs stuffed with brie tear strips off the scampi-and-chips fare offered by lesser local boozers (www.green-dragon-inn.co.uk).
Cockleford, near Cowley, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 9NW
Award-winning pub in a picturesque village in Sheepscombe Valley that was the favourite haunt of Cider with Rosie author Laurie Lee. Home-made dishes are packed with flavour, thanks to their locally sourced ingredients, and the pub is very family-friendly. Cask ales and draught ciders are a speciality (www.butchers-arms.co.uk).
Sheepscombe, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL6 7RH
The gastropub attached to the Royalist is a popular lunchtime stop-off, with British favourites cooked imaginatively and with flair. We loved the steak, kidney and thyme suet pudding. You might want to book ahead for weekend visits.
The Royalist Hotel, Digbeth Street, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire GL54 1BN
Lovely country dining pub between Cirencester and Stroud with an accomplished menu of mouthwatering dishes. Winter brings hearty, warming dishes such as Cirencester Park venison casserole, smoked haddock brandade and braised belly of Gloucester Old Spot pork; summer's menus are lighter and refreshing. Chalk boards list fresh fish dishes of the day and specials.
Sapperton, Gloucestershire GL7 6LE
A charming grade II-listed country pub, where you can get a more laidback serving of the Rectory Hotel’s excellent seasonal dining. Young, friendly staff serve well-heeled locals, young and old, quality British produce in stylish flagstone-floored, sage-walled surroundings. Chef Ed Sargent’s menu celebrates a love of Slow Food with tasty roasts and rib-sticking stews; and make sure you leave room for the yummy desserts – a modern take on classics.
The Street, Crudwell, Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 9EW
The staff seem to have swallowed happy pills at this golden-stone Cotswolds pub in Bourton-on-the-Hill, where nothing is too much trouble (even shooing wasps away from your alfresco wine glass is part of the service). The Modern European menu changes so frequently, it's only ever committed to chalk. Buffala Mozzarella and Spiced Aubergine Salad or Courgette Carpacchio and Parma Ham Salad typify the upscale options that make a great light lunch here. Dine in the garden (wasps allowing) on sunny days or next to the crackling open fire in winter.
Bourton on the Hill, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9AQ
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