Great Itineraries

Great Itineraries

You can get a taste of Bath and the Cotswolds in three days; a weeklong visit gives you plenty of time for the slow wandering this small region deserves.

If You Have 3 Days

A day in Bath will enable you to tour the Roman Baths, followed by a whirl around Bath Abbey. In the afternoon, stroll along the river or canal, view the ceramics and silverware in the Holburne Museum, and then cross town to the Royal Crescent for a promenade. Heading out early for Cheltenham, whose Regency architecture and fashionable shops will occupy a morning. After lunch, drive northeast on B4632 through Winchcombe, near which are historic Sudeley Castle and treasure-filled Snowshill Manor. A stop in Broadway will allow you to sample its prettiness, or you can press on to that Cotswold showpiece, Chipping Campden. Now head south on the A429 through the classic Cotswold villages of Moreton-in-Marsh and Stow-on-the-Wold, where cottage pubs are sandwiched between antiques shops. Nearby, don't miss the smaller places such as Lower and Upper Slaughter. For your final afternoon, head westward on A436 to Gloucester, with its National Waterways Museum.

If You Have 7 Days

Two days in Bath will give you time to explore this Georgian treasure. Outside Bath, make sure you see Castle Combe, "the prettiest village in England," or Lacock. On your third day, head north to swank Cheltenham and walk its Regency-era terraces. Overnight there, then start out on a circuit of the best of the Cotswold villages and countryside; Cheltenham's tourist office has useful information. Take a look at Winchcombe and explore the impressive grounds of Sudeley Castle and Stanway House (the latter has limited hours). Nearby Snowshill Manor is in an unspoiled village. The popular Cotswold center of Broadway lies a couple of miles to the north, on A44. You might head to Stratford-upon-Avon for some Shakespeare; it's 15 mi north of Broadway.

Spend your fourth night in that Cotswold gem, Chipping Campden, from which it is an easy drive to the "garden rooms" of Hidcote Manor Garden. From here, head south through Moreton-in-Marsh and Stow-on-the-Wold. South of Stow, kids may enjoy Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach. Chedworth Roman Villa recalls the area's importance in Roman times -- nearby Cirencester was Corinium, an important provincial capital. Pick a rural retreat for your fifth night, perhaps around Lower and Upper Slaughter. In the morning, an outing eastward might take in idyllic Bibury and the wool town of Burford. Driving west from Cirencester on A417, stop in the model village of Owlpen, immaculate Painswick, and the market town of Tetbury.