During our family trip to London, we decided to take a couple days to explore another nearby area by train or by car. There are MANY options for quick trips outside of London, so it took us awhile to make a final decision on the destination. In the end, we decided to head to central England to the dreamy countryside and quaint villages of the Cotswolds. I’d seen so many beautiful photos of this area of England in the past, and it seemed like a great, easy-going addition to a London trip with a toddler. It ended up being the perfect choice for us! We were able to plan our drives around Carson’s nap time, stop any time we needed to stretch our legs or change a diaper, and eat whenever/wherever we wanted. And, let me tell you, ALL the villages in Cotswolds that we saw were stop-worthy and Instagram-able. I’ve been telling everyone that they looked like little movie sets scattered across the countryside.
Car Rental & Drive
We’ve rented a car in the United Kingdom once before back on our 2016 road trip around Ireland, so we have a little experience with the process and driving on the left side of the road. This time around, we rented through Europcar online. The process was really simple. Europe tends to have mostly manual cars, but when you make a booking for a car rental, you can request an automatic, which we did. We brought our own travel carseat (this one from Walmart) to use both on the airplane and on this road trip.
Carson was able to take some good naps in the car!
There were a couple of nerve-wracking moments for Daniel while driving on those narrow two-way country roads, but we made it just fine!
Here is a map of our driving route! We pre-planned a little bit, but a lot of it was planning along the way based on Carson’s schedule and our energy levels.
Oxford
While Oxford is not a part of the Cotswolds, it is a convenient stop on the way from London. We’ve done a full day of sightseeing in Oxford before in 2016 (click here for that trip review), so our main purpose for stopping this time was to stretch our legs and to pick up an Oxford Starbucks mug. I collect Starbucks mugs from wherever we travel, and I give Daniel a hard time that he is the reason I didn’t get an Oxford one during our 2016 backpacking trip. During that trip, he wanted to catch the next train out, and we didn’t have time for a Starbucks stop. So, I had to grab it this trip!
We found a fun little playground. The weather was beautiful on this day, so it was a perfect driving stop.
Carson’s favorite activity was to open and close this gate. He could literally do this for over an hour if we let him….
After stretching our legs at the park and grabbing my mug and some snacks at Starbucks, we hopped back in the car for more driving!
Stow-on-the-Wold
For lunch, we stopped at Stow-on-the-Wold, a Cotswold village I’d heard lots about in my research. Lucy’s Tearoom kept popping up over and over again, so we knew we needed to stop there for some tea and scones with clotted cream. It was a charming establishment with friendly servers, and all of the patrons seemed like locals. They also had a highchair for Carson and were very accommodating to our needs with a toddler. I highly recommend this place as a stop during your Cotswolds drive.
After lunch, we explored more of this scenic little village.
Snowshill Manor
Next we drove around the scenic countryside for a while so Carson could get a nap in, and then we stopped at Snowshill Manor & Gardens, a UK National Trust and beautiful country home. With our toddler, we knew we didn’t need to spend any time inside of the homes, so we purposefully arrived after the final admission time into the the house but with plenty of time to explore the gardens before closing. You guys, these gardens are STUNNING. I felt like I was on the set for the Pride and Prejudice movie. The soft evening sunlight accentuated the fall colors and lush greenery. Carson enjoyed the chilly fresh air and even made friends with a sweet elderly man along the path. I will let the photos do all the talking on this one because I have more than a few to share….
Stay at Holiday Inn Express Gloucester South
There are many, many charming bed & breakfasts you can stay at in the Cotswolds, and that is definitely on my bucket list for a child-free vacation one day. However, we wanted to use a free IHG hotel night, so we stayed at the swanky Holiday Inn. Also, when I played around with the idea of the three of us staying at a bed & breakfast, I learned that the UK has much stricter rules around hotel occupancy since their rooms are typically smaller than those in the US. They did not have any flexibility to add a baby to a two-person room at the couple of places I looked, so we would have been required to book TWO rooms for two adults and a baby. No, thank you. The Holiday Inn was fine. They gave us a really uncomfortable bed for Carson, so we tried to add some extra padding. Because of this, Carson had some trouble sleeping which is highly unusual, so we were ready to grab the free breakfast and go in the morning. We met a really nice woman at the front desk, listened to some of her recommendations, and then made our way out for day two of our road trip!
Painswick
Painswick shows up over and over again as one of the most beautiful Cotswold villages, and it is even referred to as “Queen of the Cotswolds”. We stopped in for some coffee and a pastry at a cute little shop, a walk in the picturesque cemetery, and a look around the streets of the village.
The St. Mary’s Churchyard cemetery is home to yew trees which are often found in English cemeteries. There is a legend around the Painswick yew trees that is fun to read, but I’ll let you take a look at that on a plaque during your visit.
The Painswick Pooch Coffeehouse was just what we needed that morning. They do all of the typical espresso drinks and also offer cakes and pastries. They even had a bin of children’s books and toys! They offer lots of dog water bowls and treats, hence the name of the shop. We went to the door of the coffee shop first thing after we parked in Painswick, but they weren’t open at their scheduled opening time. So, I’d caution you to be relaxed about opening/closing times in this village. Life is slower-paced in the Cotswolds.
Sudeley Castle
When searching for Cotswold stops that would be fun for the whole family, Daniel found Sudeley Castle. I didn’t quite understand why it was considered so family friendly until we got there and saw the amazing playground! But before we talk about the playground, let’s talk about the beautiful castle and gardens.
We attempted to do one of the guided tours, but Carson didn’t agree with that plan, so we mostly did our own thing. We walked around outside, soaked in all the beauty, and had lunch at the cafe inside – one of the better museum cafe meals I’ve had despite waiting a very long time for our food. We spent a little time looking at the exhibits in the house, but not much.
I did not really understand what these creepy people cutouts were doing in this cage, but Carson made friends with them!
We all enjoyed the pheasantry on site that is home to one of the largest collections of endangered pheasants in the world. Carson had fun “meeting” all the colorful birds.
We ended our time at Sudeley Castle at the huge playground right outside the entrance. It was a bit odd to me that a house and garden museum had something like this, but it definitely puts Sudeley Castle on the map for families with children! These gorgeous fall days are my favorite. It was so special to me to see my baby running around in the autumn air on this special trip as a family.
Arlington Row
For our final Cotswold stop, we chose Arlington Row National Trust in the village of Bibury. This row of quintessential English cottages is one of the most iconic and most photographed sites in the Cotswolds. It definitely lived up the hype!
After switching off photo-taking with another family, we went for a quick walk around the village. It started to rain and was getting dark, so we tried to find a place for dinner quickly.
We had dinner at The Catherine Wheel. Unfortunately, this cozy pub didn’t serve their full dinner menu for another hour, and we needed to get on the road to London, so we couldn’t wait. We ordered a couple pizzas from their limited menu and made our way back to the car in the cold rain! The drive back to London was dark, but we made it back to the Airbnb at a relatively reasonable time.
If you are looking for a road trip from London, with or without a young child, I highly recommend adding the Cotswolds to your itinerary! I hope to get back to this part of the world to cozy up in a local bed & breakfast and spend a little more time exploring. We were sad to leave so quickly but ready to finish out our time in bustling, exciting London!
{Thanks for reading! Want to know a little more about me? I’m a CPA learning how to balance a career with motherhood and regular travel while planting roots at home in the Austin, TX area. When I’m not exploring my home city with my husband Daniel and baby boy Carson or cuddling with my chubby orange cat Banana, I’m probably either out on a playdate with my son or planning, packing for, traveling to, or daydreaming about our next adventure. After all, my travel mug collection is never complete. If you have wanderlust too, be sure to follow me on Instagram (and InstaStories!), Pinterest, and Facebook, or subscribe to my blog!}
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