July 8, 2014: Today I took a trip through the picturesque area of the English countryside known as the Cotswolds, which included visits to four historic villages. This was another tour taken though Premium Tours. It’s a great tour to take if you like strolling through quaint villages and doing a lot of shopping, but in my case I felt as if it was a tour I probably could have skipped.
Don’t get me wrong, the villages were all very cute, but for me it wasn’t worth a 5 a.m. wakeup call and a missed extra day I could have spent exploring London. Perhaps a half-day trip would have been better, as I could have gotten the Cotswolds experience without using up my entire day—the villages were similar enough to each other that it wasn’t really necessary to see all of them.
It probably didn’t help that the much-touted lunch at a 17-century Inn was a huge disappointment. Our only choices were trout or vegetarian pasta. I don’t like seafood, so I was stuck with the pasta, which was decidedly mediocre, plus some fruit thing for dessert that I didn’t like. I wasn’t expecting five-star dining, but offering one meat option would have been nice (later in the day I made up for my lunch disappointment by having a nice afternoon tea with scones in one of the villages).
Nevertheless, the trip offered many nice photographic opportunities and I would still recommend it if you’re looking to do something different and get out of London for a day (though if you can only choose one trip, the Bath/Stonehenge trip is much better).
Here are some photos from my day:
Word to the wise: make sure you don’t wander into private property. I made this mistake in the first village we visited. I followed a couple of people from my tour through an open gate into a large garden area that appeared to lead to a church. Alas, it was someone’s private property (I missed the sign on the way in) and we were chased out by an irate home owner. Based on how unreceptive he was to my apologies, it must happen to him a lot. Later, when we rode back through the town, I noticed that the gate was closed. 🙂
We returned to London late in the evening. I can’t recall what I did for dinner; I may just have called it a night since I had an early wake-up call. The following morning I would be taking another excursion outside of London, this time to Leeds Castle, Dover, Canterbury, and finally to Greenwich for a boat ride back into central London.
View more photos from my visits to the English countryside.
Related Posts:
- Eurotrip 2014: The Movie
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 1: Planning a Trip Across the Pond
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 2: Touchdown in London and a View from the Shard
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 3: Doing the London Tourist Thing
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 4: A Day in Paris
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 5: Bath and Stonehenge
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 6: And Now for Something Completely Different…
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 7: Off to Scotland
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 8: A Journey Through Braveheart Country
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 9: Sunset on Calton Hill
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 10: Edinburgh Castle
- Eurotrip 2014, Part 11: Rock ‘n’ Roll Pilgrimages and a West‑End Vampire
Michael Rappa 
You got me on this one. Never been to the UK!
It’s definitely worth a visit, though it’s an expensive trip, especially if you stay in London. My favorite places from the trip were Scotland, Bath, and Stonehenge.
What a pity you didn’t like the Cotswolds. When I see your other travel places, I don’t blame you though! Variety is the spice of life.
I liked them, it’s a beautiful area. I just thought an entire day was a bit much, and that I wish I had spent more time in London itself.
I love photos,so wonderful places. If you like UK you should visit Dorset coast and Cornway
Thanks! I’d definitely love to see the parts of the UK that I missed the first time around.