I was toying with the idea of doing a weekend away in the UK over the summer. Firstly so that I could get a bit more used to staying somewhere new with a baby, before I ventured onto foreign lands. And secondly because I’m kinda broke at the moment what with the house move and that. I’m not going to the Maldives any time soon, lads.
Then, as if by magic, the babes over at Citroen offered me their C4 Cactus Hatch to test drive for a long weekend. It was fate – I HAD to go away for the weekend really… It was only right.
So I booked my little family a nice countryside retreat in the Cotswolds!
I’ve always wanted to visit the Cotswolds, it just looks so pretty and quaint, but I just hadn’t gotten around to it. Also, the Cotswolds is within 2 hours of where I live and babies aren’t really meant to be in a car seat longer than 2 hours. Perfect.
I did lots of research on where to go (The Cotswolds cover quite a large area!) and I managed to make it to some really cute villages. Here’s how I got on.
A Countryside Getaway In The Cotswolds
Getting Around In The Citroen C4 Cactus Hatch
Ok, let’s talk about the fancy car I got to drive first, because let’s face it, it’s the whole reason I decided to book our little adventure in the first place!
Honestly, I didn’t think it would make a massive difference to my trip, I’m not a massive car-lover, y’know? But mate, it was an absolute game-changer. I’ve been driving a Fiat 500 the last 4 years and since having a baby it’s just been a lot of hassle (tiny boot, 3 doors, etc). So this C4 Cactus Hatch bad boy rocked my world.
Massive boot big enough for all the baby crap you have to take on a road trip? Yep. AND the pram in there? You got it. Sensors to help me do a three point turn in a country lane? Ohhh yeah. A smooth enough ride that Indi slept the entire way there and the entire way back? YOU BETCHA.
I’m not really the kinda blogger to gush about something just because it was free. But I’m in love. Citroen, if you want to give me one for good… I’M GAME.
A Cute AirBnb in France Lynch
I thought about the possibility of booking a hotel for our mini-adventure, but decided that an AirBnb would probably be better for us. We’d have a microwave and a kettle for making Indi’s bottles/food. We wouldn’t disturb anyone if she was fussy. It was the ideal situation for us to be honest.
And the best part is that I found a SUPER CUTE stone cottage in the little village of France Lynch. It was really affordable, had an open fire, boasted a patio with lovely Cotswold-y views, and even had a red telephone box outside that doubled as the village library! Cute is the only word for it.
We had such a lovely stay, it was the ideal base for exploring and the host was a pleasure, so I thought it was worth linking to it in case you’re looking for a nice stay in the Cotswolds – it’s over here, pal.
Stroud Brewery
Talking of our lovely AirBnb host, he recommended Stroud Brewery as a good family-friendly place to go for dinner so we decided to check it out.
It’s a bit of a random spot, located in the middle of a retail park, but it was such a good shout. The big warehouse-type room is covered in fairy lights with big wooden tables and benches, and there’s even toys and games in the corner for kids to play with. (It’s no kids after 8pm FYI) They served delicious beers brewed onsite and there was even a pizza oven serving really good pizzas and garlic bread. A really good casual place to go with friends and family, y’know?
The best part is it was quite loud so that when Indi started screaming (she was going through a weird screeching phase), it wasn’t a “Oh my god we need to leave” situation. If you know, you know.
Definitely check it out if you’re in this part of the Cotswolds!
Bibury
The first Cotswolds village we visited over our weekend getaway, was the charming village of Bibury. I added it to my list of places to visit purely because photos on Instagram just looked picture perfect. Instagram tourism at its peak right there.
There’s a famous street in Bibury called Arlington Row that frequents the gram because it essentially looks like the front of a biscuit tin. Cute stone cottages, surrounded by flowers and countryside. It’s beaut.
The thing is, when I arrived I soon realised that Bibury is a key stop on Cotswolds coach tours. Coaches lined up and tourists poured out, heading straight to Arlington Row for some snaps and getting back on the coach. I realise I am also a tourist in this situation, but it just felt so weird seeing people get out just for the photo and jumping back on the bus. And they weren’t very considerate of people living there to be honest. I saw lots of signs asking tourists to respect private property.
So although the village of Bibury was lovely and Arlington Row really does look great on your social media snaps, I came away with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth. It makes me worry about the effect tourism has on small villages like this.
But I mean, yes, it’s charming AF.
Bourton-On-The-Water
The rest of my Cotswolds destinations were quite close together so they made quite a nice road trip. The first was Bourton-On-The-Water, one of the larger towns in the Cotswolds, based around the River Windrush with lots of low bridges. So it’s known as the ‘Venice Of The Cotswolds’.
It was really busy so it was quite difficult to find parking but as it was a sunny Saturday, there were lots of children playing in the river and shoppers wandering the little boutiques. So it had good vibes despite being quite crowded.
There are loads of things to do here, from wandering the model village (a mini replica of Bourton-On-The-Water itself) to checking out vintage cars at the Motor Museum. There’s also a Dragonfly Maze and the Cotswolds Brewing Company, so there’s a lot more here to do than neighbouring towns.
But the best thing to do here? Eat a sausage roll from Bakery On The Water! They’re bloody delicious.
The Mousetrap is also meant to be a decent pub if you’re after a proper pub lunch FYI.
The Slaughters
Nearby, is the unfortunately-named Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter. The ‘Slaughter’ name comes from the Old English word for ‘wet lands’ in case you were wondering.
It was much quieter here so I really enjoyed soaking up the countryside vibes and enjoying the nice weather. We stopped in at The Slaughter Inn country pub, which is really what I pictured when I booked our little getaway – drinking a glass of rose in the beer garden of a charming stone pub with ivy growing up the walls. Y’know, apart from all the wasps. But it was a lovely little break from the crowds nonetheless!
Burford
The last destination I visited on my countryside getaway was Burford, the gateway to the Cotswolds and conveniently on my way home.
I wasn’t expecting much from it, but it’s quite a nice town with a big high street full of independent shops. It’s a good place to stock up on artisan deli items like olives, bread and cheese from The Cotswolds Cheese Company. I also enjoyed having a little look around the vintage emporium.
But the best part was the meal I had at The Royal Oak pub. They make handmade pies onsite and the vegetable pie with mash and gravy I had was SO GOOD. The service was amazing too, they were really lovely to Indi and made sure to get us a high chair. So yes, I’d totally recommend stopping by if you’re in the area.
We had such a lovely time in The Cotswolds. It was a much needed retreat for my little family and it definitely made me more confident about the prospect of going abroad with a baby. I’m starting to get the hang of it, y’know?
I’d love to come back in the winter for some cosy, hygge vibes and red wine in country pubs. But it’s also absolutely a great destination to visit in the summer.
Thanks to Citroen for loaning me the kickass C4 Cactus Hatch. It was a dream and now I need to buy a bigger car, so yeah, thanks for that.
Have you been to the Cotswolds? Do you like it there?
Let me know what you think in the comments or head over to my Instagram and Twitter pages for regular updates on my travels and life in general.
Total Blogger Transparency: The Citroen C4 Cactus Hatch mentioned in this post was gifted on loan for the weekend but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I wouldn’t play you like that, shorty.
