Stratford-upon-Avon is the northern gateway to the Cotswolds, and that proximity is the main reason to give the town a second night. Within an hour's drive lie the honey-coloured stone villages that define the English rural imagination: Chipping Campden with its curved high street and 17th-century market hall, Broadway under its hilltop tower, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water's low bridges over the Windrush, and Bibury's Arlington Row, the most photographed row of cottages in Britain.
The Cotswolds are almost impossible to do properly by public transport, which is why small-group day tours from Stratford are so popular — a local driver-guide takes the back lanes, stops at villages the big coaches cannot reach, and gives you real time in each rather than a ten-minute photo stop. If you are driving yourself, the northern Cotswolds around Chipping Campden and Broadway are the closest and the prettiest.
Top things to do at The Cotswolds
Chipping Campden
The finest high street in the Cotswolds: a long curve of golden stone, the 1627 Market Hall, and the wool church that paid for it all. Twenty-five minutes from Stratford.
Broadway and Broadway Tower
A wide village green lined with antique shops, and above it a folly tower with views over sixteen counties on a clear day.
Bourton-on-the-Water and Bibury
Bourton’s low stone bridges over the Windrush and Bibury’s Arlington Row are the two most photographed spots in the region — go early or late to have them to yourself.
Stow-on-the-Wold
A high, handsome market town of antique dealers and tea rooms, with the famous yew-flanked north door of St Edward’s Church.
How to get to The Cotswolds
- By tour: small-group day tours leave Stratford-upon-Avon daily and cover five to seven villages.
- By car: Chipping Campden is 25 minutes, Broadway 35, Stow-on-the-Wold 45 and Bibury about an hour.
- By public transport: limited and slow — a tour or a car is strongly recommended.
Insider tips
- Choose a tour with real free time at each stop; the best ones cover six villages in eight hours, not twelve in six.
- Go midweek if you can — Bourton and Bibury are overwhelmed on summer weekends.
- The northern Cotswolds (Campden, Broadway, Snowshill) are closest to Stratford and just as beautiful as the famous southern villages.
- Book tours ahead in summer; the small-group operators run 16-seat minibuses and sell out.
