- Dining
- Wagamama (various locations; £)
An old favorite of mine, Wagamama has spawned into a nationwide chain. The service is always fast, the food is made with flavorful and fresh ingredients, and the price is on the low side (entrees are typically under £10). I tend to order the yaki soba and it never fails me. - Belgo Centraal (Covent Garden; ££)
Located in an old monastery, Belgo's atmosphere is more reminiscent of a fancy basement than a monastery (in my opinion). We went at lunchtime and were fed a surprising amount of food for £7/plate. They have a very interesting selection of Belgian beers, as well. That all being said, I wouldn't say it was anything special. Just convenient and affordable. - Valerie's Patisserie (Soho; £)
We hunted this gem down and did not regret it. The display of cookies and pretty pastries made us drool. They tasted just as good, too. I tried the homemade cannoli (£2.50). My goodness! - Other Cheap Eats
The horrible exchange rate forced us to grab pre-packaged food more than we cared to. Marks & Spencer actually has pretty good wraps and sandwiches for around £3 each. Sadly, I cannot say the same for those found at Tesco. - Sightseeing
- Tate Modern
One thing I have always admired about London is the public access to great museums. While some of our American museums charge high entry fees, many of London's are free during all opening hours. This gives anyone the opportunity to explore what these institutions offer while also presenting the option to pop in for an hour here or there. All of that aside, the Tate Modern holds an impressive collection. I particularly enjoyed the vast amount of Surrealist works on display. The building itself is currently undergoing some work, so we did not get to see the great Turbine hall. Loved the giant shop, too. They had very helpful staff and a huge amount of their works available in postcard form. - St. Paul's Cathedral / Dome
We chose to pay admission (£9/person) to climb to the top of St. Paul's dome. There are three stopping points along the way: the Whispering Gallery, a lower exterior viewing platform, and the top. The climb is around 450 steps and includes many spiral staircases and narrow hallways. At one point, you can see that you are in the "shell" of the dome, as well. The Whispering Gallery was fantastic. The view below looking into the cathedral offered a neat vantage point, but looking up to the ceiling was especially amazing. My husband and I whispered to one another and were surprised to find out that it actually works! When we finally reached the top, we took awhile to drink in the 360 degree view. Not having been to London in seven years, the number of cranes on the skyline was a bit shocking. The city has transformed quite a bit in recent years, and the top of the dome offered an interesting view point to absorb the city's new look. Finally, we decided we did not need to go up in the Eye because this view was good enough for us. =) - Little Venice to Regent's Park walk
Using a card from our London Walks box, we strolled a few miles from Little Venice along the canal to Regent's Park. Little Venice was quite colorful and bohemian. It felt more like Amsterdam than Venice to me, and I enjoyed looking at the unique way in which each of the boats are decorated. The canal itself didn't seem too exciting with some parts of the walk offering nothing much to look at. Regent's Park was lovely, though. The "Queen's Garden" was pretty incredible with weeping willows, a nice bridge, and black swans floating about. - Tower Bridge Experience
I have been back and forth across this bridge so many times and never had a clue that you can actually go up inside of it. When we discovered this, we paid £12 each to check it out. Unless you are into learning about the inner workings and mechanics of bridges, I would lean towards not recommending it. I just enjoyed knowing I was inside of the bridge more than anything else. The view is a bit obstructed at the top, but the exhibit designers were kind enough to include little windows for taking pictures. The engine exhibition bored us a bit, so we hurried through it. Regardless, walking across the bridge (especially at night) has always been magical for me. It never fails to impress me.
The Cotswolds [photos]
- Accommodations
- Number Nine (Stow-on-the-Wold; £70/night)
We had a great experience at this little B&B. The owners, James (Jimmy) and Carol, were incredible. So down to earth, great hosts, and really fun to chat with. We stayed in room 3 (only 1 of 3 total rooms) at the top of the house. It was a good size with a small-ish bathroom, and everything was tidy and comfortable. A taller person would probably have trouble with the shower (low ceilings) but we did just fine. The owners presented us with a perfect full English breakfast each morning. They were also very helpful in assisting us with finding a taxi (as mentioned above). The Number Nine was a very short distance to the main square in Stow, as well. - Bramley House (Chipping Campden; £65/night)
Even smaller than our previous B&B, Bramley House has just two rooms for rent. Our room was large and bright and decorated in a pleasing way. It felt fresh and clean. We had a nice view over the back garden, too. The owners, Jane and David, were so welcoming and friendly. Jane is full of helpful information, too, and offered a lot of advice about different walks and restaurants in the area. We were provided a wonderful full English breakfast (again!) each morning, and were also invited to enjoy tea in the front garden one afternoon. Staying with them felt like staying with family. They have their own sheep which we were introduced to, as well. It was a real treat, so we wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. A short five minute walk had us on the high street in Chipping Campden. - Dining
- Stow-on-the-Wold
- The Queen's Head (main square; £)
When we arrived at 7:00 pm the first evening, we discovered that everything (except pubs and restaurants) had shut down for the evening. We headed to this small pub where we immediately got a real feeling of community. Locals had the front section reserved for card playing and socializing. The bartender seemed to know everyone by name, as well as by drink. We found a cozy table in the back and had a nice steak-and-ale pie along with the local Donnington Ale. With its limestone walls, low ceiling, and cozy feeling, this pub provided just the type of atmosphere we were hoping to find in the Cotswolds. - The King's Arms (main square; £)
After our first full day of walking, we visited The King's Arms for a ploughman's platter. As usual, we chose to eat in the pub rather than the restaurant. We had stuffed ourselves with a big cream tea earlier, so splitting this made for a nice light dinner. It came with a bit of salad, a good-sized portion of cheese, bread, pickles, and a delicious apricot chutney that I've been dreaming about ever since. We also ordered a Pimm's & Lemonade, which I've decided is a great summer drink. Very refreshing and tasty. - Chipping Campden
- The Red Lion (off Sheep Street; £)
We chose to eat in the pub portion of this restaurant in order to catch a soccer match on one of their many TVs. Both of our meals were really good even though the portion sizes seemed a bit on the small side for the price. I had a nice quiche and roast vegetables while my husband had a pork dish. The barmaid was very friendly and provided great service. We mainly enjoyed the atmosphere, though. The low ceilings, limestone walls, and local vibe was perfect. By time the game came on, the place was packed, so we were happy to have arrived early to secure a good seat. The outdoor beer garden was quite nice, as well. - Noel Arms Pub (High Street; £)
We had a nice meal here on our last night in Chipping Campden. Once again, I ordered a ploughman's platter with five different types of local cheese. They were all outstanding. The service was terribly slow, which we were warned about when placing our order. Otherwise, the look of the pub itself was great (again with the cozy, low ceilings and a limestone bar). The patrons were primarily tourists, though, so if you're looking to mix with locals, I'd recommend visiting The Red Lion instead (see above). - Sightseeing
There aren't many "sights" in the Cotswolds. We spent the majority of four full days simply walking to and from each town and enjoying the scenery. When we reached our destination, we enjoyed wandering around the neighborhoods and looking at the high street within each town. We also tried to have tea or a pint in each, as well. That being said, we did pay admission to two places during our stay: - Bourton-on-the-Water's Model Village
As silly as it may seem, we had never heard of a model village until seeing Hot Fuzz (filmed in Wells rather than in the Cotswolds). We thought the idea was so funny that we visited Bourton's during our stop there. At £3 each, we felt that the price of admission was well worth it. The model village was adorable and amazingly well thought out in its details. We had a lot of fun roaming around and particularly enjoyed the model village inside the model village that was inside the model village. =) - Hidecote Manor Gardens
I went to the Cotswolds with the hopes of seeing many a well manicured garden. Visiting Hidecote was satisfying in so many ways that it's the only proper garden we ended up seeking out. The creativity displayed in each of the "rooms" within the garden was impressive. The sheer size and density of the grounds was overwhelming, so we didn't even get through it all before it was time for our journey back. There is also a little outdoor tea room that made for a nice pit stop. - Walking
Our main motivation for visiting the Cotswolds was the ease with which you can travel on foot in the area. The many footpaths that run through the area are noted with small markers on fence posts. We were primarily on The Gloucestershire Way and The Cotswold Way during our walks. Beer fanatics will be happy to know that there is even a trail (The Donnington Way) to lead walkers to pubs serving the local ale. Because most of the trails run through privately owned fields, walkers must pass through gates or hop over fences. This was one of our favorite parts of the walks. Each gate or fence we passed was another accomplishment along the way. Although the footpaths are well-marked for the most part, we were pleased to have our #45 Cotswolds Ordnance Map along for reassurance that we weren't getting lost. A compass might have been a good idea, too... Each walk took us to a different town (or two). Here are some thoughts on a few of the seven we visited:- Bourton-on-the-Water
Even though Bourton is one of the most touristed towns, it was our favorite of the bunch. Fortunately, travelling slightly off-season minimized crowds and gave us great weather. We spent several hours exploring the neighborhood streets, enjoying cream tea, checking out the shops, drinking beer, and visiting the Model Village. Our tea stop was at the Rose Tree right along the river. We each had delicious ham sandwiches, scones, and an amazing piece of cake. We were able to enjoy this meal in their sweet garden out front and couldn't have been happier with our stop there. - Snowshill
We walked far and wide to get to Snowshill. This town was a filming location for Bridget Jones' Diary. We walked from the Broadway Tower to Snowshill and the approach into town was quite a sight. Perched atop the side of a hill, Snowshill was just glowing. I shot a ton of photos just inside the main square. The church is right in the middle of town and I can only imagine how beautiful it must be at night, or when there is snow. I was enchanted. Also, Snowshill is the kind of place that has few places to stop and eat. We chose The Snowshill Arms pub for a nice lunch before heading on our way. My husband was also able to try Scrumpy there. Although it was a bit strong, he was glad to tick it off his to-do list for The Cotswolds. - Chipping Campden
We spent two nights in charming Chipping Campden (pronounced Cam-den). The high street is a continuous row of honey-colored cuteness. There are a lot of nice shops and restaurants along the road, and the old market is quite impressive. Several houses within the neighborhood have actual thatched roofs. We found ourselves on Birdcage Lane one evening and were quite confused as we noticed a tremendous amount of chirping coming from the shrubbery. We were never able to determine the source. On our final evening, the owner of our B&B invited us to see their family's sheep. It was so cool. The sheep all came running towards us when they saw her approaching. We were able to pet them a bit and learn their names. So sweet! - Stow-on-the-Wold
We spent our first two nights in Stow. Stow is small, but offered a lot of great options for food and many charming pubs. The main square is gorgeous. The architecture within the square, and of the town's church, was breathtaking. The best part about Stow for us was meeting the owner of our B&B. He had loads of opinions to share with us in his witty, sarcastic English way. Plus, he made a great full English breakfast for us, too. - Broadway
The walk into Broadway from Snowshill was so fantastic that my expectations for it soared. The town's main street was quite a wide thoroughfare, though, with a lot of traffic buzzing around. I was a bit disenchanted with the vibe created as a result. We did, however, find a really cool little shop (Cotswold Trading Co.) where we bought a swell tin to store our tea in at home.
- Bourton-on-the-Water
Our Previous Trips (blog entries + trip reports)
You can view our trip reports or blogged entries by clicking the England or Trip Reports links found on the right sidebar.
England-specific Resources
When in doubt, here are a few more resources for tips and advice on planning a trip to England.
- LondonTown.com
- The Cotswolds (a great tourism site with overviews of each town)
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