A few weeks ago James and I headed to The Cotswolds for a weekend away to celebrate our anniversary. We left Northamptonshire early on Saturday and dropped in at Bicester to start our Christmas shopping but there’ll be more on that tomorrow.

I’d had some great recommendations when I mentioned the trip on my embracing Autumn post and so our first stop was Moreton-in-Marsh where we stopped off at Cotswolds Grey and took a peek in the various antique shops. I picked up a vintage apothecary bottle for £25 which was a bit of a bargain as I’ve had my eye on a similar one for nearly three times the price.

Our next stop was the village of Broadway. I have no idea how I’ve never been here! What a beautiful spot; a wide street brimming with independent shops, restaurants and antique shops. I fancied going up the Broadway Tower to take a look but as we arrived about 3pm on a very cloudy day I can’t imagine we would have been able to much of the view across the 16 counties.
We nipped in to Broadway Deli for drinks and homemade cakes which were absolutely delicious. This place is a foodie heaven too; so many shelves filled with incredible condiments, spices and other sundries. If you were making up a hamper for Christmas then this should be your first stop.
It’s customary for us to buy a Christmas decoration during our anniversary trips so one of this years came from Cotswolds Co– a large store filled with lots of lovely homeware.

Then it was time to do the 20 minute drive to Stow-on-the-Wold to check in to our AirBnB. We’ve always had a really good experience with all our AirBnBs and The Little House didn’t disappoint. Situated on one of the main streets in Stow we spend the night in a cosy converted outbuilding; powerful shower, toasty warm bed, luxury toiletries and a sweet balcony overlooking the courtyard garden all for less than £80 a night.

Our main treat of the trip was dinner at The Wild Rabbit in Kingham. We got the instaworthy spot in the bar decked out with loads of Hugo Guinness’ illustrations. As I can’t afford any of his prints I ended up buying a postcard book from Amazon after the trip so I can incorporate a memento of the weekend in the Finish in Fall project. The ambiance and service were great. James’ steak was exquisite as was the cheese board we had after dinner. My vegetarian main tasted delicious but at the end of the day it was a few halved onions scattered with mushrooms. All in all though I’d recommend the place.

The next morning we were up with the lark to head to Daylesford before the crowds arrived. The organic farm shop is a fabulous place to while away a few hours. Yes it’s pretentious but my goodness it’s pretty. We’ve eaten there in the past but on this occasion just had drinks as we had Sunday dinner reservations. After I’d pored over the floral arrangements and coveted all the Christmas decor we headed back to Stow-on-the-Wold for a quick amble checking out the recommended Meggie’s. This sweet gift shop is fab for cards and candles though sadly I walked away empty handed.

Then it was time for lunch at the Old Stocks Inn. Loved the decor in here; panelled walls in a non-obvious palette and mid century accents in the 17th century coaching inn. The service was great as was the food but other than one other party the restaurant was empty which I thought was a bit odd for a weekend.
With full tummies we ended the trip with a stop-off at super stylish garden centre, Burford Garden Company. This place is GIGANTIC and as well as all the plants has homeware, clothing and a very sizeable cafe too. We bought a load of unusual spring bulbs as well as some Christmas decorations.

As you can tell, we had a lovely weekend. The architecture, ambiance and dining experience of The Cotswolds makes for a great break and in between the, let’s call them ‘diverse’, shops there are some absolute gems.

What are you favourite spots in the Cotswolds? Any other restaurants or shops to recommend?