Day 2 in the Cotswolds was our only full day in the area. My recommendation would be to allow for 2-3 full days to be able to see the area at a slower pace and enjoy the hotel.
The day started off with an amazing breakfast that was included with the room. The menu is quite extensive and generous. You can order as many items as you like. The food arrived at the desired time and was a great way to start the day.
Our first stop was Bourton on the Water. Some call it the “Venice of the Cotswolds”. While I wouldn’t go that far, it is a charming village with picturesque canals running through.
One interesting attraction is the Model Village. This is basically a miniature recreation of the village. I think it was worth seeing.
Next, we drove to Lower Slaughters, another picturesque village. One of the nice things to see here was the waterwheel and sheep grazing beside it.
From here we drove to Broadway Castle. Note that you don’t need a ticket to walk up to the castle and take pictures. You only need a ticket to go inside. Also, you can park outside the gates and avoid paying for parking.
From this point, we drove to Warwick Castle (I purchased tickets online in advance). Note that if you would rather see more small villages than visit Warwick, then there are a lot more villages in the area. I believe we barely scratched the surface, but I happen to like castles.
You could spend a couple hours exploring Warwick castle. There is a lot to see inside and outside. There are also a lot of tours and shows you can do. This is exactly what comes to mind when I think of old English medieval castles.
As we headed back to the hotel (Warwick was about an 1+ hrs back to our hotel – Barnsley House), we made an unscheduled stop at Stow on the Wold to rest. Although we did not see much of the village, we did stop at a little coffee shop where they had some unique lattes – tumeric and beet! (I would try the lattes but skip the pastry – the sausage roll we had wasn’t very good, and they never offered to heat it).
Later that evening, we had dinner at The Potager restaurant at the hotel. This time, I had the partridge to start, followed by the pork and then dessert.
Overall, this was a long day in the Cotswolds, but we were able to see most of the things we wanted, and I think it provides a good introduction for future trips.