How to Find the Best Holiday Cottage in the Cotswolds
With rolling hills and beautiful valleys, the Cotswolds are a great place to go on holiday whatever the season.
With most regions within the Cotswolds only an hour or so from London, it is arguably the best destination in England to get a breath of fresh air and retreat from the pressures of city life.
But how do you go about finding the best holiday cottage in the Cotswolds? There are various things to consider.
For example how many people does the cottage need to cater for? Are beautiful views a must have for you? Would you like the cottage to be cut off or close to a main town or city such as Cheltenham or Gloucester? Does the cottage need to be dog or pet friendly? Essentially you need to decide if you want a romantic getaway cut off from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, or a cultural visit to enjoy all that the Cotswold towns and cities have to offer.
Perhaps you are interested in visiting the Cheltenham Literature Festival or the Stroud Fringe Festival.
Or perhaps you need somewhere to stay during the Cheltenham races.
Whatever the reason for your stay, it is worth noting that there are some beautiful, secluded parts of the Cotswolds, that only the locals seem to know about.
One of these areas is the five valleys surrounding the town of Stroud in Gloucestershire.
A holiday cottage in this Cotswolds area provides a secluded country location with a dash of culture thrown in for good measure.
The five valleys host amazing views, fascinating and diverse walks, and lots of interesting people and places to visit.
Laurie Lee wrote about The Woolpack Inn in his book; Cider With Rosie, and it has since become one of the most famous pubs in the UK.
Located in Slad, one of the five valleys, people come from all over Europe, Japan and even America to visit the famous pub.
Another town within the five valleys is Painswick which is best known for its parish church's yew trees and the local Rococo Garden.
The town is mainly constructed of locally quarried Cotswold stone.
Folklore holds that the churchyard in Painswick will never have more than 99 yew trees and that should a 100th grow the Devil would pull it out.
According to the V&A a count of the trees showed there to be 103! The Stroud district boasts an exciting and contemporary art scene, with the likes of Damien Hirst, Cleo Mussi and the Pangolin foundry in residence, making the area positively unique.
You may find that the best holiday cottage in the Cotswolds lies in this beautiful part of Gloucestershire.