We took a trip to the Cotswolds to celebrate my birthday and we took Max with us for another little holiday. I’d never been to the Cotswolds and didn’t really know what to expect apart from seeing lots of pretty cottages on Instagram, but my parents have been before and said it was lovely.

A WEEKEND IN THE COTSWOLDS FOR MY BIRTHDAY // A LOVELY BREAK WITH THE FAMILY

We drove up on the Friday after my birthday, it took about an hour until we arrived in Marlborough and stopped for lunch. There are lots of lovely shops in Marlborough and plenty of restaurants and pubs as well. We had lunch in The Green Dragon pub, I had their cheesy chips which were delicious and definitely filled a gap as I didn’t really have a big breakfast.

DAY ONE – FRI 16TH JUNE

It was probably another hours drive until we reached our cottage Rathlin Cottage in Cambridge (not to be confused with that Cambridge). It had a lovely big garden which was ideal for Max and the most beautiful rose bushes that the previous owner grew and took pride in.

Once we arrived at the cottage, we unpacked everything from the car and got settled in until my brother and his girlfriend arrived a couple of hours after us. My Mum and Dad drove to the shops to pick up some essentials for breakfast and some other bits whilst we waited and I stayed in the cottage with Max and got settled in.

We then got dressed and freshened up and headed out to dinner which was at The Old Fox at Coaley pub. Our table was outside in their lovely garden area that was decorated with lots of fairy lights and big chunky wooden tables and benches. We picked their marinated olives, bread, balsamic and olive oil platter to start with and chose our own mains, I went with their seafood penne full of prawns and salmon as well as cooked tomatoes and rocket.

We had a few rounds of drinks and chatted away before we headed back to the cottage to get an early night.

DAY TWO – SAT 17TH JUNE

The next day, we had breakfast in the cottage and planned what we would do. We decided to drive into Stroud and explore their Shambles Market that has lots of handcrafted item and food stalls. I bought a lovely citrine ring from a stall called Desert Gypsy Jewellery, my mum bought a similar one with an opal stone. We then drove to The Bell Inn for a drink and a walk around Frampton On Severn and along the canal walking past the marina and lock. There were parts of the walk that was quite overgrown walking through the fields.

After the walk, we headed back to the cottage to get ready for dinner which we went to The Old Badger in Eastington. We had their nachos to start with and then I had their Vegan Bangkok Bad Boy Burger that was a vegetable patty with Thai sweet chilli sauce, lettuce, tomatoes and onions and chips on the side.

NAVIGATE YOUR WAY AROUND THE COTSWOLDS

DAY THREE – SUN 18TH JUNE

It was our final day in the Cotswolds and we decided to have breakfast out this time, we drove to The Tudor Arms in Slimbridge which is a lovely little pub near the riverside and also has a camping site next to it. We all had a full English breakfast that definitely hit the spot and filled us up for the day. Ross and Hannah found a geocaching spot near by which we walked to and struggled to get to as a van was parked in the way and it was surrounded by stinging nettles, but we got it in the end.

After breakfast, we got back in our cars and drove to Bibury which is exactly how I picture the Cotswolds. I picture lots of pretty cottages, colourful flowers, little streams winding through villages. On route, we drove through Selsley Common and came across a temporary road block – cows crossing the road. It was about a 50 minute drive but it went very quickly. It was quite a humid day so we bought an ice cream whilst walking around Bibury to cool us down.

We walked over the River Coln using the little bridge and along Arlington Row which was just like stepping into a postcard. The picturesque cottages are so cute with pastel painted front doors and beautiful rose bushes in front of their windows – everyone was fighting to get pictures of them.

After walking past the pretty cottages, we walked up the hill slightly and past Arlington Mill and the Bibury Trout Farm and stopped for drinks at The Catherine Wheel pub. We walked past a few really cute shops including a little gift shop called Go Wild & Co that had a really pretty window display and a cafe that was really busy.

After our drinks, we found a walk nearby that took us through some fields and looped around the back of the pub. Ross had a little tussle with Max and was playing with his water bottle which was quite funny. We arrived back at the pub to have a late lunch before heading home. I wasn’t really that hungry so only ordered their white bait and garlic bread. The others ordered roast dinners, fish and a burger.

The drive home went by quite quickly as we drove through the country lanes.

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Have you been to the Cotswolds before? What was your favourite place? Let me know in the comments below.