My favorite hotel is The Queensberry (www.thequeensberry.co.uk), but they were full when we were going last year. The rooms are more charming and it is located behind the Assembly Rooms. The breakfast room is expensive though - and the one at Harington’s was nicer.

When reading the Haringtons website it looked like they had two restaurants in the hotel, but they don’t. They have a very casual snack kind of restaurant that we did not use. However, they are just steps away from restaurants in the center of Bath.

Starting out driving in a busy town can be difficult. The first time Steve every drove in England we drove to Brighton thinking it would be a quiet town - wrong!! We were both shaking after that drive!

chiaro

The traffic in and out of Bath can be difficult, but in the center of Bath you can get around by foot or bus. Bath is also on the train line. You could take a short train ride to Bradford-on-Avon, a smaller town but very pretty. They have a Norman church, and one of those big old barns the name of which I can’t remember. And the Bridge Tea Rooms right in the center of town are good. You can walk along the Kennett and Avon Canal either from Bath or from Bradford.

But, I am avoiding the question. I think the best Cotswold town would be Chipping Campden, on the northern edge of the Cotswolds or Stow-on-the-Wold in the center of the northern Cotswolds. Chipping Campden is a bit less “tourist bussy”. But Stow is closer to many lovely villages. Both can get crowded in the summer on the weekends. These towns are small - maybe population 5000. There are lovely gardens north of Chipping Campden.

I would probably split the week between Bath and a base in the Cotswolds. Bath is fantastic, but you don’t want to miss being out in the small villages and countryside. I have to admit that while typing this I went back and forth between a week in Bath, with a long day trip out to the Cotswolds and splitting the time. But, I think you will enjoy staying in one of these Cotswolds market towns and getting to see that area - you would not see that much on a day trip from Bath.

I’m having trouble deciding whether to split the week (after the 12 day cruise) into one or two locations.

And for a first timer (like us), in your opinion, what would be an interesting and large enough town for us if we choose a second location?

J.

It looks like every main Cotswold town has a car service company. Clive, who we use to take us from the airport to Bath, also does some tours of the Cotswolds - and if he doesn’t, he can recommend someone to you. He is on email so is easy to communicate with. You could also ask the person who runs the place you end up staying - they will probably have recommendations for someone local.

I think a lot of people use car services for day trips in the Cotswolds. You get to avoid dealing with driving on the left and on the narrow roads. Steve always does the driving, but on our last trip I decided that I had to get comfortable driving in England. I do most of the driving at home and love driving, but was nervous in England. It took me three days of practice until I was comfortable with it. You really need to know how to drive in narrow lanes. Even on the major, fast-moving roads the lanes are more narrow than we are used to. But on the whole the UK drivers are polite and patient, so that is good for the new left-side driver.

It is getting closer to your trip now and everything is at a good discount with the lower pound.