GOLDEN STONE COTTAGES AND MARKET TOWNS GALORE

I think for many Americans, one of the images that commonly springs to mind when thinking of the UK is a particular kind of cottage - one made of a brick-sized honey-gold limestone set against an idyllic, flat country background.

Imagine my delight when I arrived at my friend’s house outside of Oxford and found just that! A cottage that was describable only by my new favorite adjective - cotswoldsy. A small house made of reclaimed limestone in a tiny village that included a Baroness where my friend raised chickens and bees. Now this was truly the backdrop for a rom-com!

I struggled to decide how to write up visiting my friend given that her village has about 200 people. I’m not even sure if there’s an AirBNB one could stay at there, should, god-fordbid, someone actually read this post and want to visit Hinton-Waldrist. But as we kept driving through and stopping in small market-towns full of these style houses, my friend and her husband kept describing them each as “cotswoldsy.” It’s a particular type of charm distinct to the area (and its local rock) - though the borders of this kind of architecture and charm extend beyond what is technically The Cotswolds.

I do think a trip to the UK would be lacking if one didn’t stop into one of the smaller, cotswoldsy market towns. The most famous for visiting may be Castle Combe - though I didn’t go. I went to Bampton and Witney (which both boast being filming locations for Downton Abbey), as well as Burford - which is one of the more popular cotswoldsy towns to visit on the Oxford side. There are plenty of write-ups of places to go in Cotswolds; as I’m no expert in the region, I’ll leave it to those writers to give you options. I will say that Burford is an excellent choice, especially if you’re already near Oxford.

TOUCH THE STANDING STONES AT AVEBURY

If you do happen to get to a Cotswold town, I’m guessing you probably have access to some kind of car. While not in Cotswolds (and also not cotswoldsy), a short drive south in Avebury is the largest standing stone circle in the world - and it’s actually older than Stone Henge. It’s free to walk around and is absolutely stunning.