In the summer Adam and I decided to take a little trip to the Cotswolds, which are about 90 minutes away from us, the perfect distance for a long weekend trip. What I really adore about the Cotswolds is how easy it is to village hop, and in a weekend you can definitely make the most of what’s on offer.

Our first stop on the Friday afternoon was Stow On the Wold, a little market town. We first stopped for lunch at the Old Bakery Tearoom, the quintessential English tea room. We were given an incredibly warm welcome by the owners, and Adam enjoyed a ploughman’s whilst I had some yummy Stilton sandwiches. I adore places like this.

We had a stroll around the town, finding the typical fudge shops that seem to pop up in every village in the Cotswolds and seeking out St Edwards Church, a medieval church known for its tree flanked door.

We then made the 20 minute journey onto Sezincote house. I was particularly excited about visiting the house as its opening times are only Thursdays and Fridays, for 5 months a year, so it’s not the easiest place to visit. We paid £10 admission, which included a tour of the house.

The house was interesting, built at a time when India was the jewel of the British Empire, the architectural influence was clear. It was unlike any other country house I’d ever seen in England and in fact is thought to be one of the only houses like this in Western Europe.

No photography was allowed during the tour but the rooms were extremely decadent, with 4 poster beds and luscious draped curtains. What was the most amazing thing was that a family actually lived here, with children and pets, hence the restrictive visiting hours.

We spent 2 nights at the Ettington Chase Hotel, located just out of Stratford Upon Avon. Our room was simple but large and clean and the communal areas were plentiful and modern. We booked the hotel as part of a Groupon deal, which included dinner. We were surprised we were able to pick anything off the menu and even more surprised at the incredible standard of food.

The next morning we got up and headed for breakfast, which was a well stocked buffet that set us up for the day. We drove into Stratford Upon Avon and had a look around its high street, with its beautiful historic houses.

We visited the butterfly farm, which Adam and I have visited before, and I was just as terrified this time. My time there consisted of screaming at Adam “Are they on me??!!” whilst trying to snap some pictures. I may have trampled several small children getting out.

All that fear made me hungry so we went to The Fourteas, a 1940’s themed tea room, which was very popular and we had to wait about 15 minutes before being seated. I kept it quite simple with my food choices, a lovely slice of Victoria Sponge and a cheesy scone, and they were perfect!

We then went back to our hotel, enjoyed it’s small but empty gym, had a shower and headed back out for dinner. We’d chosen a well reviewed pub, The Black Horse Inn, which was in a village about 10 minutes away from our hotel.

The Inn was very interesting, in all areas it presented itself as the typical English pub, complete with pub dog, locals and a big fireplace. However the menu was Thai! The food was really amazing, I haven’t had too much Thai food if I’m honest, but everything we had was so well presented and delicious. We spent the evening chatting to locals, it was so lovely.

The next morning we checked out, planning to visit a local horse sanctuary, however we were greeted with torrential downpour and realised that wasn’t on the agenda. We made our way back home, stopping at the Crown & Tuns, near Banbury. The pub specialised in pies and there were about 30 varieties to choose from! The pies were HUGE and so delicious. I would totally recommend stopping by.

Anyway it was such a lovely break, in an area that Adam first introduced me to 5 years ago, and I have loved ever since!