3-Day Cotswolds & Stratford-upon-Avon: Shakespeare Country & Honey-Stone Villages

Daily Itinerary

Day 1: Oxford, Warwick Castle & Stratford-upon-Avon – Shakespeare Country

Meet your guide at Oxford Railway Station at 09:30. Drive north through the rolling Oxfordshire countryside to Warwick Castle, one of England’s finest medieval castles with over 1,100 years of history. Walk the mighty ramparts and towers, explore the grand State Rooms and Great Hall, and descend into the original dungeon. Continue to Stratford-upon-Avon, the beautiful market town on the River Avon where William Shakespeare was born and died. Enjoy a guided walking tour visiting Shakespeare’s Birthplace, the half-timbered Tudor house on Henley Street where the world’s greatest playwright was born in 1564. Walk past Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Shakespeare’s wife’s picturesque thatched family home. In the afternoon, explore Stratford at your leisure: visit Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried, or take an optional boat trip on the River Avon past the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Overnight in Stratford-upon-Avon or a Cotswold country inn.

Day 2: Cotswolds – Honey-Stone Villages & Hidden Treasures

Today is dedicated to exploring the Cotswolds, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Drive winding country lanes through patchwork fields to Castle Combe, frequently voted the prettiest village in England, where time seems to have stood still for 500 years. Continue to Lacock, a beautifully preserved village owned almost entirely by the National Trust, famous as a film location for Harry Potter (Professor Slughorn’s house), Pride and Prejudice, and Cranford. Explore Lacock Abbey, the 13th-century nunnery turned country house, where Fox Talbot invented the photographic negative. After lunch, visit Bibury, described by William Morris as “the most beautiful village in England.” Walk past Arlington Row, the iconic row of 14th-century weavers’ cottages, one of the most photographed scenes in Britain. Continue to Bourton-on-the-Water, the “Venice of the Cotswolds” with its series of elegant stone bridges spanning the River Windrush, and Stow-on-the-Wold, the highest town in the Cotswolds with its ancient market square and the door flanked by ancient yew trees at St Edward’s Church, said to have inspired Tolkien. Overnight in the Cotswolds.

Day 3: Burford, Blenheim Palace & Farewell

This morning visit Burford, the “Gateway to the Cotswolds,” with its magnificent high street sloping down to the River Windrush, lined with honey-stone houses, antique shops, and tea rooms. Visit the 15th-century church of St John the Baptist. Continue to Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Britain’s greatest palace. This masterpiece of English Baroque architecture, set in 2,000 acres of Capability Brown landscaped parkland, is the ancestral home of the Dukes of Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Tour the magnificent State Rooms, the Churchill Exhibition, and the formal gardens. After a farewell lunch, return to Oxford for approximately 16:30. Those continuing to London can depart from Oxford Parkway station (55 minutes to London Marylebone).