Bath & Cotswolds with Kids: English Countryside Itinerary & Travel Guide

Bath and the Cotswolds! This was the second leg of our epic two-week UK and Ireland adventure, and honestly, it was a great change of pace after our busy London days. I was so excited to visit this area and to soak up the quintessential English charm! Everywhere we went I  just kept saying this is so charming, this feels like a fairytale, etc. Here’s all the details about how we spent our time in this area!

WHERE WE STAYED

We stayed at The Bath Priory and LOVED our stay here! The hotel felt like its own English manor house and was so charming, centrally located, and was just a beautiful property.

A few things we loved:

• The grounds were GORGEOUS! Four acres of many beautiful gardens, lawns, and little outdoor nooks to sit in and soak up the beautiful environment
• We had a ‘Family Crescent Suite’ type room, which included a large primary bedroom, a bunk room for the kids, and a living room – it was so nice to have so much space!
• The location was ideal, super close to downtown Bath, but felt like a peaceful countryside retreat
• Indoor and outdoor pools (there’s set hours kids can swim, not all day FYI)
• Breakfast included, which was a nice start to our days!

We had really wanted a hotel that felt like part of our experience, and The Bath Priory was exactly that! We spent a lot of time here, because it was so beautiful and peaceful and nice!

Day 1 (Friday) – Travel Day from London (and Stonehenge stop)

This was mostly a travel day! We started our day by taking the train from London to Salisbury, where we picked up our rental car. The train ride was a little over an hour – easy and quick, plus very pretty views!

Stonehenge: We couldn’t be this close to Stonehenge and not see it. I didn’t know what it was beforehand, but it was definitely a cool experience! You can walk or take a 5 minute bus ride to/from the visitors center to the ancient rock. It was definitely a busy place and touristy, but still cool to see!

From there, we stopped for lunch at a quaint pub called Prince Leopold Inn. It was right next to a creek so we ate lunch while the kids played in the creek – such a cute and charming way to kickoff our time in the English countryside.

After that, we drove to Bath and checked into The Bath Priory. The girls were thrilled to be at a hotel with a pool (!!) so we immediately went swimming, and then spent the rest of the day wandering the hotel’s gorgeous grounds and having dinner at the restaurant.

Day 2 (Saturday) – Exploring Bath

Our plan for this day was to explore Bath!

We started our day driving into town and stopping at the Pulteney Bridge to admire the view of the River Avon were gorgeous, and it’s such an iconic Bath sight. We wandered around town for a bit, and then went to Bath Abbey, right when it opened at 10 am. The architecture was truly breathtaking! They had little interactive packets for kids, so as we wandered around, the girls did a little scavenger hunt and activity. It was really thoughtfully done and kept them engaged.

We grabbed coffee and pastries at Bertinet Bakery (so good!) and did some wandering and window shopping. We spent an hour at an incredible bookstore, Waterstones. Apparently this is a chain, but I was blown away at their thoughtful selection of children’s books – it was really incredible! After that, we stopped for an early lunch at The Scallop Shell. SO good! We also stopped at Victoria Park Play Area – there were no joke six different playgrounds/structures in one. It was very hot and not shaded, so we didn’t stay long, but the girls could have played here for hours on a cooler day!

We came back to the hotel for an afternoon swim, and then spent the rest of the evening at the hotel. We stopped at the grocery store earlier and picked up picnic supplies, and did a picnic on the lawn. Watching the girls run around the lawn and gardens while the evening light was pouring through the trees is one favorite memories from the trip. It was a simple, but really sweet evening!

Day 4 (Sunday) – English Villages & Afternoon Tea

This was such a sweet day! We started the day having breakfast at the hotel, and then drove to the village of Lacock. This medieval village is a National Trust property, and many of the buildings date back hundreds of years. It’s been used as a filming location for a lot of movies and TV shows. We spent time exploring Lacock Abbey – where they filmed a few Harry Pottery scenes! That was a big hit with the girls. Inside the Abbey was stunning, but we also loved wandering the property and just exploring. After exploring the abbey, we wandered around the village, stopping in little shops. It really felt like a fairytale!

From there, we drove to Bradford-on-Avon. This was bigger town (but not as large as Bath), and alongside the River Avon. Our main stop was afternoon tea at The Bridges Tea Room. It was so charming! This is a top-rated, authentic, traditional English tea room and was such a treat. The entire experience was really special and was a big hit for the girls! We wandered around Bradford-on-Avon for a little bit after tea, and then came back to our hotel for another round of afternoon pool + picnic dinner.

Day 4 (Monday) – Cotswolds Village Hopping

On our last day in the area, we spent a very FULL day exploring the Cotswolds. It was definitely a lot of driving and a long day, but I  think it was my favorite from the entire trip. We strategically planned our our drives to visit three villages.

Bourton-on-the-Water – Our first stop was Bourton-on-the-Water! I’m glad we came here first, because it definitely gets busy and is popular! The River Windrush flows right through the center of town with low stone bridges crossing it. We grabbed coffee and pastries and wandered around the charming town, crossing bridges, playing in the (cold!) river, bopping into small shops, etc. We also explored the Model Village, a scale model village of the actual town. The girls loved wandering through the ‘mini village’ and then finding the real buildings in town after.

Bibury – Our second stop was Bibury and this might be the most beautiful village in England. I know I’ve used the words ‘charming’ and ‘fairytale-like’ a hundred times, but it really felt that way! We stopped at Bibury Trout Farm, English’s oldest working trout farm right in the center of town. The grounds were beautiful, there’s a little playground for kids, plus E and the girls went fishing! From there, we went to lunch at The Swan Hotel, and then wandered around the village.

Castle Combe – Our final village stop was the teeny tiny town of Castle Combe. It felt like we stepped back in time! We wandered and admired the beautiful views, and stopped at a pub before driving back to our hotel.

The Cotswolds were truly as picturesque as we thought – love love loved our time here!