Years ago, I picked up an issue of Countryfile magazine which had gorgeous feature on the best places to visit in autumn. The cover was a stunning photograph of Killiecrankie in Perthshire (which resulted in us visiting Perthshire no fewer than three times over the last three years), and tucked within the main body of the magazine was a series of photos of the Cotswolds in their full autumn glory. Bucket list destination, added.
Then, a few months ago, Pollyanne from Well Furlong Retreats contacted me to invite us to spend a few days in their charming Shepherd’s Hut, suggesting Autumn as the best and most beautiful time to visit the Cotswolds. How could we refuse?!
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Driving down in the pouring rain, my enthusiasm for long days rambling through the Cotswolds national landscape was, I admit, dwindling. Plan A (a bimble around Broadway Tower on our way to the Shepherd’s Hut) was rapidly substituted for Plan B – a mooch around the shops in Broadway, where we could dash between indoor spaces and not get completely soaked. It was at least partially successful, although I’ve discovered my waterproof jacket needs re-proofing!
Broadway
There’s a pay & display car park near the centre of Broadway (you can also pay with the RingGo app), where you can park for a few hours. First stop was to find somewhere to eat: luckily, Broadway has a number of dog friendly cafes where dogs are welcome inside as well as out. Otherwise we might have ended up hungry as we certainly weren’t going to sit out in the rather persistent drizzle! We chose Number 32 for its selection of delicious looking cakes and we couldn’t have been made more welcome – Merry in particular had a great time, getting plenty of treats from the staff, as well as several chips from the next table.
Even in the rain, it’s impossible to deny that Broadway in autumn is beautiful. The main street is made up of honey coloured stone, trees cloaked in copper leaves and the odd thatched roof sprinkled here and there – enchanting. It’s also got a great selection of shops, with both independent boutiques and established brands like the Epicentre. Having scoped out the village ready to return for tea that evening (Mondays are always a tough day to find somewhere open), we beat a retreat back to the car to carry on to Well Furlong Retreats.
Well Furling Shepherd’s Hut
There’s always a bit of anticipation before you arrive somewhere new. Will it be as nice as the photos? Will we be able to find it OK? Will there be enough space for the dogs without getting underfoot? And then, the relief when it turns out to be everything you hoped for and more.
Well Furlong Shepherd’s Hut is by far the loveliest shepherd’s hut we’ve ever stayed in. Its L-shaped layout provides so much more space than your average shepherd’s hut, meaning there’s plenty of room for all of the home comforts you’d expect from the Boutique Luxury Retreats collection, without the claustrophobically cramped squeeze that can come with many shepherd’s huts.
The cabin is in a peaceful location on the edge of a field, and comes equipped with a sunken hot tub, making it perfect for stargazing. I suspect that if you hopped into the tub at dusk, you’d catch a barn owl or two hunting along the field edges: it’s just the kind of habitat they like.
The rain kept me out of the hot tub, but a cosy evening by the log burner is a great alternative. The shepherd’s hut has one tucked away in the living area – although we didn’t actually use it much in the end thanks to the heating which kept the cabin toasty warm!
While we could’ve cooked for ourselves with all the equipment in the kitchen (it even has a dishwasher), the lure of not having to cook was too strong. So, we hopped back into the car and headed to the Jockey Bar at the Broadway Hotel, where we had a very tasty meal (both of us having the burger) and Merry made friends with the bar staff and received plenty of cuddles. Then, back to Well Furlong for a fantastic nights sleep – there’s absolutely no light pollution to keep you awake.
Bourton-on-the-Water
Is there anywhere more quintessentially Cotswolds than Bourton-on-the-Water? Something of a tourist trap, I nevertheless wanted to brave a visit here to see the chocolate box cottages and charming stone bridges criss-crossing the water. We arrived reasonably early, around 9.45am, and it was actually surprisingly quiet. It was also just as beautiful as I’d hoped: and the autumn colours tipped it over from pretty into stunning.
Before setting off on a walk we had a wander along the main street, taking photos and peering through shop windows. My favourite was the shop with a chalk board outside advertising duck food at £1 a bag – they obviously do a good trade, as there was a gaggle of ducks gathered on the waterside outside waiting for the tourists to arrive!
Originally we’d planned to follow a 2 hour route from our Pocket Mountains guide to the Cotswolds, however, a deteriorating weather forecast resulted in a change of plans to follow this shorter route from the OS maps app. The route runs from Bourton to the extremely pretty village of Lower Slaughter, using good flat paths and returning on quiet country roads. We parked in the car park next to the Old New Inn in Bourton – again using the RingGo app to pay.
This was a lovely pleasant walk, not tricky at all, with just one stile at the end. It has a good dog sized gap under the fence next to the stile – not that Merry needed it, hopping over the stile before I could even point him at the gap, seasoned pro that he is. It’s a nice dog walk too, with a few sections where dogs can be off lead, although part of the walk passes through the grounds of an equestrian centre where dogs should be on a lead. You’re not in the fields with the horses, but expect to see them out on the bridleways and walking to and from the fields.
By the time we got back to Bourton it was considerably busier – it’s amazing the difference a few hours can make. I’d definitely recommend getting there early if you prefer to avoid crowds, but it’s worth an early start, as it really is picture perfect. I wish that the forecast had been better as I’d have loved to carry on to Upper Slaughter, but maybe next time.
Stow-on-the-Wold
Tummies rumbling, we made the short drive to Stow-on-the-Wold in search of lunch. There’s a free public car park on the edge of town next to the Tesco superstore, where we just about managed to nab a space. We’d originally planned to visit The Hive cafe, recommended by Always Take the Dogs (one of my favourite blogs and Instagram accounts), but sadly it was closed for maintenance. The best laid plans and all that! Fortunately there’s plenty of other dog friendly cafes in Stow and we grabbed a table down the street at Avenue. The food was pretty average but the staff were fantastic and nothing was too much trouble.
After lunch we had a walk around Stow-on-the-Wold. Even in overcast weather it’s a very picturesque historic town, full on old buildings made from that beautiful Cotswold honey coloured stone. The main attraction for me was St Edward’s church where, hidden away to the rear of the main entrance, lies a set of doors flanked by ancient yew trees. Not only does it make for a very attractive and instagrammable photo, the door here is said to have inspired the Doors of Durin in Lord of the Rings. Merry being named after the hobbit, this felt like a compulsory stop off!
At this point we headed back to the shepherd’s hut for a cosy afternoon. We couldn’t have timed it better, with a heavy shower coming down about half an hour after we got in. When you’re nice and cosy inside with a book and a blanket, listening to the rain hammer down is actually quite soothing.
Cleeve Hill
For our final evening we popped into the Queen Elizabeth Inn, the closest pub to Well Furlong Retreats and the one recommended in the welcome pack. It’s actually close enough to walk, but we prefer to explore new footpaths in daylight, so we hopped in the car and drove 5 minutes down the road. The pub is a community owned place and it’s absolutely fantastic – it was full, even on a Tuesday evening, so we were glad we’d called ahead to book a table.
Clearly it is well loved by locals, which is always a good sign. I had the chicken liver pate to start and the prawn, crayfish and salmon pasta as my main. Both were absolutely delicious and I was a little sad I hadn’t saved enough space for pudding! Merry helped finish off the last few bites of pasta, which he was obviously very willing to force down.
The sun finally made an appearance the morning of our departure, even gracing us with some blue skies. Of course, this meant we wanted to get up high for some views! A few people had seen my stories on Instagram and messaged me to recommend a walk up Cleeve Hill: which just so happens to be the highest point in both the Cotswolds Hills and in Gloucestershire. Sold!
Considering that it’s the highest point in the county, it was a super easy walk. There’s lot of different options to get up here, but on this occasion we picked a really short bimble around the top of the hill, cutting out almost all the ascent – the route is on the OS maps app. I know it’s cheating to start so high, but we had a long drive home! I felt quite sad we didn’t spend longer exploring here though as the views were absolutely stunning.
We used the pay & display car park by Cleeve Golf club, which wasn’t busy, with just a few other early morning dog walkers. The walk pretty much circumnavigates the golf course but thankfully we didn’t need to dodge any flying golf balls. It’s a gentle uphill mooch to start, with views down over Bishops Cleeve and towards Cheltenham, but really the best views (in my opinion) were on the second half of the walk over the rolling autumnal hills.
Belas Knap long barrow is on the slopes of Cleeve Hill and I wish we’d had time to include it in the walk: we love a hole in the ground on this blog. All the more reason to come back and walk a little further one day! Altogether this walk took us just over an hour with lots of stopping to admire the view. It’s stile free but there were sheep grazing throughout – even on a golf course! – so dogs need to be under close control.
And then, nearly 48 hours after we arrived, we set off back north for the drive home. This small taster of the Cotswolds definitely has me sold on it as a fantastic dog friendly holiday destination: great walks, fab views (for minimal effort) and plenty of dog friendly pubs and cafes. For a romantic getaway, I couldn’t recommend Well Furlong Shepherd’s Hut more: ideal for two, you can squeeze a few extra people into the Jack & Jill bunkbed room if you’re travelling with extras. Multiple dogs can come with you with prior agreement, and there’s 80 acres of farmland for you to explore: doggy heaven.
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