Day 1: Lloret de Mar - Girona Airport - Bristol - How to get to Los Cotswolds (Castle Combe)
Like the rest of the getaways we have been doing in recent times, we have started the day with the sound of the alarm clock, a coffee and an hour of work that have finished earlier than normal and that is that at 4:30 in the afternoon we have our flight to Bristol with which we will begin our trip to Cotswolds in 4 days, an area of England that we were looking forward to meet, that will take us to fully know the English countryside and that will show us how to go to Los Cotswolds, something much easier than it may seem and is that from Bristol we are only one hour or from London at just less than two hours, something worth knowing, to consider this getaway as a perfect destination for a 4-day trip or 5 days
Girona airport
Our flight leaves from Girona, something that allows us to leave with much less time at home, half an hour, and forget about long lines at the controls that many times, especially on holidays, are formed in the Prat of Barcelona. And we can not say anything worse about the Girona airport, other than after removing many of the destinations we had to fly from here, they have given us a dislike.
We left home shortly before 2 pm and it is not three o'clock when we have already parked, we have passed the security checks and we are already sitting in a famous fast food restaurant where "We enjoy"from a couple of more icy menus and coffees for 19 euros and, although we do not usually go very often, when the flights coincide with this schedule, we usually take advantage of these fast food restaurants, to forget about making food at home.
Girona airport check-in counters
It's half past three in the afternoon when the information panels announce the exit door, when a good storm breaks out, which makes us think, even if we are still so far away, in the time that awaits us in Cotswolds and is that this is something that can condition us and this getaway a lot, since enjoying these incredible landscapes and villages in the rain, surely it is not as impressive as doing it under a clear and sunny sky. So it's time to cross your fingers and hope that the weather is on our side for the next few days and gives us some precious days.
The storm is about to explode
Seeing how the weather is not improving, we get in line to embark and start our trip to the English countryside that will take us to that area of England "less known", but from which you just have to see a photo to know immediately that it is a more than recommended destination. And so reviewing the itinerary of these days and looking through the window of the plane from where we see that time improves as we leave approaching our destination, we landed in Bristol, where we were a few years ago on the trip to Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge, when it is 5:45 p.m.
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How to go to Los Cotswolds
We have to keep in mind that there are several ways to go to the Cotswolds, the choice will depend on the prices or destinations that you have at the nearest departure airports.
- From London: From Spain we can catch a flight to London, a city that is about 1 hour 45 minutes from the Los Cotswolds area.
- From Bristol: From some Spanish cities we have the possibility to fly directly to Bristol, at fairly adjusted prices. From here we will be about 50 minutes from Castle Combe, one of the main stops of the Cotswolds routes.
- Rental car: once in London or Bristol, the best way to go to Los Cotswolds is by rental car, as this gives you full freedom of movement and schedules, to visit this area.
If you do not dare to drive on the left or do not feel like it, you also have the possibility to take a tour in Spanish through this incredible area.
- A perfect option, if you have more days, it could be to make a combination that includes Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge and end up enjoying a few days in The Cotswolds.
- And if you want information about public transport in the area, we advise you to write to Visit Britain or the Cotswolds Office, which will surely give you the most up-to-date information on how to get to Cotswolds by public transport.
The first thing we have to do is pass passport control or ID. Here we have two options, the first one going through a queue in which you show your passport if it does not have a chip or the DNI and the second one, a little faster, in which you put your passport with a chip in a machine, they take your picture and now You go directly to the baggage claim. With the control passed in a few minutes we went to the main hall, where we took the opportunity to get a few pounds of an ATM for these days and directly follow the signs of "rental car"that take us right in front of the main building, where both the car rental offices in Bristol and the parking lot where the rental cars are collected and returned are located.
If you book by Rentalcars as we always do, keep in mind that although it says that the agency is inside the main airport building, you must leave it, cross the street and go to the parking lot located in the front of the Terminal, where right at the entrance you will see the offices of the main rental companies.
For this trip we have the car rental in Cotswolds with Europcar, a company with very good opinions in this area and that after the experience, we can only confirm it.
Already in the offices it is necessary to pass the procedures of the car rental, quite fast by the way and after picking up the car and connecting our GPS with the address of our hotel in Castle Combe, which will be the place where we will stay tonight and the first visit of our trip to Cotswolds, we make several photos of the rental car in Bristol, to avoid surprises later and we launch ourselves on the English roads, this time with more care than on other occasions and it is that we have to drive on the left, somewhat uncomfortable and less the first minutes.
As we move forward, confirming how to go to the cotswolds It is much easier than we thought, we enter into increasingly green and spectacular landscapes and we can already say that we are in the English countryside!
We do not stop crossing incredible the tunnels that form the trees on the road, something that confirms that it is a real pleasure to drive here.
Cotswolds Roads
After an hour and a half driving down Cotswolds, and we have lost the last half hour (although it must be said that we have not cared in the least since we have enjoyed incredible landscapes, we arrived at Castle Combe, which is one of the most important points of the Cotswolds.
Castle Combe
The idea is to visit this small town tomorrow, which has one of the most scenic streets in England, so our stop is short, just to stretch our legs and confirm that this getaway has been a wonderful idea and it is that only by seeing its main (and unique) street, we can already say that we would stay a good season around here, without hesitation Not a second.
Castle Combe through a rearview mirror
How to go to Los Cotswolds
Just a few minutes from Fosse Farmhouse Guest Accommodation, the accommodation at Castle Combe, where we arrive when it is 20:15, we park in the private parking of the property and enter what will be our accommodation tonight, where Caron receives us, the owner, in such a pleasant way that we seem to have come home and that is that staying in this type of guest houses has a price and is establishing a much closer relationship than would be usual in a conventional hotel.
Fosse Farmhouse Guest Accommodation
Fosse Farmhouse Guest Accommodation. The home of Japanese anime
Located next to the Fosse Way, a Roman road in the valley of Castle Combe, in the deepest part of Cotswolds just 8 miles from Bath, 50 minutes from Bristol and 1 hour and a half from London, we find Fosse Farmhouse, a perfect farm as accommodation for one night in a trip to Cotswolds as perfect as holiday accommodation and it is that it not only has rooms in the purest B&B style, but also with 3 vacation homes, in the country house style, that delight anyone looking to spend a few quiet days in the English countryside.
Fosse Farmhouse it also has a very special connection with the Japanese anime and there is a famous Japanese manga, Kiniro Mosaic, which has a lot to do with Fosse Farmhouse since some of his characters, Alice and Shinobu, live in the B&B.
You can watch the Japanese animation Kiniro Mosaic / Kinmoza with English subtitles, all filmed at Fosse Farmhouse here //www.crunchyroll.co.uk/kinmoza/episode-1-in-wonderland-628575
You can not imagine the fans of anime, of all nationalities, who come to visit Caron, enjoy its delicious cuisine and cakes and of course also its impressive B&B, while enjoying the locations of the manga series in Cotswolds
But not only Fosse Farmhouse It is famous for being a perfect accommodation or to be the scene of Kiniro Mosaic, if not also for Caron, its owner. And in 1993 Fosse Farmhouse won the prestigious prize of Great Britain for "Best tourist U.K accommodation" and in 1995 was selected by Wich? like "County Hotel of the Year".
But this is not all, Caron recorded the program "World Class Cuisine" on Discovery TV USA, gaining international recognition that also led him to record with Radio 5 Live "Going Bananas" his own series based on the use of food Wild in the daily kitchen.
In addition, Caron has not forgotten the Japanese market, where he has published two books "English Country Life" and "English Country Food", thanks to what has also appeared in The Independent, The Daily Mail and Forbes magazine.
With this you can imagine that Caron is a true master of gastronomy, right? If you come here, do not forget to try their lunches or dinners, they are really spectacular.
After the presentations, we went up with Caron to see the room we will be staying in, also the stage of Kiniro Mosaic and after leaving the bags in the room and resting a few minutes, impressed seeing how the place where we are now is the scene of a manga series, we went down to the living room for dinner.
Caron is already waiting for us in the living room with three other guests, with whom we soon have a conversation and with those who dined, accompanied by Caron, an excellent goat cheese salad, plus a delicious pie and a dessert cake It takes away the meaning and there is nothing like enjoying a good dinner, with a good company, in the best place and in the English countryside.
Dinner at Fosse Farm House
It's 11 o'clock at night when we say goodbye to the rest of the guests, and tomorrow we have a most complete day, enjoying Cotswolds, an area of England that we have just arrived, but that has already made us fall in love and which We know for sure that we will return.
We cannot finish this post without thanking you, in a very special way to Caron, our hostess at Fosse Farmhouse, where we have felt at home and where we will surely return, we hope that soon, although it will be for several days and there is only one Bad thing in Fosse Farmhouse, hooks and lots, causing an irresistible desire to return.
Day 2: Villages of The Cotswolds: Castle Combe, Lacock, Tetbury, Painswick, Winchcombe and Broadway
