Festive Christmas Lunch in Bilbury Cotswolds, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold
1st November 2024
Here at Best Value Tours, we are delighted to recommend an outstanding Christmas and New Year Tours and today feature; Lunch in Bilbury Cotswolds, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold | Best Value Tours
Full details below, but first some brief information about the stunning Cotswolds.
A location in central South West England, the Cotswolds are a range of rolling hills that rise from the upper River Thames meadows to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The Jurassic limestone bedrock that forms a sort of grassland ecosystem and is mined for the golden Cotswold stone defines the region. It spans the borders of multiple English counties, including sections of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and primarily Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Cleeve Hill, located immediately east of Cheltenham, is the highest point at 1,083 feet (330 meters)]. There are stone-built cities, villages, stately residences, and gardens that use the native stone in the primarily rural terrain.
Previously known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or AONB, a sizable portion of the Cotswolds has been recognised as a National Landscape since 1966. Stretching southwest from just south of Stratford-upon-Avon to just south of Bath, the designation’s boundaries are approximately 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (140 km) long, covering 787 square miles (2,038 km2), making it the largest National Landscape area and the third-largest protected landscape in England.
In 2021, a quarry in the Cotswolds saw the largest excavation of Jurassic era echinoderm fossils, including those of uncommon and unidentified species. The remnants of Bronze and Iron Age forts and burial chambers on Cotswold Edge provide evidence of Neolithic settlement. The Romans then constructed towns like Gloucester, villas like Chedworth, and paved the Celtic route that became known as Fosse Way.
Thanks to the Cotswold Lion sheep breed, the Cotswolds prospered during the Middle Ages from the wool trade with the continent, with a large portion of the proceeds going towards church construction. The wool trade was at its most prosperous between 1250 and 1350, when Italian merchants purchased a large portion of the wool. Several sizable, elegant Cotswold Stone “wool churches” are still standing in the region. Wealthy Londoners and others who own second homes or have decided to retire to the Cotswolds have been drawn to the affluent area in the twenty-first century.
Cotswolds
Our Feature Tour Lunch in Bilbury Cotswolds, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold | Best Value Tours
Description
Burford
We begin our full-day adventure in Burford, where the grand main street displays every kind of Cotswold stone. We will have time to browse the tea shops and shops before heading south to Bibury, which William Morris has dubbed the “prettiest village in the Cotswolds.”
Lunch at Bibury
A mouth watering two-course lunch at the Swan Hotel, which is situated in the centre of Bibury and overlooks the River Coln, is the ideal way to satisfy your hunger when lunchtime arrives. This historic 17th-century coaching inn serves a great assortment of traditional food, ales, and superb wines. (Lunch is included if it is selected.)
The North Cotswolds
In the afternoon, we drive slowly past charming towns until reaching Stow-on-the-Wold, one of the most picturesque places in the northern Cotswolds. Your guide will give you a quick tour of each village and talk about its history before you board the coach and return to London. Burford
We begin our full-day adventure in Burford, where the grand main street displays every kind of Cotswold stone. We will have time to browse the tea shops and shops before heading south to Bibury, which William Morris has dubbed the “prettiest village in the Cotswolds.”
Prices/Book Tour – Lunch in Bilbury Cotswolds, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold | Best Value Tours
Inclusions
2-course lunch in a 17th Century former coaching Inn in Bibury (if lunch option selected)
Photo stops at Burford, Bibury and Stow-on-the Wold
Transportation by Luxury Air-Conditioned Coach
Professional Guide
Gratuities (optional)
Hotel drop offs
Lunch (unless lunch option selected)
Prices/Book Tour – Lunch in Bilbury Cotswolds, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold | Best Value Tours
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