A stone’s throw from England’s biggest cities, the Cotswolds can feel like a million miles away from the bustle of London and Birmingham. It’s rightly one of the country’s most desirable locations both to live and to visit, and if you’re fond of driving, then the Cotswolds also has a few scenic drives up its sleeve.
The best driving roads in the Cotswolds are a little different from those of Wales, Yorkshire, or Scotland. They’re often a little busier and aren’t the kind of place to really stretch the legs of a performance car. Instead, they’re a little more relaxed, better suited to classics than supercars, and at their very best on a balmy summer’s day, driven with the windows down – or if you’re able, the roof folded away.
Below, we’ve picked out several driving tours of the Cotswolds, taking in all four corners of the region, with a mix of countryside, villages, towns and cities. If you’ve got a car at the Windrush Cotswold car storage facility, some of these drives could be perfect for a day trip, but several are worth a drive from further afield too.
The high road: Belas Knap to Broadway Tower
[Image – Belas Knap, near Cheltenham and Winchcombe]
One of the joys of a road trip is occasionally getting a good view of your surroundings, so our first route takes in two of the Cotswolds’ highest points – Belas Knap, and Broadway Tower. Both are historic locations too, one more so than the other, since Belas Knap is a neolithic site that’s over 5000 years old. The site itself is accessible only on foot and the nearby roads are very narrow with minimal parking, so think of it more as a spiritual starting point (in more ways than one) than a good road trip location.
More likely, you should pencil in somewhere like Winchcombe as a starting point, or the nearby Sudeley Castle, and there are several pubs and eateries in the area. Getting to Broadway Tower will only take around half an hour, on narrow local routes – the B4077 being one of our favourites for its entertaining curves. Don’t worry if you miss your exit either, as there are several ways of getting to Broadway Tower whichever route you take.
The tower is a famous Capability Brown landmark, open every day. The nearby Morris & Brown cafe gets great reviews for its small bites, though the village of Broadway itself isn’t far if you’re craving more substantial sustenance, with a handful of pubs, plentiful parking, and a place to fill up the car too.
Roman route: Bath to Cirencester
[Image: The Roman city of Bath]
Believe it or not, but the historic Roman city of Bath really does sit on the edge of the Cotswolds, almost as far south as this area of natural beauty stretches. It is also, rather conveniently, not a million miles away from another historic roman town, Cirencester, and two main roads, the A46 and A433, neatly connect the pair, making for an obvious road trip route – one of around an hour’s drive and 36 miles.
The two towns might have been around since Roman times but this is no boring straight shot between them, so you’ll get to enjoy sweeping turns between each straight as you pass through the southern Cotswold countryside. It’s not a trip that will be particularly taxing in any vehicle, but we all appreciate a more relaxing journey now and then.
Near Cirencester you can, if you wish, investigate the source of the River Thames – marked by a stone, rather than an obvious spring – the actual start of the Thames is on the other side of the road. You wouldn’t want to drink from it though; the nearby Thames Head Inn is probably better for refreshments.
Historic triangle: Burford-Stow-Chipping Norton
[Image: Burford, the gateway to the Cotswolds]
These three historic towns are perhaps the first you’d think of when the Cotswolds is mentioned, and quite conveniently they’re positioned in a triangle making them a straightforward but also rather scenic Cotswold driving route.
Start where you like; if you’re arriving from the north then Stow-on-the-Wold or Chipping Norton is easiest to access, while from the south it’s Burford (just off the A40). Assuming you’re starting at Burford, you’ll want to head down the steep high street and take a left at the roundabout north of the town, joining the A424, which runs along a ridge with countryside either side for most of its length, passing the 13th century Merrymouth Inn.
At Stow you’ll turn right onto the A436 and then follow signs for Chipping Norton. Here you’ll notice signs for Burford (though we’d forgive you a cafe stop at this point), and just a couple of miles down the road you’ll pass Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop – though expect queues if you’re there on a weekend or holiday (and it’s closed Monday and Tuesday). The run down to Burford is open and flowing, without even hedges to spoil the views through much of its length.
Cotswolds Romantic Road
[Image: The small market town of Chipping Campden]
The grandest of our Cotswold scenic drives is the well-known Romantic Road. Actually, it’s several roads, and quite a long route, and you should really leave two days to cover the trip, given you’ll surely wish to stop a few times during each day’s driving. You can start it from anywhere on the route, but Cheltenham is the largest and most logical starting point, perhaps staying over the night before.
Day one of the route heads north, towards Toddington then Broadway (where you could check out Broadway Tower from the earlier route), and then heads further north towards Chipping Campden – officially on minor roads, though you might wish to go via the steep twists of Fish Hill. You then head south towards Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water (with our Cotswolds car storage facility located nearby), before turning back towards Cheltenham – just over 60 miles in all.
Day two’s leg is an 87-mile round-trip, heading east out of Cheltenham towards the amazing Chedworth Roman Villa, going past Burford to the east (The Farmer’s Dog would be a convenient lunch stop). You’ll then pass – where else? – the village of Windrush, beautiful but often crowded Bibury, before looping through Cirencester and back to Cheltenham.
Time to spare: Tewkesbury to Stow-on-the-Wold
[Image: Stow-on-the-Wold, the highest of the Cotswolds towns]
Our next route could be used as a shortcut on the Romantic Road if you’re pressed for time, but otherwise it takes a route that the famous Cotswold round-trip misses out on. Between Tewkesbury and Stow-on-the-Wold you’ll find the B4077, a route of around 21 miles and just over half an hour between the centres of each town, making it ideal if you’re in the area and only have a little time to kill.
Starting from the western end at the River Avon in Tewkesbury you’ll leave the town along the A46 (with a handful of places to fill up along the way), before joining the B4077 itself around Teddington. From here, it’s a scenic drive through farmland with rolling hills to the north and south – those to the south hiding the famous Prescott Hill Climb.
Around a third of the way you’ll pass through New Town, and perhaps stop off at Toddington Railway and its steam engines, and after New Town there’s a series of tighter curves before you reach Ford – the Plough Inn being a good stop for a tea or coffee. It’s then another smooth and relatively straight run to Stow, where perhaps you could then tackle the triangle mentioned above.
For more great driving routes, check out our guide to the Best Driving Roads in Oxfordshire.
