From Farm Shops to Fairytale Villages: A Perfect Day in the Cotswolds

There’s something about waking up and driving to The Cotswolds that makes even the simplest routines feel a little more special. The morning began with a visit to Daylesford Organic, one of my favourite spots for both food and inspiration.

I started with breakfast - fresh coffee in hand and pain au chocolate, still warm from their café, and then wandered into the farm shop. The shelves are always a delight: rustic loaves still warm from the oven, jewel-toned jams, thick jams, and seasonal fruit that seems to glow with freshness. I picked up plenty of breakfast bits to enjoy over the next few days, just the kind of things that make slow mornings feel indulgent.

After filling my basket with food, I couldn’t resist a long linger in the homeware section. Daylesford has such a knack for making everyday objects feel like treasures: hand-thrown ceramics, linen napkins in soft, earthy tones, wooden boards that practically beg to be laid with cheese. I had a proper ponder, imagining how they might look in my own kitchen (one day). 

There’s something about Daylesford that makes you feel like you’re stepping into a Nancy Meyers film. To those who have visited their flagship before, I feel as though this will resonate. 

With my basket full and a head full of kitchen daydreams, I left Daylesford and made the short drive over to Kingham. If Daylesford is a foodie’s paradise, then Kingham is the postcard-perfect Cotswold village.

It’s the kind of place that feels almost untouched by time: thatched cottages tucked behind climbing roses and winding little lanes edged with dry-stone walls. There’s a certain idyllic country charm here; the sort you’d expect to see in a favourite comfort film, where the scenery itself seems to wrap you in a sense of warmth and familiarity.

Kingham is also home to a couple of very well-known pubs - The Kingham Plough and The Wild Rabbit. Both are institutions in their own right, drawing visitors for hearty Sunday roasts, fireside pints, and that quintessential Cotswold charm. I didn’t stop in this time, but just passing by reminded me why this tiny village has such a big reputation.

Just five minutes down the road lies Churchill, a village that somehow feels even cosier than Kingham. It’s small and quiet, but full of character. The standout is its impressive church (All Saints), which dominates the village with a kind of quiet dignity. When I arrived, a wedding was just about to begin; guests in their finery spilling out into the lane, while the groom’s side had already taken up residence in the nearby pub. It gave the whole village a joyful, almost storybook atmosphere.

Horses grazed in the fields just beyond, and with the church bells carrying on the breeze, it all felt incredibly romantic, like stumbling into the perfect countryside vignette. There isn’t a great deal to do in Churchill, but that’s part of its charm. And as lunchtime drew closer, I made my way to Chastleton House, one of the great National Trust properties in the area, which was just opening its doors to visitors.

Chastleton House turned out to be the highlight of the afternoon. Set against rolling fields where sheep frolicked near the old dovecote, the house itself rises with a kind of quiet grandeur. What makes it so remarkable is how little it has changed in over 400 years - it’s considered one of the finest and best-preserved Jacobean houses in all of England.

Walking through its rooms, you definitely feel like you're stepping into another century. In the Great Hall, I imagined the hum of life that once filled the space; in the Long Gallery, I paused by the windows to take in the sweeping, panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. Each corner seems to carry the weight of stories untold.

The gardens are just as enchanting - sublime in their planting, with borders spilling over with favourite blooms of the season. It was the kind of place that helped me stop and slow down so I could really enjoy my day - why am I always in such a hurry? It was a saturday i could claim all for me and i shouldn’t be darting about, but rather absorbing. Chastleton is a living reminder of how timeless the English countryside can feel.

My final stop of the day was Charlbury, a lively market town with deep roots in the Oxfordshire countryside. I made my way first to the famous pub, The Bull, which has been welcoming visitors since the early 1500s. The pub is iconic, its name woven into centuries of local lore. Sadly, I’d missed the end of their lunch service by just fifteen minutes - proof that timing really is everything in the Cotswolds!

Instead, I wandered over to the museum and heritage centre, a lovely little spot that gave me a deeper sense of the area’s rich history. Afterwards, I strolled down Charlbury’s streets, admiring the handsome facades of the stone houses, each with its own story etched into the golden limestone.

Eventually I landed at The Bell, where the warm glow of the wood fire and the irresistible scent of sourdough pizzas pulled me inside. A crisp ginger beer in hand, I tucked into one of the most satisfying pizzas I’ve had in a while (goat’s cheese and red onion chutney, with rocket lettuce). Sitting there, people-watching as the evening settled in, felt like the perfect way to end a day steeped in history, beauty, and the simple pleasures of the Cotswolds.

As the sun dipped lower and I finished my meal, I couldn’t help but wonder what makes a day in the Cotswolds so special. It isn’t just the scenery - though the thatched cottages, winding lanes, and historic houses are endlessly enchanting. It’s the way each village carries its own personality: from Daylesford’s abundance and Kingham’s postcard charm, to Churchill’s romance, the timeless grandeur of Chastleton, and the easy warmth of Charlbury.

There’s a rhythm here that feels both grounding and uplifting, a reminder that beauty often lies in the simplest details: fresh bread from a farm shop, roses climbing over a cottage wall, the sound of church bells, or the comfort of a wood-fired pizza at the end of the day. It was, in every sense, the perfect Cotswolds escape.