Go England:Cheltenham isn't the only reason to visit the glorious Cotswold Hills, writes AMY LAUGHINGHOUSE
EVERY MARCH a small part of Gloucestershire, in England, becomes a temporary outpost of Ireland, with thousands making the pilgrimage to the Cheltenham Festival. (This year it’s on from March 10th to 13th.) While the Regency town that hosts the festival has become a home from home for many racing fans from across the Irish Sea, for most the undulating countryside beyond remains a mystery. So this year I set out in the midst of the February snows to seek out the best the surrounding Cotswolds have to offer, from restaurants and accommodations to shops and pubs – and perhaps a racing tip or two.
The Cotswolds embrace a swathe of villages built of honey-hued stone that reflect a sunny glow on even the greyest days, tucked among rolling fields in an area up to 160km long and 80km wide. The actual meaning of “Cotswolds” is a bit trickier to define. The official line, according to Chris Dee of Cotswolds Tourism, is that it roughly translates as “sheep on the hill”, with “wold” meaning slope and “cots” meaning sheep pen – an apt moniker, then, given the number of woolly denizens grazing around every bend. But others say it derives from a Saxon farmer named Cod. “If you’re in a pub and want to start a conversation, ask why it’s called the Cotswolds,” Dee suggests, “and you’ll get five different answers.”
Needing very little incentive to visit a pub, I put Dee’s theory to the test in Broadway, a village named for its wide, welcoming high street. At the Swan, with its worn wood floors and comfortable club chairs grouped in chummy scrums, the rounds are flowing freely, and the affable fellows bellied up to the bar are happy to expound on the meaning of Cotswolds, and much else besides.
“A wold was a stone enclosure where they used to keep the sheep,” offers Dave Betley, a Broadway native. His mate Tony Buckland has always reckoned wold was derived from “walled” – a reasonable theory, considering the countless kilometres of dry stacked walls that demarcate fields throughout the area.
As the pints disappear, the conversation ping-pongs to politics, the monarchy and the obvious appeal of the Cotswolds. “It’s the fresh air, innit?” says Tony Clarke, having just stamped in from the cold. “Open the window in the morning and look out, and it’s just fields and fields.”
During the horse-racing festival, race-goers who commute the 30km from Cheltenham to Broadway get a diversion from this pastoral peace. “This place is mobbed – the atmosphere is buzzing, and the crowd is good,” remarks Dan Riordan, who has his eye, and his money, on JP McManus’s Binocular. “I’ve backed it all the way [in the Champion Hurdle] – but don’t come looking for me if it loses,” Riordan adds with a laugh.
By the time I take my leave I have not only a race tip but also a notebook full of places my new friends suggest I explore, beginning with nearby Broadway Tower.
The sixth earl of Coventry commissioned the turreted tower, completed in 1799, as a gift for his wife. “She didn’t have the internet or TV, so her total enjoyment was looking out her window at Broadway Tower,” explains Neil Thorne, who greets visitors on the day of my visit. “Today people come for three reasons: its connection to William Morris [a 19th-century English architect and designer who was a frequent visitor], the views and because it’s there,” he concludes with a cheeky grin.
If the winding stairs to the top don’t take your breath away, then the views from the second-highest point in the Cotswolds surely will. Half a dozen red deer lie around an icy watering hole below, and a few hearty hikers, bundled up to their eyeballs, trek along the Cotswold Way, which extends from nearby Chipping Campden all the way to Bath. Snow-covered fields give way to greener pastures as my eye strains towards the horizon, which, on a fine day, reveals at least 12 counties.
A climb like this whets the appetite, and the Cotswolds boast a commendable range of culinary options, from simple pub fare to Michelin-starred restaurants. One of the more unusual offerings is Daylesford Organic. This collection of converted farm buildings encompasses a gourmet grocery (think organic ginger curds, aged fig vinegar and fresh-baked wheat-free almond cake) and a Michelin Bib Gourmand-winning cafe, where hearty dishes such as venison and cranberry casserole are prepared in a kitchen that is “100 per cent organic and Soil Association certified”. So you can eat with one hand, and pat your eco-sensitive self on the back with the other.
There’s also a butcher, a garden shop, a spa and the Bamford Barn. This Zen-like space purveys everything from semi-petrified acacia tree stumps for £1,900 (€2,165) to a simple white pleated dress, reduced from £895 (€1,020) to the bargain-basement price of £268 (€306) – although customers such as Kate Winslet, who has a home in the Cotswolds, probably aren’t holding out for end-of-season sales.
The Cotswolds are renowned for antique shops, many of which have particular specialities, such as sporting collectibles or farmhouse tables. Christopher Clarke Antiques, in Stow-on-the-Wold, which is the Cotswolds’ highest town, sells military campaign furniture and travel equipment. Each of these antiques, which range from folding bookcases to upholstered armchairs and secretaire chests, was built to be easily disassembled and transported, long before Ikea was a gleam in a Swede’s eye. According to Sean Clarke, whose father founded the shop in 1962, campaign chests are particularly popular for children’s bedrooms. “Something which has survived wars is hopefully going to survive a 14-year-old,” he observes wryly.
The Cotswolds have also emerged triumphant over time, with some villages remarkably unchanged since the first stones were stacked centuries ago. In Upper Slaughter, where I spend one evening, the only business operating amid the quiet maze of homes is the Lords of the Manor, a 26-room hotel built as a rectory in 1649. “There can be no pleasure before death,” prophesies a Latin inscription above the door, but fortunately hotel manager Ingo Wiangke and executive chef Matt Weedon embrace a less puritanical policy. The hotel, which presides over three bucolic hectares, features a fresher, brighter interior following a €2 million renovation last year, and in January the Lords of the Manor was awarded a coveted Michelin star.
Before sinking into the sumptuous mattress beneath the slanted wooden beams of my suite, I savour a dinner of duck terrine, roasted breast of pheasant and dark chocolate tart, watching flames flicker and dance in the restaurant’s fireplace.
Could there be a finer way to relax and escape the rat race, just a stone’s throw from the Cheltenham Festival? I wouldn’t bet on it.
** Amy Laughinghouse was a guest of Visit Cotswolds (00-44-1242-864171, www. cotswolds.com)
Where to stay, eat and go if you plan to visit the Cotswolds
Where to stay
The Lords of the Manor. Upper Slaughter, Gloucestershire, 00-44-1451-820243, www.lordsofthemanor.com. With multiple drawing rooms and a cosy games room, you'll feel like a guest in a friend's country home, just 26km from the Cheltenham Festival. Work up an appetite for a Michelin- starred feast at the restaurant with a walk along the Warden's Way to scenic Lower Slaughter. Rooms from £191 (€218).
Barceló The Lygon Arms. High Street, Broadway, 00-44-1386-852255, www.barcelo-hotels.co.uk. This historic property has served as an inn for nearly 500 years. There are plenty of wood-panelled niches where you can warm yourself by the fire, and a spacious dining room. Choose from a traditional room chock-a-block with antiques or sleek, tailored accommodation in a newer wing. Rooms from £99 (€113).
Cotswold House. High Street, Chipping Campden, 00-44-1386-840330, www.cotswoldhouse.com. When Johnny Depp filmed The Libertine, he bunked down here, in the heart of Chipping Campden. The hotel encompasses two restaurants (a casual brasserie and the elegant Juliana's), plus 30 marvellously modern rooms and suites. Rooms from £150 (€171).
Where to eat
The Swan. 2 The Green, Broadway, 00-44-1386-852278, www.theswanbroadway.co.uk. Friendly staff and locals make you feel at home. The menu ranges from adventurous coconut-tempura prawns to Welsh lamb and fish and chips.
Daylesford Organic Farmshop Cafe. Daylesford, 00-44-1608-731700, www.daylesfordorganic.com. Dine on fresh-from-the-farm fare in this airy converted barn, and stock up on guilt-free organic goodies.
The Kingham Plough. Kingham, Chipping Norton, 00-44-1608-658327, www.thekinghamplough.co.uk. Chef Emily Watkins, a former sous-chef at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck, earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand award for her pub, offering a fresh twist on British dishes using seasonal local produce.
Where to shop
Christopher Clarke Antiques. The Fosseway, Stow-on-the-Wold, 00-44-1451-830476, www.campaignfurniture.com. Fascinating collection of portable military antiques.
Manfred Schotten Antiques. 109 High Street, Burford, 00-44-1993-822302, www.schotten.com. This shop specialises in sporting collectibles and memorabilia, including equestrian items.
Highgrove Shop. 10 Long Street, Tetbury, 00-44- 1666-505666, www.highgrove shop.com. About 50km southwest of Cheltenham, this shop is as close as most folks get to Prince Charles's nearby Highgrove House. Everything within the shop reflects the prince's passions, such as recycling and creating work to help female Afghan refugees support themselves. Offerings include limited-edition lithographs featuring paintings by the prince, baskets woven with wicker from the estate and housewares emblazoned with the Highgrove hens.
What to see
Broadway Tower. Broadway, 00-44-1386-852390, www.broadwaytower.co.uk. 11am-3pm Saturday and Sunday; 10.30am-5pm daily (April-October); times might vary according to weather.
Go there
Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus. com) flies to Birmingham from Cork and Dublin. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies from Derry, Dublin and Shannon to Birmingham and Bristol. Bmibaby (www.bmi baby.com) flies from West Knock to Birmingham. Irish Ferries (www.irish ferries. com) sails from Rosslare to Pembroke. Stena Line (www.stenaline.ie) sails from Rosslare to Fishguard. If you want to turn a Cheltenham Festival trip into a week’s break, Arguscarhire.com has Birmingham Airport rentals from €18 a day.