A Morning in Bibury, Cotswolds, England

I have wanted to visit the Cotswolds for a long time. I remember seeing a television program about the region many years ago and I was intrigued by the rolling green hills and valleys, scattered with little villages filled with charming stone cottages. I felt as though the area could have been the inspiration for The Shire in J.R.R Tolkien’s novels, and I instantly wanted to go there and explore. During my recent trip to England, I was finally able to tick this one off my travel list.

The Cotswolds is well-known for its picturesque scenery, and is designated as one of England’s “Areas of Natural Beauty”. When it came to planning my trip, I quickly realised that the Cotswolds is quite a large area, and it is packed with places to see. Due to my short trip, I would only have one day to see the area, so I decided to select three villages to visit as my first trip to the Cotswolds. The first of the villages that I decided to visit was Bibury.

I had a pleasant drive through the Wiltshire countryside on a crisp spring morning. It drizzled lightly every now and then until I entered Gloucestershire and reached the large Cotswold town of Cirencester. From here, it was a short, scenic drive along a small country road to the village of Bibury. As soon as I entered the village, I knew I had made a good choice. The village is situated on the River Coln and I drove over the bridge and parked my car on the other side. When I got out of the car I was greeted by a charming honey coloured stone cottage with a lovely English garden out the front. I was instantly in love with the village.

Cottage in Bibury, Cotswolds

I was there quite early and there were no other tourists around yet, the village was quiet and I felt as though it would be impossible not to be relaxed here. I wandering along the main street, with the river on one side and a line of stone shops and cottages on the other. A pedestrian bridge crosses the river over to one of the most iconic scenes in the Cotswolds: the line of old weaver cottages known as Arlington Row.

Bibury, Cotswolds

View to Arlington Row, Bibury, Cotswolds

This unbelievably charming row of adjoined cottages was built in 1380 as a wool store and converted to weavers cottages in the 1600’s. I wandered along the little street that runs past the cottages and wanted to move in to one of them immediately. They are just perfect.

Arlington Row in Bibury, Cotswolds

Arlington Row Weavers Cottages in Bibury, Cotswolds

I took the pathway over to the main road to the old Arlington Mill (where the cloth went from the weaver’s cottages), and followed the tranquil canal down to recross the river, where a local was working in a stunning garden which makes up part of the Bibury trout farm.

Arlington Mill in Bibury, Cotswolds

View to the Swan Inn in Bibury, Cotswolds

A garden in Bibury Trout Farm, Bibury, Cotswolds

A couple of tourist buses turned up as it started drizzling again and the old Swan Inn looked inviting. What was once an old country inn is now quite a fancy place, but they were happy to serve me morning tea, the perfect way to escape the rain for a while. When the rain eased off I wandered down the road back to my car past more adorable cottages, and I felt the pull to linger longer. But as is the problem with the time crunched traveller, I had limited time and more places to see, so I departed Bibury for the next village on my itinerary.

Bibury was the perfect introduction to the Cotswolds for me, and I knew straight away that I would love this area as much as I thought I would. I know I’ll be back.