After spending nearly a week in London, which you can read about here, we took the train from Paddington to Kingham station, in the heart of the Cotswolds. The Cotswolds have been a bucket list destination for me for many years, pretty much ever since I saw The Holiday for the first time as a teen. Stepping off the train, I truly felt like I was at Disneyland.
We didn’t rent a car, and for the 3 nights we were there, we made do by walking and getting the occasional lift in the hotel Land Rover. Next time however, I would try to spend at least 5 nights and would absolutely rent a car to be able to see some farther-flung areas, as there are so many villages I’d love to see firsthand. We were only 5 miles from Stow-on-the-Wold, which I would have absolutely loved to visit, but alas we just didn’t have the time or an easy way of getting there. Next time!
We took a taxi from the train station to the hotel, which was in the centre of the village of Kingham. We pulled up to what I can only describe as one of the prettiest, most quaint buildings I’ve ever seen in real life. We stayed at The Wild Rabbit, which is part of the Daylesford family founded by Carole Bamford. It was just the most gorgeous honey-coloured stone building, with vines crawling up the side that I can only imagine are stunning in the spring and summertime. It felt almost overwhelming after having wanted to visit for so long, to be dropped in the centre of this storybook village.
We arrived around 11:30, and had a little bit of time to kill before our Sunday roast reservation at 1, so we wandered around town to get a lay of the land. After walking around for a bit, we worked up an appetite just in time for the roast. The great thing about The Wild Rabbit is that there is a Michelin Guide-recognized restaurant on the ground floor, with seasonal ingredients sourced from the organic farm just a short walk from the hotel and their sister farm in Staffordshire. Even the flowers on the dining room tables are picked fresh from the garden.
The Sunday roast was truly one of the most immaculate meals I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. We started with a rabbit-confit raviolo to start, in this mustard sauce that was simply to die for. It was so good that we got the same starter later that day for dinner, I wish I was joking. For our mains we both got the roast venison, which was served with Yorkshire pudding, roasted seasonal vegetables, potatoes, and gravy. Then we both had sticky toffee pudding for dessert, and as two long-time fans of a sticky toffee pudding, this was by far the best we’ve both had. The Sunday roast (and the restaurant in general) is open to non-guests as well, so if you are ever in the area I truly cannot recommend it enough.
After lunch, it was time to check in to our room upstairs. We booked the Fox room, and it was truly perfect for the two of us. Absolutely divinely comfy bed, the most beautiful linens, and a dream bathroom complete with a gorgeous soaking tub and Bamford toiletries. And of course, the window seat to end all window seats with its exposed honey-coloured stone, which I could have spent all day sitting in with a book and a cup of tea if we didn’t have so much to explore.
The rest of the day was spent exploring the estate, including a lovely walk over to the Daylesford Organic farm shop just 20 minutes away. It was all decorated for the holidays and truly felt so special and festive. Back at the hotel, we had another lovely meal in the dining room. Seriously, I still have not stopped thinking about the meals we had here.
We had a bit of an early night the first night, so we got up bright and early the next day to head to The Wild Rabbit’s sister hotel, The Fox at Oddington. It also happened to be raining torrentially that day, but that didn’t stop us. The hotel had wellies and umbrellas available which was a godsend. Seeing the farm in the rain was honestly so gorgeous, the grass was so lush and green, and the sheep seemed very unbothered by the weather. After 40 minutes walking through this dreamy path across the fields, we arrived at our destination. We were a little early for our reservation, and very cold, so we sat in the bar and had some tea to warm up. Then we had pizza for lunch which was, in all honestly, some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. The space was also so beautiful, and although it only recently opened, they did such a gorgeous job of marrying the old with the new at this location. They also have rooms which I’m sure are divine!
On our final day in the Cotswolds, we went to Daylesford for lunch with my lovely friend from Instagram. It was so nice to finally meet her in person, and get a tour of the farm from someone who knows it much better than we do! I could have spent hours in the farm shop perusing all the goodies, and I found myself wishing I had an extra suitcase to bring some things home with me. That evening, we had snacks and a pint in the pub of The Wild Rabbit, played Scrabble near the fire, and watched some World Cup football on their TV. It was the most wholesome evening to end off our trip, it truly felt like The Holiday in real life.
