Charming Villages of the Cotswolds

Drawing in a wealth of visitors from afar every year, the elegant Regency town of Leamington Spa is renowned for its historical connections, beautiful architecture and immaculate gardens. Discover its famous mineral springs, which were believed to have therapeutic properties in the 19th century, or stroll along the wide boulevards lined with beautiful buildings and thriving shops.

Charming Villages of the Cotswolds

Sit back and admire the surrounding views of the Cotswolds as we head to the beautiful market town of Stow-on-the-Wold, renowned for its traditional stone architecture and wonderful collection of artisan boutiques. We then continue to the quintessential Cotswold village of Broadway, often referred to as the ‘Jewel of the Cotswolds’, with its picturesque High Street lined with golden-hued stone buildings, boutique shops, art galleries and tea rooms.

Charming Villages of the Cotswolds

We journey to the beautiful town of Stratford-upon-Avon, forever associated with William Shakespeare. Fans of The Bard can visit the house in which he was born, and there’s a chance to wander the riverside gardens or discover the town’s theatres including the Swan Theatre, home of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Walk Stratford-upon-Avon’s riverside paths and timber-framed streets in Shakespeare’s hometown. Amble along Henley Street and Bancroft Gardens, watch swans on the Avon, and take in half-timbered gables and bustling shopfronts that anchor this historic market town.

Soak up the town’s theatrical heartbeat beside the Swan Theatre and the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stories of Tudor merchants, playwrights and printers mingle with the scent of river reeds and old oak beams, offering a vivid sense of place and a living literary legacy.

Step inside Shakespeare’s Birthplace on Henley Street, a timber-framed house where low-beamed rooms and creaking floorboards evoke Tudor family life. Original artefacts, garden displays and curated exhibits trace The Bard’s early life and the town that shaped his imagination.

This optional visit is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Knowledgeable interpreters share stories of trades, schooling and marriage customs, adding depth to your Stratford exploration and richer context to the plays that followed.

Explore two Cotswold gems—Stow-on-the-Wold and Broadway—where cottages glow with honeyed limestone and antique shopfronts gather around storied squares. In Stow, wander to the market cross and the St Edward’s Church with its yew-framed north door, browsing artisan boutiques and cosy tearooms set among centuries-old coaching inns.

Continue to Broadway’s High Street, a parade of galleries and tea rooms set in golden Cotswold stone. The village’s Arts and Crafts heritage and manicured greens create an inviting backdrop to pause for photos and reflection, capturing pastoral charm and slow-paced village life.

Explore the elegant Regency town of Royal Leamington Spa, with sweeping boulevards, ironwork verandas and riverside lawns along the Leam. Stroll by the graceful facade of the Royal Pump Rooms and the lake-fringed Jephson Gardens, pausing among independent boutiques, pretty terraces and crescents of white stucco.

Discover how 19th-century visitors came to ‘take the waters’ from reputedly therapeutic mineral springs, shaping the town’s fortunes and refined architecture. Elegant terraces, bandstands and formal flowerbeds evoke a genteel spa era, while bridges and willow trees frame easy riverside walks and photo stops.