After the Shakespeare Marathon: Cotswolds Villages

The Route: Stratford-upon-Avon → Cotswolds villages Logistics: By car; the Cotswolds' smaller villages are best reached and explored with your own transport. Marathon Month: April Duration: Day trip

Stratford-upon-Avon ──(by car)──> Cotswolds villages

Stratford-upon-Avon sits right on the edge of the Cotswolds, and a short drive opens up honey-stone villages that offer a genuinely different pace from the town's own Shakespeare-focused sightseeing. April in the Cotswolds: hedgerows and gardens coming into leaf, one of the more attractive months to see the villages at their best.

The Villages

Villages such as Chipping Campden and Broadway, both within easy driving distance of Stratford, are built from the same honey-coloured limestone the wider Cotswolds is known for, with high streets suited to slow, unhurried walking rather than demanding sightseeing.

Where to eat: Cotswolds villages typically have a handful of tearooms and pubs, a fitting, low-key way to spend an afternoon after a marathon.

Getting Back

The return drive to Stratford-upon-Avon retraces the same country roads, a relaxed close to the day.