England with children: Bath and Cotswolds

[GUEST POST] Mom Enrica, our London correspondent, tells us about her trip out to Bath, in the Cotswolds area, and about her idea of “elegance”…

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Enrica lives in London with her little explorer Martina, who we met during the trip to Istanbul.
But travelling can be easier: just open the door and look at the world with curious eyes. That’s why Enrica will tell us about off the beaten path places in her England with children…..

On a lovely Saturday morning we decided to visit Bath, the wonderful Cotswolds city which is just two hours driving from our home. Bath is located in the Cotswolds area’s, known for the cosy and placid villages that lay languidly among the Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire hills.

England  with children: Cotswolds area’s

This same area is also known for the magnificent Victorian palaces with their luxurious parks, where, if you close your eyes, you can still hear the noise of the clinging tea cups and the dogs barking hunting for foxes.

Most of these palaces are open to the public (Woodchester Mansion or Sudeley Castle for instance) and trust me they are fantastic. Martina is always very happy to visit such palaces, first because she is a real princess, second because of the mirabilia you can find inside: laces and four-poster beds, bookcases full of coloured books and huge shining armours. Childrens are very welcome in the palaces and there are workshops and guided tours for them.

England  with children: Bath

Shall we come back to Bath? As I said, Bath is a wonderful city.

Bath is very Roman, with its construction materials, its architectures, with the water that flows from the thermal buildings and reach the Avon with a suggestive fall. Surprisingly, Bath is also Roman for the weather: the average temperature for September is two degrees higher than in London!

Bath is a University city: It reminds me of Perugia with the café, the cheap furniture shops and the students who stroll around chatting and playing.

Bath is a thermal centre: the modern and functioning Spa is the perfect mix of Roman and British architecture with yellow stones, glasses and steel beams. Bath is also, apparently, the Jane Austin Society headquarter. The annual festival of the society was taking place during that very Saturday and we were amazed by the colours and sophistication of the cloths wore by the enthusiastic members we met!

Bath with children: some information 

Bath is very “Victorian age”: with the green gardens, the river walk but also the dark alleys and the cranky little doors along the main road.

It is, indeed, very easy to visit Bath with little children, the city centre is traffic free and the two parks/gardens are perfect for long walks without any danger. Along the river there are little boats that offer guided tours of the city. Prices are affordable.

There are plenty of options for eating and resting. I would say that accommodations are a bit pricy and the city is often fully booked.
There are a lot of little cottages in the countryside that offer B&B accommodations: we booked a room in one of them and it has proved to be a very handy choice.

We have spent a really nice weekend visiting Bath and the Cotswolds: the word that reminds me of it is: Elegance. I would say they make a good starting point to teach a little growing person the very concept of elegance.

We can’t wait to visit Cotswolds again!