If you’ve been following our Instagram stories, you know that we have spent the weekend exploring the heart of England covering Oxford on Saturday and the Cotswolds today (if you don’t follow us on Instagram then consider following us, we post a new travel pic daily). Here are some quick highlights till we sort our pictures and thoughts and write a fuller blogpost.
Note: We are travelling with Yoda’s parents so these travel days are a lighter pace and less walking than we are used to. Hence they are quite family friendly.
Oxford
Our top attraction: Pitt-Rivers museum.
It is in the same museum complex as the natural history museum and has an eclectic collection of diverse items from around the world in a very small space. For ex, boat models, flutes & head dresses were almost next to each other on the ground floor. Plus, like most UK museums, it is free.

Flutes from around the world
Our top experience: Collecting stamps in the passport.
I think it was a meant for kids activity but we did it anyway and it was fun because a) it encourages you to enjoy the breadth of Oxford by visiting places like the Pitt-Rivers museum (see above) and b) you get a magnet and key chain at the end of your day 🙂
1-line restaurant review: Ate at Pierre Victoire.
Very reasonably priced meal for an expensive city (£11.50 for 2 courses) with hearty mains, tasted like decent French-inspired food only because we just travelled to France and had food there that knocked our socks off.
How to get there: Crosscountry trains from Birmingham (£15 return with railcard). Our UK transportation guide is a useful resource.
Previous blogpost: Book lovers’ day trip to Oxford, England
Cotswolds
Our top attraction: The town of Chipping Campden.
Cotswolds architecture (including thatched roof houses) ✔️
A cathedral ✔️
Interesting shops on the High Street ✔️

One of the best villages in the Costwolds – Chipping Campden
Special mention: The village of Snowshill, it is a much smaller village but much more initmate and quite pretty. The pub is nice too.
Our top experience: Eating country ice-cream. There is something about the countryside milk that helps produce stunning ice cream.
1-line restaurant review: Ate at the Old Butchers.
Expensive but fresh and well cooked seafood. Wish we had more time to have a proper meal.
How to get there: Day trip with Go Costwolds. Pickup and dropoff from Warwick Parkway rail station. Superb way to see the Costwolds for non-drivers like us as the area has almost no public transport.
Questions?
Drop us a comment below or on our Facebook page, will be happy to answer any questions based on our itineraries / experiences.

Tom quad @ Christ Church college
© 2017 Beyond Our Horizons
‘the area has almost no public transport.’
tell me about it!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀 😀 We pride ourselves on our public transport travelling abilities, we didn’t even try for the Costwolds. The day trip was pretty super though, perfect for us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful and lovely place, I love Snowshill 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
We agree wholeheartedly, what a charming village. It’s what we imagined romantic English villages to look like.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am so intrigued by the whole Cotswold area. Looks super quaint. Great post!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Ishita, we are working on a full Costwold post after trawling through all our pics. It is indeed super quaint but not as naturally beautiful as the villages in the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales. Worth a visit nevertheless.
LikeLiked by 1 person