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The Cotswolds moves at the pace of a Sunday afternoon, even on a Tuesday. Wander through honey-stone villages where wisteria climbs every wall, then make time for Bibury — William Morris called it the most beautiful village in England, and Arlington Row's weavers' cottages are reason enough to agree, or Bourton-on-the-Water, threaded through with a shallow river and stone bridges. Chipping Campden is made for antique-hunting; a farm-to-table cooking class in a converted barn kitchen is made for everyone else. History lovers should detour to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace, or the French-inspired chateau of Waddesdon Manor and its sprawling formal gardens. Lace up boots for a stretch of the Cotswold Way, or take to the sky before breakfast in a hot air balloon for a proper look at the patchwork below. Out here, slowing down isn't optional. It's rather the point.
Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild built this Buckinghamshire pile in the 1870s in the style of a Loire chateau, then filled it with 18th-century French furniture, Sèvres porcelain and English portraits. The gardens come with a rococo aviary and a parterre that changes each year. The wine cellars are worth the detour on their own.
The market town on the Avon where he was born, retired and was buried, all within about a mile. You can visit the Henley Street birthplace, Anne Hathaway's thatched cottage in Shottery and his grave in Holy Trinity Church. The Royal Shakespeare Company performs a few steps from the river.
Namibrand, Namibia
