For our last official trip in England, we wanted to get all our friends together in a really great place and have a big party to say goodbye to everyone. We decided on a Landmark Trust property in the Cotswolds as it was close enough that people could stop by for the day, or make a weekend of it and stay with us.

STAY

West Banqueting House | This pair of banqueting houses and almonry are all that remain of the Old Campden House built in 1613. We chose to stay in the west house as it is still set up for holding banquets and had room to accommodate a couple more people in the almonry. Jacobean banquet houses would have been used to host a dessert and wine course after a large meal, so that is exactly what we had planned for our weekend stay here.

We kept the fire going almost the entire weekend, because if I’m being totally honest, it was super cold inside. It is probably fine most of the time, but we were here on one of the coldest weekends of the year and really the only time snow stuck to the ground all winter. The worst part was the drafty door in the bedroom upstairs, but it is such a beautiful room otherwise and the master bath is really grand and luxurious feeling.

The little almonry next door was the perfect size for two with a double bed and bath up the spiral stairs and cute seating area on the ground floor.

Saturday morning we all had fun exploring the snow-covered town of Chipping Campden. We stopped into a few shops and saw a couple of historic landmarks around town.

SEE

Almshouses | This row of houses opposite our Landmark cottage were built in 1612 by the same man who commissioned the Old Campden House, Sir Baptist Hicks, to provide homes for the poor. Today, they are still private residences and are much unchanged aside from the addition of modern kitchens and bathrooms.

Market Hall | An iconic Cotswolds market hall, built in 1627 out of the traditional honey colored stone seen all over the region. Today, some outdoor markets are still held under partial cover of the hall.

EAT & DRINK

Bantam Tea Rooms | Truthfully, we only chose this tea room because we had been walking around town all morning and the big fireplace looked very appealing from the window. Good cup of tea, but none of us got any food other than scones.

Daylesford Farm | This place is amazing and I really wish I had known about it sooner. It has an incredible farm shop complete with cheese room and bakery, a light and airy café style restaurant–it even has self-catering cottages available for hire complete with spa services. If you live in the UK or have plans to visit the Cotswolds, it is a must-stop.

For our weekend adventure, Daylesford was the perfect group outing on a snowy day. We shopped, we ate a delicious organic lunch, and we picked up some necessities for our cheese and wine banquet later that evening.

Sadly, I didn’t get any group shots of our lovely meal together (having too good a time enjoying the night I guess). But this was the set up before everyone arrived!

We spent the rest of the night just drinking wine and enjoying our last evening all together. It was the perfect send off and end to our time in the UK. We both miss it more than you can imagine!