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Capering about the Cotswolds

Writer's picture: Matthew AndersonMatthew Anderson

Updated: Jul 2, 2024

If you want to stay in one of the prettiest villages in England, stay at Bibury in the Cotswolds. It’s not a place to go if you’re looking for lots of things to do, but it has a quiet village atmosphere with beautiful old cottages everywhere you look.

Hanging out with the locals

Stroll around the quaint village and walk along the most famous street: Arlington Row. This street is said to be one of the most photographed in the whole of England, and has been in a number of films. The spot gets very busy with tourists, so it’s best to pick the early morning or late afternoon if you want to go without the hordes. Most of them just roll in on the buses, get out for a few minutes to walk along the row and take a photo, and then roll out again, which certainly misses the quiet beauty of the place. Arlington Row dates back to the 1380s.

Strolling along Arlington Row

There’s a fish farm to visit (at extortionate prices, so we didn’t bother), a local pub to eat at, and a more upmarket pub, ‘The Swan’, where we enjoyed a drink in their lovely garden by the stream.


Bibury is a good place to base yourself to visit the rest of what that region has to offer. Many other pretty Cotswolds towns are close by, and we enjoyed the old city section of a larger one, Cirencester.


We also loved doing a hike from Bibury to a nearby village, Coln St Aldwyns – a round trip of about 10km. We found that a nice lunch once we got to the other village helped keep our 10 year motivated! There are many other smaller walks you can do around the countryside.

Why would you go to Bibury as a homeschooler?

Bibury is a great place to go to experience quiet village life in England. There is a huge amount of history in the town dating back to the Iron Age, with many old buildings. St Mary’s Church dates right back to at least the 12th century. Take your children here to glimpse what a village would have looked like in the Middle Ages. There are also many beautiful walks in the area to enjoy as a family.

My tips for the region

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Try to get the kids involved in planning a walk. The 164km Cotswold Way trail runs nearby (see https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/cotswold-way/), but you don’t have to walk the whole way!! There are also masses of other walks to do around Bibury

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Look out for any animals and plants that are native to the region and learn about them. There are plenty of birds, as the meadow at the front is a haven for wildfowl

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 We spent 4 full days in Bibury which was a good length of time for us – enough time to look around at a leisurely pace and venture further to see some other towns. You could easily spend a lot longer if you loved walking! It is within striking distance to other picturesque towns such as Bourton-on-the-Water, as well as interesting places such as Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare’s birthplace) and Oxford


Book suggestions (read aloud or read for themselves)

  1. We saw many swans in Bibury. For younger children (ages 5 and up): ‘The Silver Swan’ by Michael Morpurgo

  2. For older children (ages 10 up): ‘The Wool Pack’ by Cynthia Harnett or ‘The Trumpet Swan’ by E B White


Ideas for education

  1. Swans – cygnets, diet, partners for life etc. You can download my ebook which has a unit study all about swans from the Teachers Pay Teachers site here

  2. Dry stone walls – how are they made?

  3. The history of Arlington Row. Briefly, it was built in the late 14th century to store wool, and later used as cottages for weavers of woollen cloth in the 17th century. There is also an important meadow in front of it called the ‘Rock Isle’ (which I thought needed a good mow until I realised it’s historical significance!). This was used to hang items out to dry. See the website: https://www.bibury.com/arlington-row/ for more information

  4. Wool production throughout history compared to now; wool and the Cotswolds/England

  5. Sheep- different breeds for different purposes, what is needed to keep them healthy, types of wool etc.

  6. The history of the Cotswolds

  7. To buy our "Swans: a unit study" guide while supporting us. Read the description and make the purchase below




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