The Cotswolds – A walk down memory lane

Growing up in the town centre like this was a unique and wonderful experience, our home had wooden beams and hidden secret passageways and hideaways which felt incredibly exciting as a young child.

Cirencester – Memory Lane

Despite being such a beautiful town, I hadn’t visited Cirencester for many years. This summer I was determined to rectify this. Last week, my twins and I visited for four nights, and it was a very special and nostalgic visit, showing them where I lived, where I went to school and even where I got married. It was lovely to take a trip down memory lane – and I even managed to catch up with old school friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen for 14 years!

We started our visit with a wonder around the marketplace and a stroll down Cecily hill, one of the prettiest streets in Cirencester, before enjoying a splash about in Cirencester Open Air swimming pool, which has been welcoming visitors since 1870.

You can prebook a swim – but 100 spaces are also reserved for walk ins if you don’t mind a queue. I was an incredibly hot 35 degrees the week we visited so we were very grateful for this opportunity to cool down. The pool is beautiful; my kids loved the water slide and you can purchase a good selection of hot and cold food and drinks at very decent prices.

The Lakes and Malmesbury

The following day we visited Spring Lake at the Cotswold Lakes, where we had a lovely lunch at the Brasserie lakeside restaurant (I had fish, my mum had jumbalaya) and the kids went on inflatable water rides. You can also try out water skiing here. Equally popular is Summer Lake which offers aquaventure ( a water assault/inflatables course) SUPs and kayaking. You can hire your own boat or enjoy mini gold.

Later in our visit we headed to Crudwell in Malmesbury, a beautiful village where I got married in 2010. We visited the church where I was married as well as The Rectory Hotel where we held the wedding reception. We enjoyed a delicious evening meal at the Potting Shed – a lovely pub opposite the church and hotel.

It was a warm evening and it was nice to sit in the lovely garden under strings of fairy lights. I had a halloumi burger and the twins had a children’s version of fish and chips which we all thought was good.

Bilbury – Quintessentially English

I was also keen to re-visit Bibury, a picture-perfect, quintessential English village, which is famous for its trout farm, Arlington Row ( a row of beautiful stone cottages) and for being one of the most beautiful and photographed villages in the UK. We enjoyed drinks in the courtyard of The Swan pub before having lunch at Eleven- a restaurant directly opposite Arlington Row and which has a beautiful three tier garden terrace. before visiting the afore mentioned trout farm (which is also a lovely place to have lunch). I spent a lot of time in Bibury as a child as one of my best friends at primary school lived there, but I never really appreciated before just how beautiful it is. It definitely felt quite strange returning as a tourist to the area where I grew up!

A few more swims in the outdoor pool and nostalgic catch-up visits with friends later and it was time to return to London after a whistle stop visit.

It was a real pleasure taking this lovely trip down memory lane (& through the Cotswolds!), and I hope you have enjoyed sharing the journey with me. With its honey-coloured cottages, rolling countryside, picturesque villages and wonderfully timeless atmosphere, the Cotswolds really is a very special corner of England—charming, beautiful and thoroughly British. There is always something more to discover here, so if this has whetted your appetite, do take a look at our other Cotswolds articles for more stories, places to visit and inspiration from this delightful part of the country.

By Kate Skelton,

Images Kate Skelton