NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Travel

UK: Cotswolds market town with many selling points

By Lottie Gross
NZ Herald·
10 Sep, 2019 02:08 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

The Old Swan Inn, a 15th-century pub in Minster Lovell, in the Cotswolds. Photo / Supplied

The Old Swan Inn, a 15th-century pub in Minster Lovell, in the Cotswolds. Photo / Supplied

Lottie Gross explores the English town that made pub crawls a sport.

Not another crowded Cotswolds town?

Undoubtedly not. With overtourism plaguing some of Britain's prettiest places, this little corner of Oxfordshire is a breath of fresh air. Witney — sitting just east of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and 21km from Oxford — sees far fewer visitors than the rest of this bucolic region does. And it's all the better for it.

It's still got all that glorious, golden Cotswold stone but none of the pretence of those picture-perfect villages that have been built around the tourism trade. "It's one of the few towns that's actually getting better," according to Richard Martin, owner of Witney's Blanket Hall.

They still have a Blanket Hall?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Witney was the centre of Britain's blanket trade back in the 17th century after a cohort of weavers set up a guild here, and the locals are proud of their heritage. Every single blanket made in the town and its surroundings was checked in the Blanket Hall, and while there's no weaving in Witney today (the pesky industrial revolution put paid to that), the building is now a museum (cotswoldwoollenweavers.co.uk; free entry).

A Newmarket Blanket from the Blanket Hall, at Witney, in the Cotswolds. Photo / Supplied
A Newmarket Blanket from the Blanket Hall, at Witney, in the Cotswolds. Photo / Supplied

Filled with antiques and weaving-related artefacts — including the blankets that once sat in the district council's now-decommissioned nuclear bunker — it's a compelling place to get an understanding of the town's history, as well as a good excuse to feast on a homemade pie in the cafe out back.

Anything to do besides wrap up?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Plenty. If you've got kids in tow, Cogges Manor Farm (cogges.org.uk; $12.50 for adults, $8.70 for children) is a good bet. Farm animals, picnic spaces and activities in the manor's kitchen abound throughout the holidays and at weekends.

Cogges Manor Farm, in Witney, in the Cotswolds. Photo / Supplied
Cogges Manor Farm, in Witney, in the Cotswolds. Photo / Supplied

Alternatively, get out into the countryside to see some of those classic views of rolling hills dotted with sheep, and quaint villages that have barely changed over the past 100 years. Undiscovered Cotswolds (undiscoveredcotswolds.com; from $155pp) is a two-man operation offering guided tours of the lesser-visited areas, with all sorts of unusual insider information.

There's a wonderful walking route between Witney and Burford, taking in Minster Lovell with its pretty ruins, and tiny Swinbrook, ending in the "gateway to the Cotswolds", Burford. A few great pubs en route make it a brilliant day hike, and there are buses back into town for those with tired feet.

I think I could crawl to the pub

Then you're in luck — Witney is all about sporty pub crawls. Besides, it wouldn't be the British countryside without a little quirk, so if drinking is your sport of choice, head 10km out of town to Bampton, famed as one of Downton Abbey's main filming locations, on the late May bank holiday. Each year, the village's younger residents take to the streets for the Shirt Race, established in 1953 by John Quick, whose aim was to get residents out having fun while raising money for senior citizens in the village. Still going strong today, it sees teams of two dressed in pyjamas, each taking turns to push the other in a homemade vehicle. The teams must stop at every village pub and every location where a pub once stood, sink a half-pint of ale (orange juice for those underage) and move on to the next.

The Shirt Race, in Witney, UK. Photo / James Fallows
The Shirt Race, in Witney, UK. Photo / James Fallows

The event has seen everything from bathtubs to Batmobiles hurtle through the streets, and a fair few hangovers the next day. Money raised is used to offer days out for older people, all overseen by the Spajers — the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Junketing (bamptonbeam.co.uk/spajers).

Sounds mad. What if I just want a pint like a normal person?

Then Witney has pubs aplenty, but the highlight is the Wychwood Brewery (wychwood.co.uk; tours $23). Tours are held every weekend, ending in the taproom and shop, where you can get pints of Hobgoblin and all manner of interesting bottles, from beers brewed only on a full moon to proper ginger ale. Oxbrew (oxbrewmicropub.co.uk) is the town's micro-pub, serving craft beers by a brewery of the same name, as well as spirits by local distilleries.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Where can I soak up all that ale?

The Chequers Smokehouse (chequerssmokehouse.com; mains from $21) isn't just for carnivores — vegan and vegetarian choices go well beyond mushroom burgers and mac and cheese. But the highlight is, of course, the smoked meats — all of which are locally sourced from the high street butcher and singed to perfection in a mammoth smoker out the back. The Oreo cheesecake is absolutely divine — creamy, salty and light enough not to tip you over the edge after a meat feast.


Solid, home-cooked comfort food comes in the form of jacket potatoes, sandwiches and soups at Huffkins (huffkins.com; mains from $19) — a bakery so popular across the Cotswolds it now has outposts in Kyoto and Tokyo.

And where can I sleep off the inevitable hangover?

Retire after a hard day's drinking (or walking) to the Blue Boar (blueboarpub.co.uk; B&B doubles from $154 a night), an 18th-century coaching inn turned hotel, where boutique-style rooms sit above a superb restaurant serving great pizzas cooked in an enormous Italian oven. It's dog-friendly so bring the mutt and they'll even provide a bed. The front bar is all dark wooden beams and cosy sofas — which is ideal for sinking a Cotswold Gin with a grapefruit garnish before bed.

The Blue Boar pub in Witney, the Cotswolds, UK. Photo / Supplied
The Blue Boar pub in Witney, the Cotswolds, UK. Photo / Supplied

Alternatively, stay a short drive out of town at Minster Lovell — the 15th-century Old Swan Inn (oldswan.co.uk; B&B from $190) has rooms above the excellent pub. Next door, the Minster Mill is newly renovated with Scandi-style minimalist rooms and a spa (minstermill.co.uk; B&B rooms from $432).

— Telegraph Media Group

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Travel

Travel

Exactly how much I spent on a Japan trip

Travel

Wendy Petrie tackles ocean swim challenge in Fiji 

Travel

Here’s what it’s like inside Egypt’s new billion-dollar marvel


Sponsored

Your Fiordland experience, levelled up

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Travel

Exactly how much I spent on a Japan trip
Travel

Exactly how much I spent on a Japan trip

One traveller breaks down exactly how many Yen you need for a trip.

13 Jul 08:23 AM
Wendy Petrie tackles ocean swim challenge in Fiji 
Travel

Wendy Petrie tackles ocean swim challenge in Fiji 

13 Jul 12:30 AM
Here’s what it’s like inside Egypt’s new billion-dollar marvel
Travel

Here’s what it’s like inside Egypt’s new billion-dollar marvel

12 Jul 07:36 PM


Your Fiordland experience, levelled up
Sponsored

Your Fiordland experience, levelled up

25 May 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP