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Today, the Cotswolds is starting to feel more like autumn. We admit it: we are pining for it. We want rain, a cool breeze, a walk with a chill in the air and a welcoming fire in a country pub.
So, to indulge our autumnal limerence, we’re looking beyond summer to the things we love most about the Cotswolds as the seasons begin to turn: food that follows the harvest, woodland walks under changing leaves, farm shops piled high with local produce and, eventually, the welcome return of evenings spent beside the fire.
Autumn belongs in the kitchen. As the abundance of summer gives way to squash, orchard fruits, mushrooms, roots and game, menus across the Cotswolds begin to change with it.
Rather than simply seeking out somewhere good to eat, these are the restaurants and pubs where seasonality and provenance are part of the philosophy.
The Pig runs its signature 25-mile menu, looking first toits own Kitchen Garden for vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, before turning to independent farmers and small-scale producers within a 25-mile radius for much of the rest. From locally produced meats and cheeses to beers and wines, this is a menu firmly rooted in its surroundings.
The Farmers Dog, Jeremy Clarkson’s pub near Burford, operates a strict “British produce only” rule, with one notable exception: the quinine needed for the tonic in your G&T. If you have watched Clarkson’s Farm, you’ll already know how vocal he has been about supporting British farmers through some extraordinarily difficult years and increasingly unpredictable weather. He has our support!
A word of warning: tables book fast. Reservations are released on the first of each month for the following month, so plan ahead.
At Thyme's Ox Barn, Chef Director Charlie Hibbert takes farm-to-table rather literally. Vegetables, fruits and herbs can travel from Thyme's own organic gardens to the kitchen on the very day they're picked, supplemented by produce from local Cotswold suppliers. The result is a menu led by what is growing and at its best right now.
The Ebrington Arms serves award-winning, field-to-fork dishes built around seasonal ingredients from local suppliers and nearby Cotswold farms. The menu changes with the produce available, while the bar keeps things equally local with the pub's own Yubberton ales.
The Burleigh follows a garden-to-table ethos, with seasonal British dishes shaped by produce harvested from Burleigh Court's own organic kitchen garden and sourced from nearby Cotswold farms. It is the sort of menu that makes particular sense in autumn, when the garden's harvest naturally begins to dictate what arrives on the plate.
There is something particularly lovely about walking in the Cotswolds once the intensity of summer has passed. The air is cooler; the paths quieter, and familiar landscapes begin to change almost daily.
Pull on your boots, pack something waterproof (this is England, after all) and head out on one of our favourite autumn walks.
For a quieter walk away from some of the Cotswolds' better-known trails, head for Guiting Wood and the countryside surrounding Guiting Power. Woodland paths, open countryside and far-reaching views make this a lovely place to watch the landscape transition from summer green to autumn gold.
Pair your walk with a visit to Guiting Power itself, one of those wonderfully unspoilt Cotswold villages that feels particularly suited toa cool autumn afternoon.
For views rather than woodland, go high.
Cleeve Hill is the highest point in the Cotswolds and, on a clear autumn day, the views stretch far beyond the escarpment and across the surrounding countryside. There are numerous routes to choose from, so this can be anything from a brisk walk to a proper afternoon outing.
We particularly love it when the weather is just a little dramatic: low autumn sunshine, fast-moving clouds and the patchwork of fields below beginning to change colour.
Upper and Lower Slaughter are beautiful at any time of year, but the walk between the two comes into its own once the summer crowds begin t thin.
Follow the Warden's Way between the villages, passing alongside the River Eye and through quintessential Cotswold countryside. The walk between Upper and Lower Slaughter itself is only around a mile, so it is an easy addition to a slow afternoon; those looking for something longer can continue through the surrounding valleys and woodland.
Go early, take your time and enjoy having one of the Cotswolds' most photographed corners at a slightly gentler pace.
Woodchester Park offers something altogether wilder. Hidden in a secluded wooded valley near Nailsworth, the National Trust estate is filled with lakes, woodland and parkland, with Woodchester Mansion sitting unexpectedly amongst it all.
There are several trails, including a 4.4-mile circular walk from Tinkley Gate towards the Mansion, passing through the parkland and alongside the water. In autumn, when the trees surrounding the valley begin to turn and fallen leaves gather beside the lakes, it is particularly atmospheric.
Perhaps nowhere is the changing season more obvious than at the farm shop. Autumn brings apples and pears, pumpkins and squash, freshly harvested vegetables and shelves increasingly filled with the things we want to cook as the evenings grow cooler.
Better still, fill a basket, take it back to your holiday home and make dinner part of the day.
Sitting between Stroud, Cirencester and Tetbury, Jolly Nice is far more than somewhere to pick up a pint of milk. This family-run farm shop works with more than 70 local micro-producers, small family farms and artisan producers, with a particular emphasis on sustainable and regenerative farming.
Its shelves and counters follow the seasons, from organically grown vegetables and locally sourced meat to an excellent selection of regional cheeses and artisan produce. Come autumn, Jolly Nice also opens its Pumpkin Patch, transforming the garden into a rather lovely place to pick your own pumpkin.
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Just outside Cheltenham, Primrose Vale feels reassuringly connected to the land around it. The farm grows its own fruit and vegetables, supplemented in the shop by produce from other local suppliers, and the offering changes naturally as the growing year progresses.
Autumn is an especially fun time to visit, as the summer Pick Your Own season gives way to pumpkins and the farm's Halloween trail. It is a particularly good stop if you are staying with children — although filling a bag with local produce for dinner needs no age limit.
At Todenham Manor Farm, the phrase field to fork is refreshingly literal.
Native-breed cattle and sheep are raised on the farm, with meat prepared by the farm's own butchers before being sold through the Farm Shop. Its restaurant, Herd, follows the same philosophy, combining farm-reared meat with seasonal ingredients and locally sourced produce.
For an autumn stay, we particularly like the idea of picking up something from the butchery, adding a few seasonal vegetables and taking it home for a proper Sunday dinner.
The Organic Farm Shop at Abbey Home Farm, just outside Cirencester, is one of those places that makes you rethink what a farm shop can actually be.
The 650-hectare organic farm produces an extraordinary amount of its own food, with its market garden growing more than 80 varieties of vegetables, fruit and herbs throughout the year. Apples, pears, plums and soft fruits grow on the farm; hens provide eggs; and the farm also produces its own dairy products and grows wheat for its bread.
Seasonality isn't a display theme here — it is simply how the farm works.
There is also an organic café and plenty of countryside to explore, so allow a little longer than you think you need.
The honey-coloured stone may be the Cotswolds' calling card, but come autumn it gets some competition. Beech woods turn copper and gold, valleys deepen in colour and some of our favourite views become almost unrecognisable from their summer selves.
We couldn't possibly write about autumn colour in the Cotswolds without Westonbirt.
Home to an internationally important collection of trees, the National Arboretum becomes one of Gloucestershire's great autumn spectacles as its maples, acers and other deciduous trees begin their transformation.
Acer Glade is particularly famous for its autumn display, but our advice is not to rush straight there and back. Give yourself time to wander. Different species turn at different points in the season, meaning the landscape continues to evolve throughout autumn.
Pittville Park, Cheltenham town's largest ornamental park, is home to an impressive variety of mature trees, spread around its lakes, lawns and Regency Pump Room. Cheltenham Borough Council has even created self-guided tree walks through the park for anyone interested in knowing exactly what they are looking at.
Take a coffee, wander around the lake and enjoy a decidedly gentler way of leaf-peeping.
There are few landscapes more closely associated with a writer than Laurie Lee's Slad Valley.
The five-mile Laurie Lee Wildlife Way winds through limestone grassland, streams and small woodlands, with poetry posts appearing along the route. In autumn, the beech leaves begin to change, fungi emerge in Laurie Lee Wood, and the steep sides of the valley take on an entirely different character.
And, naturally, a walk through Laurie Lee country should probably finish at the pub.
We're cheating slightly here — the Forest of Dean lies beyond the Cotswolds — but autumn is an excellent reason to venture west.
Forestry England singles it out as one of the country's great autumn walking destinations. For the grand view, head to Symonds Yat Rock and look across the wooded Wye Valley as the river snakes below. For something quieter, try the lakeside paths at Mallards Pike, particularly on a cool morning when mist can hang over the water.
Worth the detour.
And then the light begins to fade.
We don't think shorter days are something to apologise for. There is pleasure in returning from a long walk just as dusk settles, muddy boots left by the door and nowhere else you need to be.
Light the fire. Open the bottle you picked up earlier. Cook something from the farm shop. Read a book, play a game, or stay around the table a little longer.
Summer encourages us to squeeze everything we can from the daylight. Autumn gives us permission to come home.
And perhaps that is what we are really pining for.
Not simply colder weather, or leaves changing colour, but the change of pace that arrives with them. Autumn in the Cotswolds asks a little less of us. Walk while the light is good. Eat what is growing nearby. Come home when it gets dark.
The Cotswolds doesn't end with summer. In some ways, this is when it begins to feel most like itself.