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The biggest mistake visitors make when planning a trip to the Cotswolds is assuming it's a village.
Many first-time visitors arrive with a mental picture of the Cotswolds: a church, a village green, a cosy pub and rows of honey-coloured cottages.
In reality, the Cotswolds is a designated National Landscape covering almost 800 square miles across several counties. It contains dozens of villages, market towns, historic landmarks, walking routes and areas of countryside, each with its own character.
This misunderstanding often reveals itself when guests begin planning their itinerary.
Recently, I spoke to a guest staying in Painswick who planned to visit Bourton-on-the-Water in the morning, stop in Bibury for a photograph of Arlington Row, nip over to Diddly Squat Farm Shop, return to their cottage to get ready, and then slowly head to The Bull in Charlbury for dinner.
At this point, I usually have to gently intervene.
Whilst all of those places are indeed within the Cotswolds, they are not neighbours. What looks delightfully close together on a map often involves winding country roads, a few unexpected wrong turns, tractors making their merry slow way between fields, and the occasional flock of sheep deciding they have somewhere more important to be.
One of the reasons people fall in love with the Cotswolds is that it still feels remarkably untouched.
Much of the landscape, many of the villages and even the roads themselves were established long before modern transport existed.
This is not a place built around efficiency. It was not designed with direct routes, tight schedules or seeing five attractions in a single afternoon in mind.
Roads curve around hills rather than through them. Villages sit where they have sat for centuries. What appears to be a short journey on a map can easily become a leisurely drive through countryside, woodland and stone-built villages.
Whilst all of this may require a little more patience, it is also part of the reason the Cotswolds feels so special.
Here, tractors still make their merry slow way between fields, and the occasional flock of sheep may decide they have somewhere more important to be.
The answer depends entirely on what you want to see.
If your list includes Painswick, Bibury, Bourton-on-the-Water, Broadway Tower and Clarkson's Farm, a long weekend will feel very different to a week-long stay.
Many visitors arrive believing they can "do the Cotswolds" in a few days. Most leave wishing they had stayed longer.
Not because they missed a famous attraction, but because they discovered villages they wanted to explore further, walks they didn't have time to take and pubs they wished they could return to.
Perhaps the easiest way to understand the Cotswolds is to think of it not as a destination, but as dozens of destinations woven together by countryside.
The most enjoyable trips are rarely the ones built around a checklist. They are the ones that leave room for curiosity.
Leave time to stop when a village catches your eye.
Take the scenic route when you can.
Allow a little longer than you think you'll need.
The Cotswolds has been here for centuries. It isn't going anywhere.
And neither should you rush through it.