On a sunny Saturday afternoon in August, we set out on a coco couples adventure to the Cotswold’s to escape city life…

Located above an unassuming pub in Stow-on-the-wold, The Bell hosts a set of neat and whimsical wonderland themed rooms. Our check-in was quick and the staff really friendly and approachable. Once we went up to the room we stayed a little while to enjoy the decor and see the thoughtful additions such as the ‘Eat me’ and ‘Drink me’ bottles on the tea tray. The greatest addition was the help-card left for us mentioning that in case we forgot anything at home, they had certain necessities downstairs for us should we need. Safe to say this definitely came in handy as I always forget something! The view from our ivy-draped window across the green countryside was so inspiring and enticed us to get out and about.

Exploring the Cotswolds

After admiring our room, we headed straight out to explore our beautiful surroundings. We found Stow-on-the-wold a perfect location for a first-time visit to the Cotswolds, as it is full of quaint tea rooms, arts and craft shops, and located only a four minute drive from other neighbouring villages. Naturally, we were in our element strolling around Stow and we even managed to drop into a tea-room for a quick afternoon tea before heading off to explore the surrounding countryside and villages. For a stroll down the river we headed to Bourton-on-the-water and paused by a pub garden to take in more of the quintessential Cotswold architecture. We also managed to explore Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter, where you will find an amazing old Mill turned into a museum and vintage shop.

Food at The Bell

We returned to our room at the Bell shortly before dinner and headed downstairs where live music was beginning to play. One of the loveliest things we found about the Bell at Stow was that it is a nicely decorated and down-to-earth pub, but the food is most certainly not your usual pub grub. The roast dishes looked absolutely enviable and were so in-demand that there was no more available (meaning it must taste as fabulous as it looked). After eyeing up the many mouthwatering plates around the room, we settled for starters of chicken, apricot and pistachio terrine with chutney and sourdough toast and a smoked salmon, crab, green apple and fennel salad with chilli dressing. For mains we went for a rib eye steak with salad and chips. After the generous portion sizes, we managed to share a desert of iced Cotswold gin and lime parfait with lavender shortbread as we wanted something small and a little bit different to a normal dessert. The recommended dessert wines on the menu were a really nice touch.

Fancy exploring the Bell at Stow yourself?

https://www.thebellatstow.com/

Twitter: @TheBellatStow

Facebook: @thebellstow

Author

Northern girl Laura is the epitome of a true entrepreneur. Laura’s spirit for adventure and passion for people blaze through House of Coco. She founded House of Coco in 2014 and has grown it in to an internationally recognised brand whilst having a lot of fun along the way. Travel is in her DNA and she is a true visionary and a global citizen.

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