A Cozy Cotswolds Christmas
Issue 004: Cowley Manor, the English stately home where Lewis Carroll conceived Alice in Wonderland, is a charming place to adventure down the rabbit hotel and spend a storybook festive season.
Introduction
Nowhere nails the festive season quite like the UK. I may be biased, since it’s my homeland, but the whole country really goes all-out for Christmas—I think partly due to the fact that, as a nation, we don’t lean quite as hard into holidays at any other time of year. So this one’s really ours. It helps that Diwali, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah also fall around the same point in the calendar, so the majority of Brits are in the “spirit” at the same time. The British countryside also really lends itself to the “Christmas” aesthetic: it’s cute, cozy, and usually cold. You’ve seen The Holiday. (And if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?!) Snow may becoming less and less likely, but the cottages, pubs, and village greens decked with twinkling decorations, fir trees, and fairy lights are enough to make even the Scrooges amongst us feel extra festive.
I travel back to England every year to spend Christmas with my family (I’ve only ever missed one, in 2020), and we celebrate in the traditional (non-religious) British way. That means plenty of mulled wine, mince pies, exchanging gifts, overeating and getting very drunk with relatives… It’s something I look forward to each time around, and ever since I’ve lived abroad, it’s only become more special. Once I’m home, I always make a gingerbread house, decorate the Christmas cake, and complete the same cat-themed jigsaw puzzle with my parents and sister, and we all decorate the tree as a family with the most egregious yet hilarious ornaments collected over decades.
Last year, I arrived back 10 days before the 25th, and so found a little extra time for an overnight stay at an impressive—and impressively renovated—300-year-old stately home in the area of Gloucestershire better known as The Cotswolds. This house particularly intrigued me because, I was told, it was where author and poet Lewis Carroll devised his most famous work: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in 1865. Disney’s 1951 animated adaption is one of the earliest movies I remember watching as a child, and although it’s been many, many years since I read the book (but I have read it!), I’ve always felt a connection to this bizarre story.
Getting myself to Cowley Manor was not the easiest journey. After landing from NYC and taking the Heathrow Express to London’s Paddington Rail Station (because the new Elizabeth Line tube was down), I arrived to find that there was a major signal failure in the area, so my train and many others were announced as severely delayed. Not the best news if you’ve just come off a transatlantic red-eye. When I did make it onto a train that would take me to Cheltenham, I had to stand in the aisle for most of the way, but once I got a seat and could actually see out of the window, it became a very scenic ride as hillside villages, sheep-filled meadows, and the occasional church spire whizzed past.
Everyone at Cheltenham Station wanted a taxi, it transpired, and Uber was showing no drivers in this part of the world at the time, so I waited patiently in line for a car. A driver who was very friendly and far-too-talkative for my mood in the moment eventually picked me up, and gabbed my ear off for the entire 20-minute drive out to the countryside and through the gates of Cowley Manor. And I perked up immediately.
The Cotswolds
It’s easy to see why so many people love The Cotswolds. This postcard-perfect landscape arguably represents the best of quintessential English countryside. Set amongst rolling green hills dotted with sheep and nestled into valleys with babbling streams, the villages that make up The Cotswolds typically comprise quaint cottages all built with the same limestone facades and slate or thatched roofs, dry stone walls, wildflower gardens, and plenty of greenery.
Thanks to this idyllic charm and its close proximity to London, the area has always been popular with visitors, and it’s always been expensive. But over the past decade or so, the number of luxury hotels that have opened in the large historic buildings dotted across this part of the country has increased dramatically, catering to even more tourists with deep pockets. With plenty of rooms and sprawling grounds, these country manors are ideally suited as accommodation, and therefore are being utilized as such. Better than them falling into disrepair, IMO.
Across The Cotswolds, there are so many quaint little villages to explore, and vast estates (or cozy pubs, if that’s more your thing) to stay at, that you could return time and again—and many do. The downside? It’s England, so it’s usually wet and rarely warm. But late spring (May/June) and September typically offer the best weather without too many crowds. That said, despite it being busy and pricey, I’m still advocating for visiting in December. Yes it’s chilly, and yes you only get about six hours of daylight at a time, but the copious festive cheer and the bountiful decorations everywhere make it so worthwhile.
Bourton-on-the-Water
A quick shout-out for the utterly charming little village that I took my partner (ahem, husband, as of last month!) to on his first trip to the UK in 2021, which was also my first time back in almost two years following the pandemic. All very emotional, and it felt like a homecoming of sorts, so I leaned into rediscovering and appreciating my roots as I showed Jonathan around too. We spent the first few days in London, then rented a car and drove west to stop for lunch in Oxford before venturing deeper into the countryside.
I wanted us both to enjoy a classic Cotswolds experience, and after some fairly thorough research, I opted for us to spend the night in Bourton-on-the-Water. Located towards the northern end of the designated Cotswolds Area of Natural Beauty, the village is bisected by the River Windrush, which runs parallel to its High Street and is crossed by several stone bridges flanked by weeping willow trees. It’s Cotswolds charm at its finest, and Jonathan was suitably smitten.
There are quite a few small hotels, bed and breakfasts, guesthouses, and rentable cottages in the village, as well as several restaurants, cafes, small shops, and of course, pubs. We spent our time poking our heads into all of them, and purchased a few souvenirs, then had dinner at The Rose Tree—a “gastro pub” that served all the British classics (I think I had Bangers & Mash). The next day we wandered around some more, taking in the scenery while I explained things like why all the houses are covered in moss.
Right behind The Old New Inn—the clean and certainly old, but otherwise fairly unremarkable B&B where we spent the night—was our highlight of the short Cotswolds excursion: A model village! Representing Bourton-on-the Water at one-ninth scale, this miniature recreation is the only Grade II listed model village in the country, and is built from Cotswold stone to an almost scarily accurate level of mimicry. Wandering through its “streets” is great way to understand the layout of the village (not that it’s very complicated) and perfect for pretending you ate the wrong mushroom and grew into a giant, just like Alice did in Wonderland. What’s more, the model village included… an even smaller model village! We were unable to tell if this scaling down continues ad infinitum, but we presumed it does.
Later this month, we’re planning a return trip to BOTW with a whole crew of Jonathan’s family and friends from Miami, before our Christmas festivities with my family in Leicestershire. I’m hoping they fall for its bucolic cuteness as much as we did, and I’m looking forward to taking some better photos this time around. Maybe the sun will come out this time?! Ha.
Cowley Manor Experimental
Like many of England’s country manors, Cowley Manor is a sight to behold. The estate—with its Grade II listed stone buildings including the house, a church, and several outbuildings—has a storied past beyond being Carroll’s muse. The land once belonged to King Edward the Confessor, and was exchanged for the patch on which he constructed Westminster Abbey in London. The first “manor” property was built on the site in 1695, while the grand Italianate structure that now serves as the hotel rose from the earlier footprint in 1855 and was designed by renowned architect RA Briggs.
Carroll spent his time at Cowley not long after this iteration was completed (more on that shortly), then it was later used as a refuge during the Second World War. The house was turned into a boutique hotel in 2002, before it was acquired in 2022 by the Experimental Group, which has 11 hotels across Europe under its banner—all with artfully imagined interiors. I’ve stuck my nose into the Ibiza property (more on Ibiza in Issue 002), and written about the outpost in Biarritz, and both are beautiful.
After extensive renovations, Cowley Manor reopened in its current guise in 2023—not long before I arrived. It boasts 55 acres of landscaped grounds, a portion of which guests drive through from the entrance gates up to the manor house. The scenery is very Cotswolds, with rolling pastures and clusters of woodland, mixed in with the landscaping interventions. Inside, however, is far from what you might expect from a historic country home.
Architecture & Design
Experimental Group’s longstanding collaborator, French designer Dorothée Meilichzon, really ran with the whimsy of Carroll’s Wonderland throughout the interiors. Her signature bold, colorful aesthetic is peppered with both subtle and blatant nods to the book and its characters as an homage to the estate’s history. It’s refreshing to see such a playful approach to decorating an old house, and Meilichzon managed to create an aesthetic that’s fun, unexpected, and highly original while still respecting the period architecture and ornate detailing. Stuffy and stuck in the past it certainly is not.
Another nerdy fact while we’re here: Cowley Manor was the first private house in England to use modern concrete, a new innovation at the time it was built. And from early on, the site included a major spa complex with Roman, Greek, and Turkish steam rooms, and a set of varied-temperature pools. This was given a major upgrade for today’s guests (see amenities).
Guest Rooms
Of Cowley Manor’s 36 guest rooms and suites, most are located in the main house, joined by several within a former stable building close to the spa. They vary quite a bit in size, and some have private terraces, but all follow the same design language. Hints of Alice’s adventures can be spotted here and there, such as rabbit ornaments and brass room door knockers, and checkered tiles and patterns that appear in Carroll’s sequel Through the Looking Glass.
My room, no. 30, was on the top floor and faced the grounds and lake, so the view was particularly splendid. As one of the Petite Cowley rooms, it’s among the smallest the hotel offers but was still plenty spacious. The bedroom is decorated in blue and green tones, with accents provided by red table lamps and walnut panels around a bar set into the wardrobe.
More impressive was the bathroom, which is the same size as the bedroom and decked out in pale pink and red. A lacquered freestanding tub is placed beside a fireplace inlaid with checkered tiles, while a central double vanity is affixed to a mirrored wall that partially enclosed the dual-access rain shower behind it.
Amenities
Plenty of lounge spaces for curling up with a book, including a dedicated library room and another with a pool table, are available for Cowley guests to use at their leisure. I got the impression that most of my fellow guests were there to do just that, and the vibe was very peaceful—even studious—both during the day and at night. Everyone was there to relax and unwind, and I don’t blame them.
I sadly didn’t have time to take advantage of the spa, but I did poke my head in and it looked very enticing. Named C-Side, the wellness center occupies a contemporary building set low and partially into the hillside, boasting tranquil views of the woodland through floor-to-ceiling glass windows. There’s a 15-meter (50-foot) outdoor pool that’s open all year round, but probably best saved for summer, and a 17-meter, slate-lined indoor pool that I wish I’d been able to enjoy. One of the treatments from the menu of various massages and facials would’ve been nice too.
Dining & Drinking
Cowley’s restaurant is located in what was presumably the ballroom once upon a time: a large room overlooking the terrace and lake, with beautifully carved wood paneling across the walls, parquet flooring, and an impressive marble fireplace that was sheathed in a sizable garland for Christmas. During the day, the space is flooded with light from the row of tall windows, while thick curtains keep it cozy after dark. The contemporary furniture provides a stark contrast, and the round-edged lacquered tables, pendant lamps hung on thick ropes, and patterned banquette upholstery and carpets shouldn’t work—yet somehow they all do, and it’s very fun.
The dinner menu includes several updated takes on classic British dishes, while lunch is more along the lines of fresh salads and pastas. A traditional Sunday Roast is also served on the appropriate day. Breakfast is also served in this space, with a cornucopia of choices from the buffet laid out in an adjacent room, or a la carte options from the kitchen like eggs and, of course, a Full English.
Several of Experimental Group’s properties include a cocktail club, and at Cowley, this is located in a ground-floor bar. As a visual statement, the bar counter is colored royal blue—matching the low tables and select sofa upholstery, and all playing off the walnut wall panels. Open from midday to midnight, the bar serves a seasonal menu of drinks garnished with fresh herbs grown on the grounds, along with plenty of non-alcoholic options and a few snacks. Guests are welcome to enjoy an aperitif before dinner, a night cap, or a mid-afternoon tipple should they be inclined. There’s usually a DJ spinning to elevate the ambience, and the space can also be hired out for private events.
If you’re staying at Cowley for more than a couple of nights, it would be worth venturing into nearby Cheltenham or Gloucester for a wider variety of dining options, or to any of the pubs in the surrounding picturesque villages for added atmosphere and local flavor. Even if the food is mediocre, the beer will make up for it.
Wonderland Meets Swan Lake
Among Cowley Manor’s best assets are its grounds and gardens. It’s these that allegedly inspired Carroll’s Wonderland, particularly a small “secret garden” with curving stone paths, hidden niches, and overgrown foliage. There’s also a listed, statue-flanked cascading fountain—or “water staircase”—designed in the 19th century by James Hutchinson to flow into the River Churn, where it meets a large pool created by a weir. Multiple trails lead through the woodland, allowing guests and visitors to explore—sometimes guided by head gardener David Masters.
Because it’s England, and therefore usually wet and muddy underfoot, guests are able to borrow a pair of wellies (rain boots) from the hotel’s porch so that they can wander the tracks without ruining their shoes. I only had white trainers or suede boots with me, so I gladly took up the offer of some Hunters as I set off to look around close to dusk, which was probably around 3pm at that point in December.
I set out to encircle the small lake in front of the house, which I could see from my bedroom window as well as all of the south-facing, ground-floor spaces. The path took me from the main entrance, past the church, and around the side of the buildings down to the fountain, which the lake feeds. I reached it just as the sun set and the winter sky was streaked with pink and purple.
Gliding gracefully across the water’s surface I found a single white swan—a protected species in England, and technically owned by The Crown. Although they’re not rare, it’s always a joy for me to see swans, and watching this one bob for food in such a spectacular setting was very special. It made my brief, but very enjoyable, festive journey down the rabbit hole complete.
Thank Yous
Big thanks to Lorraine Desmazieres at Klante Communications for organizing my stay, and to the Experimental Group for accommodating me during a busy period. Thank you to all of the Cowley Manor staff for being so friendly and welcoming, and special snaps to whoever decorated the hotel for Christmas, you did a stellar job! Finally, to all Far-Flung Corners readers, thank you so much for your continued support, and I wish the happiest of holidays to all who celebrate. D xx
Well now I know exactly where I’m going for my next UK visit. Beautiful space.
absolutely obsessed with the guest room + bathroom design 👏🏻