Chipping Campden autumn colours are a sight to behold, especially against the Cotswold stone and crisp skies of the fall. No visit to Chipping Campden and the Cotswolds this autumn can be considered to be complete without spending time amongst the autumn colours and visiting these 5 key autumnal attractions in this beautiful Cotswold Town.
Places to Visit During a Chipping Campden Autumn Visit and Holiday
There are so many places to visit during Autumn in our beautiful town, but here are 5 key places you must go to during Autumn:
Chipping Campden High Street
Chipping Campden’s High Street is never more beautiful than when seen whilst walking to a pub or St James Church under a setting autumn sunset. To get more out of your day and visit, you could visit the Information Centre at The Old Police Station and put their Guided Walk onto your iPhone or tablet before setting out on a much more informed walk around Chipping Campden.
For those with more energy to spare, you can take a circular walk to Dovers Hill and even further afield. If you would prefer indoor activity, why not join them at The Academy of Flowers for one of their courses?
GWSR
There can be very few better ways of seeing the changing Chipping Campden autumn colours of the Cotswolds than taking a leisurely trip from Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse and back on the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Steam Railway.
Enhance your trip with a measured and very spectacular drive from Chipping Campden, up and along Kingcombe Lane, take the right fork alongside Weston Wood to the top of Saintbury Hill (with views over your shoulder towards Meon Hill), then left to up past Broadway Golf Course and then right down through Campden Hole before reaching Fish Hill and turning right towards Broadway.
Use the link below to get a bird’s eye view of the line:
Wheelchair users and those who are physically challenged can join the train at Toddington and enjoy their special carriage
Batsford Arboretum and Garden Centre
Located in Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh (GL56 9AT), this wheelchair-accessible Batsford Arboretum has 2,850 labelled specimens covering the world and particularly the Far East with 1,300 different trees, shrubs and bamboo and it has also held the National Collection of Japanese Flowering Cherries since 2002.
The collection of Acers with so many species of Japanese maples makes for fiery autumn of splendid colour. The oak trees look really beautiful and offer essential habitat for insects and birds; Sorbus – both Mountain Ash and Whitebeam varieties are well known for their large range of autumn berries and wonderful colour. A visit to Batsford will make your Chipping Campden autumn tour complete and is only a 12-minute (7 miles) drive away from Cotswold Charm.
For something different, Batsford is also home to The Cotswold Falconry Centre and around 150 Birds of Prey – many of which can be seen in free-flying demonstrations each day.
The new enlarged restaurant will be open from mid-September and provides excellent quality meals at very reasonable prices. The garden centre may also attract you.
Hidcote Manor Gardens
Autumn is a time for the senses – colours and scents will fill the air while birds enjoy the berries and quietly follow our gardeners around the garden looking for bugs.
Historically the Red Borders are in full bloom and visitors can hope to see colour across the garden in the late summer and autumn with sweet scents from the heliotropes and grasses catching the light as they move and dance.
The colours will be mainly warm as light catches; they will change and soften as September and autumn progress. Bronzes, yellows, oranges and reds will glow. Translucent seed heads will add structure and drama will come in the form of leaves changing through the trees and tapestry hedges throughout the garden.
Berries will be attracting the sound of birdsong; especially in the wilderness and will fill the air ‘like scent’. Robins will follow the garden team through the garden to collect the insects unearthed as a result of clearing the borders. The orchard will be full of smells, birds and insects feasting on the apples that are purposefully left to rot. The bonfire will smoke and the compost will be brought in, completing the decay cycle and helping the team prepare for the bedding-in of the garden.
Kiftsgate Court Garden
In September the garden is open on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays from 12 noon to 6 pm. There is no need to pre-book.
The recent first misty morning is telling us that autumn is just around the corner. A welcome relief from the heat of recent months with record temperatures and no rain. Some may remember the drought of 1976 and it may well be that this ear has been following suit.
The garden has held up well despite the drought but certain plants like the crocosmias have not fared well and the phloxes have flowered early and faded with the heat, other plants are thriving.
Lilies are such a bonus at this time of year flowering late and adding so much to the borders. They leave them in over winter with particular favourites are Sheherazade, Formia and the yellow and orange Turks cap in the yellow border, Leichnei. They seem to support themselves and this year and they have hardly seen a lily beetle which is wonderful.
By the time you arrive, the trees on the bank and the adjacent valley will be full of autumn colours and will make your Chipping Campden autumn colours experience complete.
