TDN Weekend

Cheltenham itself to the reelers and bounc- ers – and instead to head for the hills, and one of countless honey-coloured villages and market towns huddled among the Cots- wolds. True, those whose lodgings are within walking distance of the track will be spared the atrocious tailbacks out of the car parks. Once breaking free, however, the pace of a frenetic week can be more temperately and enjoyably sustained out in the shire. Winchcombe, as the easiest to reach, achieves a happy medium: bustling but not riotous and even extending to a Michelin star at Restaurant 5 North Street. Also rec- ommended is the Good Pub Guide's New Pub of the Year, the Lion Inn, and Wesley House for dinner. You are always liable to run into a top Irish trainer of two enjoying the décor and fare at The White Hart, while The Plaisterers' Arms and The Corner Cup- board are ideal venues to batten down the hatches for a good, old-fashioned session of food and ale. Stow-on-the-Wold is a longer drive, but rewards the effort with an abundance of tearooms and coffee shops, delicatessens and bookshops, not to mention several inns and taverns largely clustered around the square – including a minor classic in The Queen's Head, a charming and convivial old den of the type they just don't make any more. Chipping Campden is another worthwhile test of stamina, after a long day, as an ar- chitectural gem offering options to suit all palates and pockets. The Eight Bells is rock-solid, with a lively atmosphere, fine ale and food, while sophisticated cuisine at The Chef's Dozen receives rave reviews. At the other end of the spectrum, The Volunteer is crowded with locals and punters watching replays of the racing, with a surprise twist on the far side of the bar in the shape of an Indian restaurant. It is only a short hop, meanwhile, to an inn full of charm and char- acter in the Ebrington Arms; and likewise to the Seagrave Arms at Weston Subedge. But when your browsing can take you to Burford, Broadway or Bourton-on-the- Water, just from the second letter in any Cotswold directory, you really can't go far wrong in plotting your own path. There are dozens of smaller villages, after all, whose single pub can vary hugely. The Swan at Swinbrook, for instance, is a widely cele- brated idyll – and not just among devotees of the Mitford sisters, raised local – while the proximity of leading racing stables will guarantee a lively scene at the likes of the Plough at Ford, or the Hollow Bottom at Gu- 65

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