Bridge Farm Holiday Cottages

HOTEL OVERVIEW

You know what? I’ve driven past Bridge Farm countless times on the way to Broadway, but I never realized what a gem was tucked away here until my sister booked us a long weekend. These aren’t your typical holiday cottages – they’re the real deal, proper farm buildings that have been converted with actual thought and care, not just slapped together for tourists.

The whole setup sits right in Cow Honeybourne (yes, that’s actually the name, and locals will look at you funny if you just say Honeybourne), which honestly feels like it hasn’t changed much since the 1950s. There’s something genuinely peaceful about waking up to actual countryside sounds – I mean proper birdsong and the occasional tractor, not traffic pretending to be rural. The cottages themselves have this solid, no-nonsense feel that you get with old farm buildings. Thick walls that actually keep the heat in, proper wooden beams that aren’t just for show, and – this surprised me – really decent kitchens. My cottage had everything I needed to cook properly, which is rare in holiday lets where you’re usually stuck with one blunt knife and a microwave that’s seen better days.

What makes this place work is that it doesn’t try too hard. The owners clearly live on-site (you’ll see them around, friendly but not hovering), and they’ve kept that working farm atmosphere without making it feel like a theme park. Parking’s never an issue – there’s loads of space, which anyone who’s tried to navigate Chipping Campden in summer will appreciate. The location’s actually brilliant if you want to explore the Cotswolds without dealing with the crowds. You’re about fifteen minutes from Chipping Campden, twenty from Broadway, and honestly the back roads around here are some of the prettiest driving you’ll find. There’s a decent pub in the village (The Gate Inn – nothing fancy but good food and they know how to keep beer), and if you need proper shops, Evesham’s close enough.

I’ll be honest, it’s not luxurious in that spa-weekend sense – don’t expect Egyptian cotton sheets or someone bringing you breakfast in bed. But that’s sort of the point. It’s comfortable, it’s genuine, and it’s the kind of place where you actually relax instead of feeling like you need to make the most of expensive amenities. The WiFi works fine (I had to do some work emails), it’s properly quiet at night, and check-in was refreshingly straightforward – none of that awkward small talk while they explain seventeen different systems.

The whole area comes alive in spring and early summer, but I actually loved it in October when we went. Crisp mornings, proper autumn colors, and you’ve got the place more or less to yourself. Fair warning though – you’ll need a car. This isn’t somewhere you can rock up to by train and walk everywhere, but if you’re planning a proper Cotswolds trip anyway, Bridge Farm gives you a genuine taste of rural life without the tourist markup you get closer to the honey-stone villages.