The Cotswolds Part III: Opening Night at The Bell at Charlbury

This post is Part III of of our week-long trip to the Cotswolds, find Parts I here & Part II here.

During our time at the Fox at Oddington, we learned that Daylesford Stays was opening a new country pub with rooms in the nearby town of Charlbury. Their opening night happened to be the last night of our trip, and we jumped at the chance to be one of the first to try it out. The 17th century pub known as The Bell is set in the center of a picturesque Cotswold market town. As with all Daylesford properties, original features were carefully restored, and local and recycled materials were used to minimize the impact on the environment as The Bell was given It’s new look. Each of the 12 rooms are designed to feel like a home away from home with beautiful textiles and calming color palettes. We stayed in room number three in The Barn and I absolutely loved the tester canopy above the bed - so much so I’m contemplating re-creating, something very similar in our own primary bedroom.

There are usually a few kinks to work out on the opening night of any restaurant or hotel, so we were amazed when our stay was so flawless. We booked a table in the pub, which is laid out in a series of cozy rooms, and each table felt very private whether tucked next to a fireplace, or nestled into a corner clad and beautiful, botanical prints. David and I both both ordered the local game Partridge and love that it came with a subtle disclosure: "Caution game may contain shot." The whole meal was incredible and the best dinner we had in our week-long trip to the countryside. It’s hard to get everything right on opening night, but from the ambience to the food to the service we loved it all.

We generally are early risers and try to keep this habit up even when traveling, so the next morning we woke at 7 AM and popped on some cozy clothes to wander the town before breakfast. The light in the Cotswolds is always beautiful, but especially in the early morning hours , when the honey colored stone of the village just glows. Back at The Bell, we settled in for breakfast at one of the country tables in the main dining room. They served the most delicious sourdough bread, which I enjoyed along with eggs and salmon and David ordered his standard a full English breakfast beore packing up and heading into London for the day.

We left our stay at The Bell and can’t wait to revisit it and explore other Daylesford stays on our next trip to the Cotswolds!

OUTFIT DETAILS:

J.Crew green wax jacket

Alex Mill Betty sweater

DL1961 maternity jeans (size down)

J.Crew cognac suede ankle boots

Mark Cross grace box bag in acorn

Fleur Sauvage twilly scarf c/o (20% off with code “stacie20”)