Opening Night at The Pig in the Cotswolds

David and I generally try to visit England each September, and last year we had hoped to stay at Barnsley House on the edge of the Cotswolds - heralded as one of the most romantic hotels in England. Unfortunately it was fully booked for our dates so I made a note to look into it for the next year. Much to our surprise, when I pulled up their site a month ago I learned Barnsley was closed, but it would be reborn as the newest Pig Hotel, one of our favorite hotel groups in England.

As it turned out, we booked our stay for their opening weekend, and we were among the first to check in. When we pulled up to The Pig in the Cotswolds, our baby boy was napping in the car, so I popped out with my camera to take a look around. The grounds are indeed incredibly beautiful and the garden was created by famed garden designer Rosemary Verey. A shopkeeper in Tetbury told me the property has been on the market a handful of times over the last few decades and locals have been afraid to take it on, for fear they wouldn't do the garden justice. But as we checked in the last of the summer flowers were still in bloom, and the gardens were looking gorgeous, ready to welcome the new hotel's eager guests.

I had booked our stay in two parts, which meant we needed to switch rooms in the middle of our trip but it was actually wonderful to experience two different, beautifully appointed spaces. Our first night was in Room #5 on the third floor, with it's cozy green bedroom and charming bathroom with a freestanding tub. The bedroom and bathroom were connected by a small hallway which was was wonderful to have a little separation between the spaces for nap time. Our second room was positioned on the backside of the house overlooking the gardens, and done up in calming lavender hues, with a bathroom the size of our primary bedroom back home, complete with chaise lounge next to the sinks!

We had such incredible weather during our stay, we could have devoted our entire time to eating, drinking and playing in the gardens. As it turns out, Barnsley was nicely located near a few things we wanted to do and see, from getting lost in Burford Garden Company, to antiquing in Tetbury (the antiquing capital of the Cotswolds) to popping by the picturesque town of Bibury before lunch at The Village Pub. We came back to the Pig each night to enjoy dinner at the hotel. Their 25 mile menu is gorgeous and much of the produce comes from their own kitchen garden, the rest is sourced from local farms no more than 25 miles from the property itself. (And the food is GOOD.) Since this was the first stop on our trip we were all a bit jet lagged (baby included) so he joined us at dinner each night, happily sampling the bread and veggies, and making friends with the maître d'hôtel, who picked him up and walked him around the restaurant for 5 minutes to give us a moment to enjoy our dessert. Despite the extra effort, I absolutely love traveling with a baby, as it opens the door for you to interact with local people on a whole new level, resulting in some very sweet encounters.

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