This morning, enjoy a lay-in or join Sophie on a country walk from our hotel surveying the countryside around Upper and Lower Slaughter.   

In the late morning, venture to Sudeley Castle, which sits near the village of Winchcombe and was home to the scheming Thomas Seymour, brother of Queen Jane.

Today it remains the only private castle in England to have a queen buried within the grounds – Queen Katherine Parr, the last and surviving wife of King Henry VIII – who lived and died here. Enjoy a private tour of Queen Katherine’s tomb, the award-winning gardens, and the castle rooms which are still lived in by the family and house an art collection including paintings by Turner and van Dyck. Have a light lunch together at Sudeley before our upcoming food tour.

Next stop, Bourton-on-the-Water. It really is, too: the village straddles the river Windrush with no fewer than five bridges. We're doing a foodie tour along its banks and through the village itself, stopping at Cotswolds Ice Creams, tucking into a cream tea at Bakery on the Water (possibly the best scones yet?) and ending at the Hawkstone Brewery (run by the Cotswold Brewing Company, which makes cider, beer and gin in partnership with Jeremy Clarkson). We'll stop at the famous Model Village along the way - a perfect replica of the village at one-ninth scale from 1937.

Enjoy leisure time and dinner back at our hotel.

LORDS OF THE MANOR (B, L, D)