There is so much to be excited about and celebrated in January. With a new year full of promise, it is also a time to reflect on what we can do to take care of our own wellbeing.
To kick start 2024 in the best way possible, we asked ‘The Queen of The Reset’ and renowned nutritionist Rose Ferguson to reveal her Insider’s Guide to the Cotswolds.
I’ve been lucky enough to call the Cotswolds my home for 13 years now, and visited long before that. I love living here.
The whole walk along the river between Eastleach and Southrop is a favourite, especially the babbling brook just outside Southrop.
From my kitchen: on a clear day you can see all the way to the Ridgeway!
I also love the view when you drive into Burford. Looking down the hill early on a winter’s day is magical.
Our house is surrounded by field after field and we are lucky that we are able to walk out of our house straight into them. The fields change appearance daily: in the summer many are planted as wildflower meadows, in the autumn the leaves look incredible, and then the steely winter months are quite dramatic.
Swimming in the lakes outside Minchinhampton is a great way to start to the day! Or going for a run around the Hatherop estate.
Getting a paddle board and hitting The Thames at Kelmscott is special. It’s quiet and feels like a secret part of the river.
I love visiting Oxford and we used to go to The Ashmolean a lot when the children were little.
My local pub The Bell at Langford is just brilliant, we eat there at least once a week and have had some good times in there. The Bull in Burford is exciting and the food is exceptional. Talking of Bulls and Bells – The Bull and The Bell in Charlbury are amazing too – as is the Chequers in Churchill and The Wild Rabbit in Kingham.
Hanging out at home with the whole family. Cooking is an escape and total joy for me; creating in the kitchen and then putting the fire on makes me very happy! The produce you can get locally is inspiring – Daylesford (obviously) and Upton Smokery, the butcher, and The New Wave Fish Shop in Lechlade.
That it’s just a summer destination. In fact, the Cotswolds is stunning in every season, each bringing its own unique charm and beauty.
Calm, crazy and home
Portrait imagery of Rose is kindly shared by Rose, you can follow her on Instagram here.
Winter in the Cotswolds is a season of retreat and refuge. Fields lie pale beneath the cold sky, villages seem suspended in stillness and a rare sense of calm and quiet descends over the landscape.
