We went to Northleach (and found a café inside a prison)

Hello Cotswolders,

Hopefully you've been able to get out and enjoy some of this glorious weather over the last week or so.

Last week we said we'd be heading off to Northleach and Good Friday turned out to be a good day for it. Quiet streets, dry although a bit windy, but spring was in the air and blossom was just coming out around the mill pond.

Exactly the kind of Cotswolds morning we started this newsletter for.

Here's what we found

St Peter & St Paul is one of those churches that stops you in your tracks. Known as the Cathedral of the Cotswolds, and standing outside it you can see why - the scale of it, the stonework, the way it sits so confidently in what is otherwise a small market town.

It was open for Good Friday visitors and we spent a good while inside, helped along by a brilliant volunteer who, despite it being her first day, really knew her stuff. Well worth the time.

The Wheatsheaf Inn looks exactly as a Cotswolds inn should, ivy-clad stone, the lot. We didn't eat there this time, but it's firmly on the list. They've got a quiz night coming up which might be just the excuse we need.

The Old Prison Kitchen & Café is housed in a Grade II* listed Georgian prison just outside the village centre, and it's one of those places I've driven past hundreds of times telling myself I'd go in one day.

That day finally came on Good Friday, or so I thought. It was closed. Ironically, we were locked out of the old prison instead of being locked in.

So we went home for a cup of tea instead.

We will be going back properly, and we'll write it up on the site when we do.

This week: Bibury

We're turning our attention to Bibury next, possibly the most photographed village in England, and somehow still worth it in person.

We're thinking of doing one of the walks into the village rather than driving, since parking there on a spring weekend is its own kind of adventure.

We're also still running our competition — afternoon tea for two at The Swan at Bibury, right on the river.

Free to enter, no catch.

👉 cotswolddigest.com/competitions - Winner drawn Wednesday 6 May.

What's on this week?

This Sunday is Macchina Cotswolds at The Dial House, Bourton-on-the-Water (12th April)

Supercars and classics taking over one of the prettiest courtyards in the region. A great excuse to be in Bourton on a Sunday morning.

An Evening with Prue Leith, Wednesday 15 April Cirencester for an evening of stories, laughter, live Q&A and a book signing. Intimate and well worth it if you can still get a ticket.

Live Lambing is still on this weekend, but is coming to an end finishing on Sunday 19 April 2026.

Also in April

The Arabica Sessions Presents Jack James being held at Coffee at Odd Socks

Friday 24 April — Coffee at Odd Socks, Cirencester

DJ Jack James and guests host The Arabica Sessions, serving up your favourite house, disco, funky, piano and club classics. The perfect way to kick off a weekend.

Help us build this

We want Cotswold Digest to reflect the places people actually love, not just the ones that shout the loudest.

If you know of an event worth featuring, a pub that deserves more attention, a walk we should try, or a hidden gem we'd be mad to miss, simply reply to this email or drop us a note at hello@cotswolddigest.com.

Follow along

We'll be sharing more from our Northleach visit and our upcoming Bibury trip over on Facebook. Come and find us.

Until next Thursday,

Alex and the Cotswold Digest team