During a recent stay in Oxfordshire, we drove through the pretty little market town of Woodstock and vowed to stop over on the way back to Southampton. Situated on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds, the historic town of Woodstock and home to the glorious Blenheim Palace is absolutely worth the visit and has a 900-year record of hospitality.
The town has gorgeous Georgian facades, walls of Cotswold stone and beautifully curated gardens making it a total dream to wander around. We spent just over an hour there with our main objective being to find a really great coffee shop and some lunch to enjoy on our way home and boy did we score big on the foodie front.
There were three spots in particular we really enjoyed, so much so, we're itching to book a little B&B and visit again for the weekend. Hopefully next time we'll be able to visit Blenheim Palace too.
The first place we found ourselves in was Woodstock Coffee Shop - voted as 'the best coffee in Oxfordshire' by the Daily Telegraph, it sells artisan coffee served alongside deliciously tempting pastries, cakes, focaccia and more. We walked in and the smell of freshly poured coffee hit us while the coffee house itself was filled with happy customers enjoying themselves. It just felt like such a lovely place to visit with friends or family.
We ordered oat flat whites and pastries to takeaway, we just couldn't resist the cinnamon and apple buns! It felt incredibly welcoming and the baristas were so warm and friendly as we told them our plight of a weekend in a hotel without any decent coffee. So glad this was where we stumbled into first.
Whilst waiting for our coffee in Woodstock Coffee Shop we spied Hampers Deli & Cafe across the road so that was our next stop for lunch on the drive home. Hampers Food & Wine are known as the best curators and creators of Great British product serving up delicious homemade quiche, sausage rolls and baked goods.
You can eat in or takeaway with seating outside and a gorgeous cosy area inside. We ordered more coffee, hog roast sausage rolls, gluten-free brownies and fresh pistachio cannoli to take with us. A great little deli with super friendly staff.
Our final stop during our short time in Woodstock was Alfonso Gelateria - super cute, full of character and friendly staff. We ordered one final coffee for the road here coming away with creamy flat whites, a KeepCup each because we couldn't resist and a sample of their oh so delicious gelato.
Alfonso Gelateria stemmed from owner Lewis' love of gelato after being born and raised in Rome. You can find an array of delicious flavours but we opted for the Cappucino flavour (as if we hadn't already had enough coffee!) and it was perfect. It was such a happy discovery and now I'm desperate for them to expand into Hampshire - maybe one day.
