What to Do: The handsome village of Stow-on-the-Wold, just off the A429, has scores of high-quality antiques shops. First stop: Durham House Antiques, at the end of an alley off the main square. In 1995, Pennsylvanian Lee Materia took over a derelict former stable where GIs kept their jeeps in World War II; it now houses 30 dealers' wares, with everything from samplers to Art Deco chandeliers, though most is from the seventeenth century to the mid-Victorian period. In addition to being an authority on antiques, Anglophile Materia is extremely knowledgeable about the history of the local area (Sheep St.; 44-145-187-0404). Huntington Antiques, opposite the church, is the United Kingdom's biggest stockist of early period furniture: Its one-of-a-kind pieces, such as an intricately carved James I oak four-poster and a thirteenth-century jousting panel featuring George and the Dragon, wouldn't look out of place in a museum (Church St.; 44-145-183-0842). Tudor House, opposite the post office, is strong on Arts and Crafts—check out its range of antique sewing implements, fountain pens, and corkscrews, plus porcelain from the 1450 Hoi An wreck (Sheep St.; 44-145-183-0021)—while Styles of Stow has the largest assortment of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century grandfather clocks in the U.K. (Sheep St.; 44-145-183-0455). Stock up on English country garb, including waxed Barbour jackets and the queen's (and Kate Moss's) favorite, Hunter wellies, at Mangan & Webb Saddlery and Country Clothing (Digbeth St.; 44-145-183-1245). Don't miss Fox Cottage, on the same street, where green etched wineglasses, delicate silverware, and antique garden implements are lovingly displayed over two stories. Before you leave Stow, swing by the Cotswold Sweet Company for homemade copper pan fudge and traditional British candies like rhubarb-and-custards and gobstoppers, displayed in glass jars (The Square; 44-145-187-0135).

The next morning, take a break from antiques for a taste of the new Cotswolds. Daylesford Organic is a 7,000-acre farm that grows and sells exclusively organic produce, as well as clothing and tasteful home and gardening accessories. Park among the SUVs and Toyota Priuses, then browse the colorful seasonal vegetables, jams, chutneys, and cheeses (help yourself to samples of Stinking Bishop) in the vaulted barn, before joining the yummy mummies in the café for terrine of Daylesford venison or a ploughman's lunch with cheddar and a pork pie. Pick up a pot of the estate's green paint so you can re--create the Cotswolds look back home, and stop by the HayBarn Spa for a treatment or a spot of laughter therapy, one of the quirky workshops run there (44-160-873-1700; daylesfordorganic.com). Next, drive to Broadway Tower, a gothic folly built in 1799—on a clear day you can see 13 counties from the top (broadwaytower.co.uk). In the gorgeous village of Broadway, drop in at H.W. Keil, if only to gawk at the grand oak-paneled house, built in 1632. As for the antiques, the highly polished mahogany, yew wood refectory tables, and eighteenth-century portraits of English ladies aren't bad, either (67 High St.; 44-138-685-2408). Fenwick & Fenwick has miniature chests of drawers, created by apprentices, that make great jewelry boxes, and an array of lace bobbins and tea caddies, plus eighteenth-century games like solitaire and chess (88-90 High St.; 44-138-685-3227). Pick up gifts for the folks back home at Cotswold Trading, including Emma Bridgewater's Union Jack china and Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries. To see where some of your antique finds may have started life, visit Chastleton House, a perfectly preserved Jacobean estate run by the National Trust; the rules of croquet were laid down on its lawn (nationaltrust.org.uk; 44-149-475-5560).