When it comes to quintessential English countryside, there is nowhere quite like the Cotswolds, with its rolling farmland crisscrossed with hedgerows and picture postcard villages hewn from Jurassic limestone. Here are a few of our favourite Cotswold settlements to explore on your next visit to Karma Salford Hall, our elegant Tudor bolthole on the edge of this bucolic paradise…
1. Chipping Campden
This wool merchants’ mediaeval masterpiece unfolds along a perfectly preserved high street where limestone is set alight by the sun. St James’ Church spire is a prominent landmark, whilst the ancient market hall stands sentinel over centuries of commerce and quiet contemplation.
2. Bourton-on-the-Water
Sometimes described somewhat erroneously as the “Venice of the Cotswolds,” this village’s shallow River Windrush meanders beneath low stone bridges, holding its own special charm. Families gather beside willow-fringed banks whilst ducks paddle in placid waters reflecting Georgian cottages. There’s even a Model Village offering an enchanting reflection in miniature of this lovely settlement.
3. Stow-on-the-Wold
Perched on a hilltop where eight ancient roads converge, this market town’s expansive square once hosted massive sheep fairs featuring up to 20,000 animals at any one show . Today, antique shops and galleries fill honey-coloured buildings, whilst the Norman church bears witness to centuries of pilgrims, traders, and dreamers seeking solace.
4. Bibury
William Morris declared this “the most beautiful village in England,” and Arlington Row’s weavers’ cottages are some of the most photographed buildings in England. The River Coln’s purling waters are home to trout that dart between watercress beds. You’d be hard pressed to imagine a more classically English pastoral scene than this.
5. Upper Slaughter
Perhaps the Cotswolds’ most photographed village, Upper Slaughter is characterised by a gentle brook flowing past limestone cottages crowned with Cotswold stone tiles. The 12th-century church overlooks water meadows where sheep have grazed for centuries, creating scenes that inspired countless artists and poets through the ages.
