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NORTH COTSWOLDSDepending on where you are staying in the Cotswolds this will be the point you start this Romantic Tour of the North Cotswolds.

The drive will take you to Stow on the Wold, Winchcombe, Broadway, Bourton on the Water and Chipping Campden.

The journey is listing chronologically so if you join at location 10, then continue your way around to the end and then start at 1 to return to your start point.

COTSWOLDS DRIVES

DRIVE FOR DAY TWO

1.! Bourton on the Water.Leave the village and head for the A429 which is part of the Fosse Way, turn left sign posted Stow on the Wold. Continue along for a mile and then turn right, sign posted Lower and Upper Slaughter.

2.! Continue along Copse Hill Road into Lower Slaughter, bear left in the Centre of the village and head for Upper Slaughter. Both these villages are worth a walk around. We have covered them in “Towns and Villages”

3.! Leave Upper Slaughter, again bearing to your left and head for Naunton, B4068.

4.! Turn left and follow the lane for a mile before turning right into Naunton. Very good pub in the village Black Horse Inn.

5.! Leave the village on the same road and as you climb up the hill you will rejoin the B4068.

6.! Continue along this road until it joins the A436, sign posted Cheltenham.

7.! As you turn onto the main road you must immediately turn right to Hawling.

8.! Continue through the village and after the Church at the T junction turn right for Winchcombe and Roel. Stay on the road, which has excellent views, until you reach the wool town of Winchcombe.

It’s worth stopping here for a stroll around the town which dates back to Saxon times. In the 17th century, the area around the town was famous for

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its tobacco crop. All that remains today to remind us of this period is the street name “Tobacco Close”.

Today, the little town is dominated by the majestic wool church of St Peter’s. Look out for the grotesque carvings on the parapets. Some are demons and some are caricatures of local dignitaries. Look out for the mad hatter and the helmeted knight with stomach ache!

Whilst exploring, look out for the seven-holed stocks outside the town hall and the tiny house, reputed to be the smallest in Gloucestershire, tucked away on the right hand side of the main street. You will also find Sudley Castle which is a fine house and the gardens are open to the public. There are also some excellent short walks that can be taken from the village around the Castle and back to the village.

9.! Leave the Town, heading towards Broadway on the B4632. After 3 miles you will come to a roundabout. Take the third exit, sign posted Stow on the Wold, B4077.

10.! Just as you turn you will see on your right the GWR Railway. Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway. You can take a twenty mile round trip from here on an old steam locomotive to the Cheltenham racecourse and back.

11.! Continue along this road for under a mile and as you drive look to the left to see a splendid eye-catching pyramid on the hillside. This dates from 1750 and is located in the grounds of Stanway House. Take the left turn marked Stanway and Stanton.

12.! At the junction notice the beautiful George and Dragon memorial to the men of Stanway lost in the Great War. As you drop down the hill you will see

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Stanway House

gatehouse

the Jacobean Gate House to Stanway House.

13.! The road bears left around the local Stanway Church and then onto Stanton.

14.! At the junction rejoin the B4632,turning right towards Broadway.

15. You will pass turnings to, on your right, Laverton and Buckland. Continue on to Broadway, but as you approach the Town on your right at the bend, as it bears left,

West End Lane. It is a small road but it takes us up to Snowshill. At the end of the lane, turn right and follow the road up to Snowshill.

Stanway House

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Here you will find Snowshill Manor, “Places of Interest”, and the traditional village pub, Snowshill Arms.

16. From here take the road on your left to Chipping Campden. After half a mile on your left a small lane which takes you down to the Broadway Tower

17.! The road is called Buckle Street.

18.! When you have had a chance to look at the Tower, proceed down to

the main road, A44 and turn left into Broadway.19.! Broadway, with it’s wide main street is a delight. Take time to look at the excellent local shops, or coffee in one of the excellent cafes

Broadway Tower

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Built on an ancient beacon site, The Tower is a fine example of a folly, built in 1797 by the Earl of Coventry as a gift to his wife – from it, she could see her family’s home at Croome Court in Worcestershire. Needless to say, on a clear day, it commands magnificent views over the surrounding countryside.

The Tower was constructed with 74 steps and a room on each floor. Towards the end of the last century, William Morris spent a memorable summer holiday at the Tower with a group of

Pre-Raphaelite artist friends.

20.! At the roundabout turn right onto to B4632 to Willersey and then on to Weston sub Edge.

21.! At the Seagrove Arms turn right, down the hill and head for Chipping Campden. Again we cover this village in “Towns and Villages”

22.! Leave the village on the B4036 and then onto the B4081 to Mickleton.

23.! As you turn you will passfirstly on thr right Kiftsgate Court Gardens and on the right Hidcote Manor Gardens.

24.! Drive past these and when you reach the T junction turn right and head for Ilmington.

25.! From Ilmington we proceed to Armscote and then to Tredington.26.! You will arrive at a T junction, the Fosse Way, A429.

27.! Turn right and continue along this road to Moreton in Marsh.

28.! Moreton is a busy market town and again worth a little while to wander along it’s very wide High Street.

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29.! Leave along the A429 heading for Stow on the Wold.

30.! Our next village is Broadwell with its large Village Green and the well known pub, The Fox.

31.! Leave the village and we now enter Stow on the Wold. Know to the locals as the home of Scotts of Stow. Always worth a short stay but can be very busy.

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Both a major coaching stop and sheep town, this is the highest town in the North Cotswolds and is built around its enclosed market square to protect it from the elements. Daniel Defoe wrote that more than 20,000 sheep were sold in one day in Stow-on-the-Wold, a town more likely now to be thronged with visitors than with sheep, though there are still twice-yearly horse fairs.

The last great battle of the first English Civil War was fought here in 1646. The Royalists under Sir Jacob Astley were overwhelmed by the Cromwellian army, and many were imprisoned in Stow church. “The blood ran down Digbeth Street”. The Royalist Hotel is the oldest Inn in England, recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

Regularly voted one of the prettiest villages in England

Bourton-on-the-Water

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32.! From Stow on the Wold leave again on the Fosse Way, A429, heading out towards Bourton on the Water. Proceed down the hill and at the traffic lights bare left towards Burford.

33.! After 3 miles on your right you will see a turning for the Rissingtons. Upper, Great and Little Rissington. Stay on this small narrow road and we arrive back at the start of the drive Bourton on the Water.

As with our Day 1 Romantic Tour you can start this drive at any point along it’s route and continue through to your start point.

This drive takes us to the southern part of the Cotswold’s and we will be visiting North Leach, Burford, Lechlade, Bibury, Cirencester, Painswick and Cheltenham.

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SOUTH COTSWOLDS

DRIVE FOR DAY TWO

1. Cheltenham – we leave Cheltenham on the A40 heading east towards London. As you leave Cheltenham on your left hand side you will see a reservoir and immediately past this you will see a turning to Dowdeswell.

2. Take this lane, which immediately climbs up the Cotswold escarpment. Follow this road crossing one set of crossroads heading towards the village of Andoversford. Cross over the first main road, the old A436 and continue down the road to re-cross the new A436 to Withington.

You will pass the old, very large Monastery Church and the Mill Inn.

This Inn has large gardens with a brook running alongside them. Continue on the road signposted for Chedworth Villa and Yanworth. This is a small narrow country lane and as you drive along this lane you will come to the entrance to the Roman Villa. The villa is open to the public for a small entrance fee and is well worth a visit. It overlooks the River Coln.

3.! Continue along the lane through Yanworth and onto Northleach.

4.! Drive through the small market square in Northleach and take the left turn to Farmington. On arrival in Farmington take the road marked

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Sherborne, which meanders beside the Windrush River.

5. On arrival in Sherborne continue through and onto Windrush. On your left you will see another country lane, which will take you to Little Barrington and Barrington.

6. Little Barrington is situated in the heart of stone producing country and was the home of Thomas Strong who was the master mason for St Paul’s Cathedral.

7. From Barrington we will head to Burford.

8. Burford is a small market town, extremely popular with tourists but it has some excellent shops and a fine hotel. Burford and the hotel are covered in Where to Stay and also in Towns and Villages.

9. We leave Burford on the A361 driving up the hill to the large roundabout, carry straight over this roundabout on the A361, which is signposted to Lechlade. A mile down this road on the right hand side you will

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find the Costwold Wildlife Park. About 4 miles from the roundabout you will see a sign on the left hand side to The Filkins. Visit this village and it is the home to the Swinford Museum, which depicts West Oxfordshire’s fascinating rural heritage. The village also has a working woolen mill and a Victorian church built in French gothic style.

10. Rejoin the A361 towards Lechlade. Lechlade is the meeting point for the Rivers Thames, Coln and Leach. On arrival in Lechlade we bear to the right A417 to Fairford.

11. Just as we drive into Fairford take a right turn to Heythrop.

12. In the village of Heythrop bear left to Coln St Aldwyns. This is a typical idyllic southern Cotswold village.

13. Bibury, leave the village and take the Salt Way to Bibury.

14. Bibury is famous for it’s very large but equally appealing Trout Farm and has an excellent hotel and restaurant, The Swan situated in the main street. If you can park it is always worth taking the time to wander around this village, once described by William Morris as the most beautiful village in the Cotswolds.

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15. We leave Bibury on the B4426 towards Cirencester. We pass through the village of Barnsley before reaching the outskirts of Cirencester. Cirencester is covered in Towns and Villages but it is well worth a short break here to wander around the small lanes, which have a good selection of local shops.

16. Take the A419 out of Cirencester towards Stroud. As you leave Cirencester you will come to a roundabout, we need to turn right here

on the A419 and a mile down and a half down the road on your right hand side you will see a sign post for Saperton.

17. Sapperton has an extremely successful award winning pub called The Bell at Sapperton. The food is excellent and is highly recommended.

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Bibury was described by William Morris as “the most beautiful village in England”. It certainly has a very particular charm, with the shallow, crystal Coln bubbling by the roadside; and many delightful cottages and houses, the most beloved of which make up Arlington Row, a line of exceptionally pretty 17th century cottages sitting between a bank and rushy meadows.

18. From Sapperton we carry on to Daneway. Follow this road past the pub, which, is near to the entrance to the Thames and Severn Canal Tunnel.

19. From Daneway we will follow the road to Bisley, which will take you

through the village of Oakridge.

20. On leaving Bisley take the road through Stancombe looking for a sign called The Camp.

21 As you pass through The Camp on your left you will see a sign to Sheepscombe. This idyllic village is mentioned frequently in Laurie Lee’s

autobiography “Cider with Rosie”. From Sheepscombe we will head down the valley, and up to what is known as the Queen of the Cotswold’s Painswick.

22. Painswick is a small Cotswold town but it is well worth a wander around the square. The Church has some 99 two hundred year old Yew Trees clipped into arches and geometric shapes. The Church itself is well worth a visit.

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23. Painswick Rococo Garden is just outside the village.

24. From Painswick take the A46 North to Cheltenham. This road winds itself through several miles of beech woodland, where there are numerous walks, passing Prink Nash Abbey on your left, and Cooper’s Hill on the right

(famous for the Annual Cheese Rolling Competition).

25. For those of you who like an excellent real ale and well made traditional pub food it is well worth detouring off this road Cranham where you will find the Black Horse Inn. To drive to Cranham, which, is only a mile

off the A46 you will find a right turn two miles outside of Painswick.

26. Cheltenham is known as the capital of the Cotswold’s, it can be very hectic with traffic but in and around Montpellier area and the Suffolk Road there are some excellent shops, pubs, restaurants and wine bars.

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