Lower Slaughter especially is much sought out by tourists who want to photograph the scenery. The name of Slaughter has no connection with blood but is derived from the old English word 'Slohtre' meaning a muddy place although it is not muddy today!

These villages are about a mile from Bourton-on-the-Water but are completely different in character, they are very secluded and quiet, no shops restaurants or attractions. Just Lower Slaughter Manor built in 1658 for the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire and now a grand country house hotel and a Victorian corn mill, with a working water wheel. The mill has been converted into a gift shop and museum and is owned by one of the countries premier former jazz singers. Also worth visiting is the pretty little church of St. Mary.

As parking is very restricted we recommended that you take a short pleasant walk from Bourton (10mins - easy walking).

Naunton is a sleepy little village very close to Condicote. There are some very scenic walks that start in Naunton and travel along the River Windrush as it winds its way through the village.

For the more ambitious you can walk from Naunton to Bourton on the Water in around 2.5 hours. A wonderfully scenic route through fields, woods and river paths. There is a pub in Naunton called the Black Horse which serves very good food and ales.

The peaceful village of Temple Guiting lies in the idyllic Windrush Valley, as do the pretty villages of Guiting Power and Kineton, all of which are blessed with a smattering of glowing cotswold stone cottages set along tree lined lanes interlaced with soft meadows brim full of grazing cattle and sheep. Kineton boasts a very good pub called the Halfway House which is also offers B&B.

Leigh Wood, lies just south of Temple Guiting. These beautiful woods are home to a rich variety of plants and wildlife, they are cool and shady with interesting trails to follow. There is a Tudor manor at Temple Guiting.

Temple Guiting, Knights Templar connections
The Church of St. Mary was owned by the Templar’s with their preceptory at Temple Guiting. It has its origins in the 13th Century with alterations in the Georgian period. An interesting decologue of wooden panels representing the ten commandments and a stone carving of a templar cross are to be seen.

Guiting Power is a delightful village with a fascinating example of the unconcious harmony created by Cotswold masons over the centuries. The cottages, shops and inns are all beautifully cared for. Two pubs are within easy reach, The Farmers Arms in the village and the Hollow Bottom Inn on the road leading to Winchcombe.

Donnington still produces its beers by much the same recipe that has always been used. Spring water (or in brewing terms 'liquor') is drawn from the spring beside the mill pond and used as the main ingredient along with barley, malt and hops.

Until the mid 1960s, the barley was grown on the local estate but today it's brought as malt from Norfolk. The hops are from Herefordshire and Worcestershire and sugar is the only imported ingredient.
The original mill is still used in the brewing process and the mill wheel drives some of the machinery used by the brewery.

Trout farm
A small family trout farm farming fresh trout raised in spring-fed drinking quality water. They sell smoked trout, eel and salmon from the on-site smokery, and make a famous smoked trout pate.

The charming hillside village of Snowshill is situated at the head of a quiet valley looking down on the village of Broadway with magnificent views. It is a secluded village where ancient pretty cottages and a 19th century church cluster around a small green. As its name implies - if there is any snow about then you will find it here first.

Snowshill is renowned for its manor house, now administered by the National Trust. It is interesting architecturally as a typical 15th  to 16th Century manor house, with a good dovecote. The beautiful gardens are terraced and were designed by Charles Wade. On the site is a teashop and restaurant. In Snowshill you will find ancient charm and peaceful ambling with refreshments to be had at the Snowshill Arms pub.

Bourton is not your typical sleepy idyllic English village, this is really a tourist honeypot. It has got all the right ingredients, with the river Windrush and its six arched bridges and wide grassy banks, running parallel with the main street and dividing the the village in two. The traditional Cotswold architecture, some dating back to the seventeenth century, with honey coloured limestone walls, mullioned windows, stone tiled roofs and a generous helping of gables. This village has everything.

All this and history too, with its older name of Boroughton its origins can be traced back to Roman times and beyond, there is evidence to indicate a Bronze age settlement (1500-700 BC). The Roman Fosse Way which runs from the mouth of the Humber to Devon, passes the top of Bourton-in-the-Water.

At 700 feet above sea level Stow-on-the-Wold is the highest town in the Cotswolds and lies in an area of outstanding scenic beauty. The town is currently famous as a major centre for English antiques with over 70 dealers, as well as a good shopping village.

Like many old Cotswold towns, Stow's ancient prosperity was based on raising sheep. The 'lures' as the ancient narrow alleyways were known, assisted in counting the sheep on market days, where at its peak 20,000 sheep were offered for sale.

The town contains some famous old coaching inns originally serving the London to Worcester road. The Royalist Hotel lays claim to be one of the oldest Inns in  England originating in 987 A.D. and is situated just off the square, the Kings Arms claims to have had King Charles as a guest at the time of the Battle of Naseby.

Seven miles from Stow-on-the-Wold in a north-easterly direction, on the road to Long Compton, and near the village of Little Rollright, is a circle of standing stones, the most easterly in England. Other stones stand close by.

A quarter of a mile to the southeast of the stone circle are five large stones standing together. These were built over 5000 years ago, long before the circle, and are called the Whispering Knights. It is all that is left of a communal burial chamber and the stones would have marked the entrance. The fallen stone called a capstone, originally sat on top of the uprights, a striking and imposing way to mark the resting-place of your ancestors. Other standing stones would have marked the sides of the chamber but along with the earth mound, these have long disappeared.

Chipping Campden is one of the loveliest small towns in the Cotswolds and a gilded masterpiece of limestone and craftmanship.

As the name suggests ("Chipping" means market or market place from the old English "Ceping"). Chipping Campden was one of the most important of the medieval wool towns and famous throughout Europe. This legacy of fame and prosperity is everything that give the town its character.

Chipping Campden's church, St. James, at the north end of the town, is perhaps, the finest 'wool' church in the Cotswolds, with a magnificent 120ft (36 metre) tower and a very spacious interior. The church is famed for having one of the oldest altar tapestries (pre-reformation) and largest brass in England.

The charming village of Broadway nestles beneath the Worcestershire hills of the Cotswolds. Today, Broadway attracts visitors from across the world.

Broadway is a lively and vibrant village with a superb range of unique shops and designer boutiques, restaurants and hotels but is also steeped in history with its origins dating back to Roman times. In the 1600s it was a major stopping place for the stage coaches that travelled between Worcester and London – with the world-renowned Lygon Arms remaining popular with travellers and visitors.