William and Karen were rearing to go when I met them in the reception of the Lygon Arms in Broadway at 9am.
The plan was to drive through the North Cotswolds stopping off at a few chosen towns and villages. The end point was to be the Abbey Hotel in Bath.
Being a little after 9am, Chipping Campden was only beginning to wake up. I dropped Bill and Karen at the end of the town and waited for them up at the other end. Together we then wandered around the church and looked at the remains of Baptist Hicks mansion.
Chipping Campden is one of the loveliest small towns in the Cotswolds and a gilded masterpiece of limestone and craftsmanship. The main street curves in a shallow arc lined with a succession of ancient houses each grafted to the next but each with its own distinctive embellishments.
Leaving Chipping Campden and passing the group of thatched cottages we headed out through Broad Campden, a pretty village, which if you blink you will miss it. Our next destination was Blockley. Here I made a fundamental error and had not asked about Father Brown. We drove through the town without stopping to visit the church which is a major location for the series.
During the 18th C when the wool industry was in decline Blockley turned to silk production. By 1884 six silk mills provided work for about 600 people.
Blockley is now a very peaceful charming village with its mill stream winding its way through the bottom of the valley. The beautiful Norman Church will be a familiar sight to fans of Father Brown.
Our next destination was Stow-on-the-Wold. Again, being relatively early finding a parking space was not difficult. Our first sop here was the back of the Church and the Doors of Durin.
A quick stop at the Cotswolds Chocolate shop for some supplies. Next, the Porch House which is the oldest Inn in England dated at 947AD. A little wander around Stow before we met back at the car.
Stow-on the-Wold is the highest of the Cotswold towns standing exposed on 800 feet high Stow Hill at a junction of seven major roads, including the Roman Fosse Way.
The vast Market Square testifies to the towns former importance. Around the square the visitor is faced with an elegant array of Cotswold town houses and shops.
We left the car for a little walk around Upper Slaughter. Fortunatley, I was able to show them a popular sight for filming of Father Brown. The ancient church and surrounding areas of this peaceful little village.
The building that dominates Upper Slaughter is the beautiful gabled Manor House which is one of the finest buildings in the area. The oldest part of the house dates from the 15th century but the front is Elizabethan. The Manor is now a hotel.Upper Slaughter is known as a Double Thankful Village due to all their then members of the armed forces surviving both World War I and World War II.
Next, we drove through Lower Slaughter and Bourton-on-the-Water. Noticing the difference in the two villages.
The former smaller, but much quieter. Bourton is a major tourist detination for both UK and overseas visitors and is consequently always bustling and busy.
Bourton-on-the-Water has been described as the ‘Little Venice’ of the Cotswolds and is one of the most popular tourist spots in the region being serviced by the many shops, cafe’s, and attractions
A must see village on any tour has to be Bibury. The only problem being that everyone else knows this. We did manage to park and spent a little time taking in the famous Arlington Row. As pictured in all UK Passports.
The village was once described by William Morris as ‘the most beautiful village in the Cotswolds’.
One of the village’s main tourist spots and overlooking a water meadow and the river is Arlington Row, a group of ancient cottages with steeply pitched roofs dating back to the 16th Century.
We by-passed Cirencester mainly because the town centre is being dug up and traffic diverted. Arriving in Tetbury it was time for lunch and my guests plumped for the Close Hotel and had a lovely lunch there. Meeting up after, Karen wanted a littel more time visiting the shops whilst, Bill and I had a cup of coffee.
Tetbury was an important market town for the Cotswolds wool trade and the town centre is still dominated by the splendid pillared Market House built in 1655. The town is known as an ‘architectural gem’ as many of the wool merchants houses still look as they did 300 years ago.
Our penultimate stop was Malmesbury and a look at the awe-inspiring ancient Abbey.
On the top a perfect flat hill encircled by the River Avon at the southern entrance to the Cotswolds, sits Malmesbury, said to be the oldest continually inhabited town in England. Malmesbury is rightly called the “Queen of Hilltop Towns” being England’s oldest borough with a rich history over 1000 years.
Finally it was a relaxing walk around the ancient village of Castle Combe.
On the journey to Castle Combe I confused everyone by stating that this was a location for filming Dr Zhivago!
Dr Doolittle is a much more likely film to have been shot here. As was the film of War Horse.
This magical village was once a weaving town at the heart of the Cotswolds wool trade: you can still see weavers’ cottages where the local red and white cloth was produced.