Over many years and multiple visits to the UK I have visited a lot of Cotswold villages. Some are tiny and charming, like Bibury, and others are very busy and over run by tourists, like Bourton on the Water. I guess their misfortune, and, I suppose also, good fortune, is to be gob smackingly beautiful. I have heard both Bibury and Burton named "the most beautiful village in England" and I think Castle Coombe, Wiltshire, can also have a legitimate claim to that title. I couldn't choose one village over the other, to me they are all beautiful albeit each slightly different.
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| Pub and cafe at the top of the village |
Last year I visited Castle Coombe for the first time and what a delight this small, picture perfect village proved to be. There is something so charming about the warm, golden, Cotswold stone houses. No new buildings have been built there since the 17th century making it a village preserved in time. Because there are no TV dishes or aerials and all wires are hidden underground it is a popular movie location where many films including War Horse and the original Doctor Doolittle have been filmed. The streets are car free as there is no parking in the village, apart for a few places reserved for locals but there is a carpark for visitors about 10 minutes walk away up the hill.
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| One of two village pumps |
In 1140 a castle was built north of the village but it was abandoned in the 1300s and now only the foundations remain, hence Castle in the village's name. At the top of the village is the 14th century market cross, now a pleasant place to rest a while but once a thriving market where villagers sold the much sought after wool and cloth the village became famous for. This lucrative trade died once the river which runs through the village and powered the mill silted up becoming more shallow and narrow. The loss of the wool trade is the reason the village never grew and developed and is what makes it so charming today.
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| The Market Cross with St Andrews Church (Photo by Adrian Baker) |
The day we were there some local women were preparing the lovely 13th century St Andrews church for a wedding. I couldn't help thinking that it would be an idyllic place to be married. The church contains one of the oldest working clocks in England. Wander down the main street and you will find villagers selling cakes, sweets, flowers and morning teas from their homes many working on an honesty box system for payment. I love this, it harkens back to a simpler time. At the bottom of the street is the river Bybrook with it's pretty bridge, it's a photographers dream.
I loved my visit to Castle Coombe. I day dreamed about living there and how much I would love it but then reality took over and I did wonder how convenient and cosy these ancient houses would be to live in. A girl can dream, can't she? It's just so story book romantic. We were very fortunate that on the day of our visit there were very few people about but I believe the village can be packed to bursting with tourists on summer weekends and holidays. How lucky were we to see it so peaceful, quiet and so stunningly beautiful.
| Looking up the main street from the river (photo Mad Max Tours) |
I recommend you try to see all three villages, Bibury, Burton on the Water and Castle Coombe. I know you will be as captivated as I was by them but I strongly suggest you go mid week and outside holiday periods to avoid the crowds. There is a lovely manor house with accommodation at the top of the village and also the Castle Coombe car circuit near by for car buffs.
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