England
Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire Towns and Villages Gazetteer

Towns and Villages A-Z

Adlestrop
Famous as the subject of a poem by Edward Thomas, Adlestrop is the kind of place that first-time visitors to Britain imagine all English villages are like.

Ampney St Mary
Lovely Cotswold hamlet near Cirencester. The church, which is located a mile away from the village, features some wonderful medieval wall paintings.

Ampney Crucis
A prosperous village a few miles west of Cirencester, Ampney Crucis has a lovely village green with a war memorial, and a 12th century church with very good medieval wall paintings.

Bibury
Bibury, nestled in the eastern hills of the Cotswolds, first earned its title of "the most beautiful village in England" from the artist and craftsman, William Morris (1834-96). It's not hard to see why.

Blockley
Blockley is a "jaw-drop pretty" Cotswold village with a striking church. Local attractions include Mill Dene Gardens.

Bourton on the Water
A classic Cotswold beauty spot. The River Windrush flows through the centre of this lovely village. The Windrush at this point is a peaceful waterway, scarcely more than a shallow brook flowing at a gentle pace. It is spanned by 3 very low stone pedestrian bridges...

Broad Campden
A picturesque village set in rolling countryside, surrounded by fields of grazing sheep, and dissected by streams.

Broadwell
One of the undiscovered gems of the Cotswolds, Broadwell has a broad village green ringed by lovely cottages, a gentle stream running through the village, a popular inn, and a Norman church with some intriguing historical monuments.

Chalford
If ever a place deserved the often over-used cliché, "undiscovered gem," Chalford is the place! Chalford is located in a ridiculously lovely valley bounded by strikingly steep hillsides.

Cheltenham
An elegant Georgian spa town with Regency terraces of cream-white houses and wrought-iron railings. Elegant garden squares ringed by charming architecture make Cheltenham a delightful period piece.

Chipping Campden
This is Cotswold countryside at its very best. The market town of Chipping Campden is set in rolling hills, in an area given over to agriculture and sheep farming. The town is located close to the world famous gardens at Hidcote and Kiftsgate, but it deserves a visit in its right.

Cirencester
Cirencester was a bustling town during the Roman settlement of Britain, and the award-winning Corinium Museum tells the story of the town's rich history. The glorious parish church of St John the Baptist is known as the 'Cathedral of the Cotswolds'.

Coln St Aldwyns
A pretty Cotswold village near Bibury, with lovely cottages and the River Coln meandering through.

Dursley
An old market town now suffering the encroachment of modern civilsation. The most striking building is the 18th century market hall, raised on pillars like stilts. Dursley was once a hub of the cloth-making industry that supported so many Cotswold villages and there are many enjoyable older houses that stand as a testament to Dursley's former prosperity.

Eastleach Martin & Eastleach Turville
Lovely Cotswold villages side by side in the beautiful valley of the River Leach.

Elkstone
A quiet village south of Cheltenham, with a church known for its unusual dovecote above the chancel and its quite exeptional Norman arches in the chancel and sanctuary. The church is also the highest in Gloucestershire, and boasts a wonderful Norman tympanum above the south door.

Fairford
A picturesque Cotswold town graced by one of the most striking "wool churches" in the region, with the most complete set of medieval stained glass in the country.

Great Barrington
A beautiful village on the River Windrush, with a Norman church, and a Georgian folly on the hill above the village.

Guiting Power
A lovely Cotswold village near Stow on the Wold. The church boasts a quite superb Norman doorway.

Hampnett
A quiet Cotswold village near Northleach, boasting a small church with quite remarkable interior Victorian decoration.

Icomb
A quiet Cotswold village close to Stow on the Wold. Icomb has some lovely cottages, and a striking medieval tomb in the church.

Lechlade
A lovely riverside town strung out along the banks of the Thames. There is a lovely medieval church, a river lock, and walks along the Thames. The statue of Father Thames stands beside St John's Lock, a short walk from the town.

Little Rissington
A quiet village just outside the popular Cotswold destination of Bourton-on-the-Water, Little Rissington is worth visiting for its 12th century church with its moving memorial to RAF servicemen.

Longborough
Attractive village in the Evenlode valley, with a 12th century church.

Lower Slaughter
A classic Cotswold village, with lovely cottages of Cotswold stone beside the sleepy River Eye.

Moreton in Marsh
A market town in the northern Cotswolds, situated on the old Roman Fosse Way, famous for its wide high street.

Naunton
A lovely village on the River Windrush, set in a bowl in the Cotswold hills.

Northleach
A lovely historic market town with a wonderful wool church that has been called the "Cathedral of the Cotswolds".

Ozleworth
The village of Ozleworth lies 2 miles East of Wotton-under-Edge in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Painswick
Sometimes called, "The Queen of the Cotswolds," the picture-perfect town of Painswick is known for its annual "Clypping ceremony", which involves the children of the parish embracing the church, singing hymns, and carrying nosegays of flowers. Attractions include Painswick Rococo Gardens.

Quenington
The church of St. Swithin at Quenington is notable for the wonderful Norman carvings above the 12th century doors.

Randwick
Randwick shelters beneath the western crest of the Cotswold escarpment. Short walks to the top of the ridge are rewarded with fine views westward to Wales and north to Shropshire. The village is a pleasing jumble of cottages linked by winding lanes.

Snowshill
A pretty hillside village with a lovely church and warm Cotswold stone cottages surrounding it. The National Trust's Snowshill Manor is in the village.

Stanton
A small village just south of Broadway. Stanton has some wonderful traditional cottages of warm Cotswold stone.

Stanway
A quiet Cotswold village graced by the Stanway Water Gardens.

Stow on the Wold
An historic market town, complete with the oldest inn in England (haunted, of course), a village green with medieval stocks, and a plethora of antique shops around the green.

Tetbury
An historic market town in the heart of the Cotswolds, featuring a 17th century market hall and some lovely Jacobean and Elizabethan buildings.

Tewkesbury
An historic market town at the confluence of the Severn and Avon rivers, with a superb abbey church. Site of the final, decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses.

Upper Slaughter
A quiet Cotswold village with a meandering stream through the village centre.

Winchcombe
A beautifully timeless village of matchless warm-toned Cotswold stone cottages, tea shops, and traditional medieval architecture. A short walk leads to nearby Sudeley Castle.

Wyck Rissington
A lovely little Cotswold village set in a low valley just south of Stow on the Wold. Notable for its very wide and long village green and 13th century church where composer Gustav Holst was once the organist.

Regional attractions:
Cotswolds