Softly glowing stone cottages, cobblestone streets, cosy pubs … there's a reason that they call the drive through England's Cotswolds "the romantic road".
A drive through the Cotswolds will take you to some of England's most picturesque villages, places where there are no big tourist attractions, just charming honey-coloured buildings and a gentle pace.
The largest towns in the Cotswolds are Gloucester and Burton-on-the-Water, both popular and busy centres with attractive stone houses, tea shops and restaurants.
The River Windrush meanders through Burton-on-the-Water, passing under several low stone bridges in the village centre. There are several attractions which might catch your fancy, including a model railway, a maze, a perfumery exhibition, motor museum and bird sanctuary. St Lawrence's Church, which dates back to Norman times, has a 14th century chancel and a domed tower.
Most unusual is the model village — a model of Burton-on-the-Water built to scale from Cotswold stone (and yes, there's a model of the model as well).
But it is when you find yourself on winding narrow roads, turning corners to discover the smaller hamlets, that the true beauty of the Cotswolds reveals itself.
Probably the most picturesque — and most photographed — of all the northern Cotswold villages are Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter, built on the banks of the Little River Eye, just a mile apart.
While you wonder about their gruesome names, walk across the fields from one to the other. This also saves facing the problem of parking at Lower Slaughter, which has extremely limited space.
Lower Slaughter has a village green beside the Slaughter brook, a Victorian flour mill (open daily from March to October) and a waterwheel.
The sheep market town of Stow-on-the-Wold is built around its market square. The last battle of the first English Civil War took place at Stow in 1646 and reputedly Digbeth (or "duck bath") Street is named for the time when the ducks were bathing in blood in the streets from casualties.
When you have finished strolling around the pretty streets with their many antique shops and art galleries, head to England's oldest inn, the Royalist Hotel, which dates to 947.
Saxon Duke Aethelmar founded The Royalist as a hospice for lepers and there is still a leper hole in the oldest part of the cellar. Another piece of history is the "witch marks" etched into the restaurant's fireplace, said to ward off evil spirits. Adjoining the inn is the Eagle and Child pub, voted one of England's top 10 "Best Pubs".
There are two main attractions in the ancient Saxon borough of Winchcombe — St Peter's Church, with its wonderful gargoyles, and Sudeley Castle, once home to King Henry VIII's last wife, Katherine Parr, who is buried there. Other royals who have visited include Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth I, and King Charles I.
Now the home of Lord and Lady Ashcombe and their family, you can visit parts of the castle, wander in the lovely gardens, dine in the restaurant. The castle is open March to October and has changing exhibitions throughout the year. A permanent exhibitions is "The Six Wives at Sudeley Castle", featuring costumes used in the television series "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", displayed on life-like models of the historical figures. Tours of the private apartments are also available.
Just outside Winchcombe is Hailes Abbey, built in 1246 and destroyed by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. It is also open to visitors.
The tiny unspoilt village of Snowshill is set in a valley near the Worcestershire border, the Cotswolds hills rising around it on three sides.
Just outside the village, Snowshill Manor, a National Trust listed Tudor house, is famous for the eclectic collections of its eccentric past owner Charles Paget Wade.
The house is filled with 22,000 items — antiques, artifacts and memorabilia — and 2000 costumes, which Wade collected over a lifetime of travelling after inheriting a fortune from his family's sugar plantation in the West Indies.
Each room has a theme — Samurai armour (there are 26 suits), navigation, toys, musical instruments, carts and bicycles, and more.
Snowshill Manor is open Wednesday to Sunday from March to October. The house is open in the afternoons only and the gardens from 11am to 5.30pm. Get there early, there is sure to be a crowd and only limited numbers of visitors are allowed in the house at one time, but it's worth the wait!
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