Our busy itinerary gave us the opportunity to visit just one village in the Cotswolds, and with so many on offer we had to contemplate carefully which one to choose. We considered Upper Slaughter, Bibury, Stratford-upon-Avon, Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold, but on weighing everything up with available time, parking, access and the likely number of bus tourists, we decided on Castle Combe. This turned out to be a great decision!

Dubbed 'the prettiest village in England', Castle Combe definitely lived up to its reputation - see photos above and below. The ten minute walk from the carpark through the forest to the narrow main street filled with charming old cottages really was like stepping into a fairytale. A stream ran through the village centre, known locally as the 'By Brook', with water so clear you could see the rocks beneath its surface.

No new buildings have been constructed in Castle Combe since the late 16th century, and the village is protected by strict conservation laws. The market cross at the intersection of the three main streets (photo 10-13) was erected when King Henry VI granted the village permission to hold markets in 1440, and the rock next to it (photos 11-12) was used to tether and mount horses. The Castle Inn (photos 13-17) dates back to the 12th century, and inside St Andrew’s church over the road (photo 18) is one of the oldest working clocks in Britain, built in the late 15th century.

The Normans built a fortified castle 600 metres north of the village in the 12th century. Although this no longer exists, the village name stuck. Prior to this, the Romans built a villa here, and the site was also believed to have been occupied during Neolithic times (10,000 BC-2,200 BC). The village was a busy centre for wool during the Medieval period, with its stream being used to power mills for wool production. 

These days only about 50 people live in the village centre, however it can get very crowded with thousands of visitors descending each year. It has been a popular filming location over the years, including Agatha Christie's Poirot, the original Doctor Dolittle movie from 1967, Wolfman (starring Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt) and Stardust (starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro).

Our decision to visit Castle Combe turned out to be ideal – we were lucky to have a mild, sunny day, and with only a few other visitors around we were able to get some fantastic photos. I’d like to come back to the area some day and explore all of the other villages listed above, as well as cities like Glastonbury and Gloucester. We were grateful to get to see one Cotswolds village properly at least!