The Cotswolds are defined by their villages. Honey-coloured stone, low bridges over slow rivers, churches paid for by the medieval wool trade, and lanes that look unchanged in three hundred years. Some are famous enough to feature on every postcard. Others you can have almost to yourself.
This is our directory of the villages worth your time, with a bit of info about each. New to the area? Start with our complete Cotswolds visitor guide for the bigger picture, then come back here to choose where to go.
The famous ones
These are the villages everyone has heard of. They are beautiful for a reason, and they are busy for the same reason. Our advice throughout: arrive early or late in the day, park sensibly, and you will see them at their best.
- Bibury is the one on the postcards, thanks to Arlington Row’s row of weavers’ cottages. Go first thing to beat the coaches.
- Bourton-on-the-Water is known as the Venice of the Cotswolds for the low stone bridges over the River Windrush. It gets very busy in summer, so park and walk in, and consider a quieter blue-hour visit.
- Broadway is the elegant show village of the northern Cotswolds, with a broad high street and Broadway Tower on the hill above.
- Snowshill is a hilltop village best known for Snowshill Manor and the lavender fields nearby in season.
The quieter ones
Just as lovely, with a fraction of the crowds. These reward anyone willing to drive a few minutes further or walk between them.
- Naunton sits along the quiet upper Windrush and is home to a remarkable 15th-century dovecote with around a thousand nesting holes, free to see from the lane.
- Guiting Power is a community-owned village around a green, with a farm shop, a cafe and two pubs. It pairs perfectly with Naunton on foot.
- Ebrington is a peaceful estate village near Chipping Campden, sheep in the fields and a good village pub.
- Blockley climbs a steep wooded valley and has appeared on screen as Father Brown’s Kembleford.
- Bourton-on-the-Hill is a one-street village on the climb out of Moreton, with long views and a well-regarded pub.
- Broad Campden is the quiet neighbour of Chipping Campden, a short and pretty walk away.
Villages on the eastern edge
The Oxfordshire side of the Cotswolds, handy if you are coming from Oxford or the east.
- Bladon is best known as the burial place of Sir Winston Churchill, in the churchyard within sight of Blenheim.
- Shipton-under-Wychwood sits in the old royal forest of Wychwood, around a broad green.
- Long Compton lies on the Warwickshire border near the Rollright Stones.
Walking between villages
The best way to see Cotswold villages is on foot, linking two or three in a morning. See our Cotswolds walks guide for routes, or go car-free with the Cotswolds without a car.