Castle Combe is a quintessentially English village often named as the ‘prettiest village in England.’ The village sits in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in north west Wiltshire.

Castle Combe has featured regularly as a film location, most recently in The Wolf Man, Stardust and Stephen Spielberg’s War Horse. It was also used in the original Dr Doolittle film.
The village has a rich history and the houses are made up of the honey coloured Cotswold stone, typical for a village of this area.

Within Castle Combe you’ll find a Market Cross and St Andrew’s Church which dates from the 13th century. The church houses a faceless clock which is reputed to be one of the oldest working clocks in the country. You’ll also find a couple of pubs and a luxury hotel with a golf course within the village.

Stroll along the village to the bridge and you’ll not only enjoy the views but may be able to purchase homemade cakes, sweets or bunches of flowers from outside the locals’ houses. Stop at the bottom of the village by the bridge and enjoy a great photographic moment too!

We set off in good time despite having had an impromptu family visit the day before. The get together with my brother and nephews was wonderful but it made packing our bags a little bit rushed.

We picked mum up before heading to Bourton-on-the-Water for lunch. The town seemed busier than I have ever seen it before, except perhaps on one sunny mid-August day many years ago. We decided not to struggle to get into a teashop because of the current Covid restrictions and sometimes booking is required in advance. Instead we opted for a meal deal from the Co-op which we intended to eat on a bench with a view but we decided the air was a little bit chilly for Alfresco eating so instead we had an in-car picnic before heading into town.

The village was rather crowded and we chose quieter pathways to enjoy. Mr C spotted an antique shop that he wanted to go in. Only 6 were allowed in the shop at any one time but since there were only a couple others inside we entered. By the time I tried to make my way to the exit there were more than 6 people inside with several of them not respecting social distancing and I found it difficult to get round people in order to leave the shop.

We decided to leave Bourton-on-the-Water and continue on our way with the intention to visit Upper and Lower Slaughter. These villages are delightful but unfortunately we were unable to explore them because the parking places were full. It was time to put plan B into action. We drove to Castle Coombe where we were able to park and enjoy a wander around the lovely village. It was like stepping back in time.

Afterwards we checked into the hotel before enjoying a cup of tea in our room. Feeling refreshed I ventured out into the hotel garden and reminisced about our previous visit to the hotel in 2008. The garden was a little overgrown but still enjoyable.

We had a very pleasant dinner followed by a nightcap in the bar.