Your tour: Bourton-on-the-Water
A trip to RAF Fairford Air Tattoo gave Sue Taylor a chance to visit this lovely village
As the enticing envelope landed on the mat in our hall, I rapidly hatched a cunning plan to turn a day’s excursion into a trip in our ’van. We’d just received our tickets for the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, on the edge of the Cotswolds, and realising we had the whole weekend free, no further excuse was needed for us to decide on a few days away.
A quick phone call secured a pitch at a site in lovely Bourton-on-the-Water, a 30-minute drive from the airfield and offering plenty to see and do in the local area, to keep us happily entertained over a summer weekend.
Field Barn Park is a neatly laid out, adults-only campsite just a short walk from the village. Grass and shrubs criss-cross the site, giving privacy to campers and a home for wildlife, which is clearly an important priority for the owners.
Time to explore
Comfortably settled on our pitch and with the sun gently warming us, the weather was perfect for taking a first look around Bourton-on-the-Water.
This beautiful village is characterised by the River Windrush, which gently burbles through its centre, often little more than a shallow stream, before eventually joining the Thames and travelling on to London.
Five bridges span the river as it journeys on its way, giving rise to Bourton’s nickname, ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’.
Walking among those bridges was a sheer delight, even though the village was bustling with weekend tourists and day-trippers. Hubby Ro, though, rather drew the line at the idea of playing Poohsticks with me!
Bourton-on-the-Water is also home to a variety of independent shops. It’s a refreshing change from the usual high street names – here, people have time for you and greet you with a smile.
I was delighted to find the Cotswolds Distillery shop on the High Street, which began life in 2014 specialising in whisky, but now also produces the award-winning Cotswolds Gin. One look at my face had long-suffering Ro concluding: ‘Well I guess we’re going in, then!”
With all that strolling, it wasn’t long before we needed to go in search of lunch. Bourton gets very busy during the summer months, but we were lucky enough to find a table at The Rose Tree, set in a lovely location on the riverbank, where we enjoyed a good meal while pondering what we might do with our afternoon.
There is something for everyone here, from Birdland Park & Gardens to The Dragonfly Maze, and a Grade II-listed Model Village, which is a one-ninth scale replica of Bourton, even down to a model of the model of the model!
Alternatively, there’s the Cotswold Brew Co, for those who enjoy a tipple, while history lovers will appreciate St Lawrence’s Church, whose origins date back to the eighth century.
We decided on a spot of nostalgia, in the form of the Cotswold Motoring Museum & Toy Collection. The Grade II-listed building housing the museum began life back in the 17th century as a watermill, powered by the River Windrush. Today, it is simply packed with gorgeous cars, toys and memorabilia, and is also home to Brum, from the popular 1990s children’s TV series.
Vintage caravans
As well as all of those fabulous cars dating back to the days when, as the museum says, driving was a hobby rather than a necessity, there are a couple of splendid old caravans, including a 1923 ‘Angela’ model, complete with leaded windows and oil-burning stove – how lucky we are today with our electric hook-ups and gas heating!
Mind you, how did my childhood become a museum exhibition? We lost count of the number of times we exclaimed, “I had one of those!” while wandering around the museum.
And how on earth did we manage to drive those cars, with no power steering or ABS and such tiny doors to squeeze in through? Even so, this is a fun way to spend an afternoon.
And so we strolled the 20 minutes back to the comfort of our more modern home on wheels (I used to think our ’van was getting on, but she’s a mere whippersnapper in comparison to vehicles in the museum), for an evening of reminiscing