Due west of our home base of Chipping Campden lies the famous and touristy town of Broadway. Just south of that, you’ll find Rick Steves’ nominations for the cutest Cotswold villages. Like marshmallows in hot chocolate, Stanway, Stanton and Snowshill nestle side by side. After visiting all three, we could not agree more. 🙂
Broadway
This postcard-pretty town, a couple of miles west of Chipping Campden, is filled with inviting shops and fancy teahouses. With a “Broad way” indeed running through its middle, it’s one of the bigger towns in the area. This means you’ll likely pass through at some point. Be sure to check out the top end of High Street, which is dead end, residential, and a classic modern Cotswold neighborhood.
Part of the joy of this area is to have a car and drive. The roads are fantastic! Some folks are a bit white Knuckle driving, but that’s why we love starting in Bath and getting our feet wet. Here is a little sample of the driving fun:
Stanton
Pristine Cotswold charm cheers you as you head up the main street of the village of Stanton, served by a scant few buses. We went on a photo safari for flower-be-decked doorways and windows.
Stanton’s Church of St. Michael (with the pointy spire) betrays a pagan past. It’s safe to assume any church dedicated to St. Michael (the archangel who fought the devil) sits upon a sacred pagan site. Stanton is actually at the intersection of two ley lines (a line connecting prehistoric or ancient sights). You’ll see St. Michael’s well-worn figure (and, above that, a sundial) over the door as you enter. We were not able to enter as the door was locked.
Here are some other pictures we collected in these delightful little towns.
Be sure to come back for part 2 – to be loaded soon! 🙂