The Cotswolds: Upper Slaughter

Despite the burgeoning heat, I decided to meander slowly along the River Eye to the village of Upper Slaughter, a mile or so upstream. It was a pleasant walk, though the fields are parched and beginning to look like straw. I had glimpses of beautiful houses like that below, now Lords of the Manor, a luxury country house hotel.

The village itself is prettily settled on either side of the river, with a ford at the centre, where a lovely spaniel was enjoying a game of fetch the ball, splashing in the cool water.

Some of the houses, known as The Square (below), were apparently reconstructed in 1906 by the celebrated Arts and Crafts architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens.

The cottages below were aptly named Rose Cottages, and had pretty cottage gardens with (of course) roses and rows of runner beans just visible over the wall.

Just outside Rose Cottages, a remnant of a village pump.

Another idyllic and traditional pair of stone cottages, below. It appears that there are a substantial number of holiday lets in the village, though there is little obviously 'touristy' apart from the chocolate-box prettiness.