Chipping Campden

Golden limestone houses line the high street like honey-coloured sentinels, their weathered facades telling stories of medieval wool merchants who built fortunes here. This is proper Cotswolds - none of that tourist-trap nonsense you get elsewhere. Chipping Campden feels frozen in time, but in the best possible way.

St James' Church dominates the town centre, its perpendicular tower visible for miles across the rolling countryside. The old market hall still anchors the high street, though these days it's more about antiques than livestock. Wander down Church Street and you'll find some of the finest terrace houses in England - Robert Dover would have known these same stone walls when he founded his Olympics.

Speaking of Dover, his hill offers cracking views across the Vale of Evesham. It's a proper climb but well worth the effort, especially at sunset when the light catches every church spire for miles. Below, Campden Wood provides gentler walking through ancient beech and oak, while the more adventurous can tackle Meon Hill's iron age hillfort.

Hidcote Manor Garden sits just outside town - Lawrence Johnston's masterpiece of garden rooms that influenced landscape design worldwide. The drive there takes you through typical Cotswold countryside: dry stone walls, sheep-dotted fields, and those impossibly green valleys.

Stratford-upon-Avon lies fifteen miles northeast, but honestly, why rush? Broadway's just down the road if you need supplies, though Chipping Campden's independent shops cover most basics. The nearest major rail connection is Moreton-in-Marsh, about eight miles south.

Staying at one of the nearby parks makes perfect sense. You're within striking distance of the entire northern Cotswolds, yet can retreat to peace when the day trippers head home. Ranch Caravan Park and several glamping options dot the surrounding countryside, letting you wake up to those million-pound views without the mortgage.