Cotswolds Walk Day 2: Stow-on-the Wold to Bourton-on -the Water

May 17, 2024, >>> Stow-on-Wold to Bourton-on-Water

The weather looks good today with light clouds and a temperature of 12C. Breakfast is not included at the Sheep on Sheep Street Inn so we opted for Hufkins Teahouse > almond croissant for Annie and a beef pasty for me chased down with coffee and we are good to go…

Today’s route to Bourton-on-the-Water is mostly on the Monarch’s Way across meadows to Lower Slaughter, then to  the village of Upper Slaughter back through to Lower Slaughter and onwards to Bourton-on-the-Water:

The fun part of walking here is that you literally pass through people’s properties ….the walk to Lower Slaughter is just that a pleasant jaunt in an area which seems to have a horse focus:

The walk also showcases some lovely manor houses and estates although the path skirts rather than goes through these properties…

The walk continues through bottom lands with abundant birdlife keeping us company with their song…

Eventually, we reach Lower Slaughter with its working mill picturesque stone cottages and tranquil setting along the River Eye. The name sounds ominous, however, it comes from the old English ‘Slohtre’, which has nothing to do with killing things and means, simply, “Muddy place”

 

We continue along the river and start a gradual climb to Upper Slaughter. Along the way, we met more of our friends who love calling out “bahh” to us and in the near distance the charming Upper Slaughters Manor…

This village is one of a selection of the Thankful Villages so called because it lost no men in World War I. Furthermore, the village also lost no men in World War II, making it a Doubly Thankful Village!

On the way back to Lower Slaughter we dropped in the Upper Slaughter Manor for a quick look …nice place for lunch !!

We then retraced our steps back to Lower Slaughter…

… stopping to enjoy the sun and a 2 half coke energy boost had at the Slaughters Inn:

…then onwards to Bourton-on-the-Water, with its many attractions. The name Bourton originates from the Saxon words “burh” and “ton”, BURH meaning a fort or camp and TON meaning a village or settlement. Combining the two, you get “the village beside the camp”. As with many, of the Cotswold towns we will come across, their historic antecedents date back to the Stone and Bronze Ages with burial mounds common throughout the area. The River Windrush winds its way through the center of the town which grew over the millennia and dating from between 1654 and 1911, five bridges as well shops and stately homes were constructed from local Cotswold stone, giving the village its byname of “Venice of the Cotswold’s”(a bit of hyperbole if you ask me). It is no doubt a tourist favourite…