Bourton-on-the-Water

The River Windrush runs shallow and wide straight through the middle of the village, crossed by five low stone footbridges built between 1654 and 1953, with lawns on both banks; the arrangement is why the village is called the Venice of the Cotswolds, a comparison it does not really merit but which stuck. Behind the Old New Inn is a one-ninth scale model village in Cotswold stone, built in the 1930s, which includes a model of the model village, which in turn includes a model of that, three levels deep. On August bank holiday Monday the village holds a football match played in the river itself, a tradition since 1936, which fills the water with mud and spectators. The stone throughout is local oolitic limestone, which weathers honey-coloured.

What you actually see

• The Windrush through the green - five low bridges from 1654 to 1953.
• The model village - one-ninth scale, containing a model of itself, twice over.
• The river football - a match played in the water each August bank holiday.
• The honey limestone - local oolite used across the whole village.

When to go

April to October; August bank holiday Monday for the river football. Weekdays outside school holidays are far calmer than weekends, when the village is one of the busiest in the Cotswolds.

Honest expectations

Bourton is heavily commercialised, with motor museums, model railways and a perfumery along a short main street, and coach parties arrive through the day. Parking is limited and charged. Quieter Cotswold villages are a few minutes away.

Nearby

The Slaughters are a short walk; Stow-on-the-Wold and Burford lie either side.