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The Slaughters

Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter are set on the banks
of, and joined by, the River Eye. They are possibly two of the
prettiest villages in the Cotswolds.

Contrary to popular belief the word ‘Slaughter ‘ is derived
from the old English word ‘Slohtre’ and means muddy place,
no connection with the traditional meaning of the word
slaughter.

These two rambling villages are quintessentially all that both
typifies both the mellow stone of the Cotswolds and middle
England. The Slaughters are mentioned in the Domesday Lower Slaughter
Book.

Bourton-on-the-Water has been described as the ‘Little Venice’ of the Cotswolds. It straddles the
river Windrush with its series of elegant low bridges beside neat tree-shaded greens and tidy
stone banks. Standing back from the river are traditional Cotswolds buildings, many of which are
now tourist shops for the day-trippers and visitors.

Things to see and do in Bourton-on-the-Water:

The Model Village – a one ninth scale model of the village as it was in 1937.

Model Railway Exhibition – on the High Street with some of the finest operating indoor model
railway layouts in the country, covering over 500 feet of track.

Cotswold Motoring Museum & Toy Collection – Overflowing with vintage car collections, classic
cars and motorcycles, caravans, original enamel signs and a collection of motoring curiosities.

Dragonfly Maze – which comprises a yew maze with a pavilion at the centre. The object is not only
to reach the pavilion, but to gather clues as one navigates the maze. Correctly interpreting these
clues when one reaches the pavilion allows access to the maze’s final secret.

There are also a number of walks in and around the area. Click here for details. . .

The Rollright Stones is an ancient site which consists of three main elements, The Kings Men
stone circle, the King Stone, and the Whispering Knights.The name “Rollright” is believed to derive
from “Hrolla-landriht”, the land of Hrolla. It’s worth the short trip. Unlike places like Stonehenge,
here you can walk among the stones in the footsteps of people from thousands of years ago.

Chastleton House A rare gem of a Jacobean country house, Chastleton House was built between
1607 and 1612 by a prosperous wool merchant as an impressive statement of wealth and power.
Owned by the same increasingly impoverished family until 1991, the house remained essentially
unchanged for nearly 400 years as the interiors and contents gradually succumbed to the ravages
of time. With virtually no intrusion from the 21st century, this fascinating place exudes an informal
and timeless atmosphere in a gloriously unspoilt setting. There’s no shop or tea-room, so you can
truly believe you have stepped back in time.

Blenheim Palace. Palatial baroque-style mansion built between 1705-1722 by Sir John Vanbrugh
and given by Queen Anne to to the Duke of Marlborough for his defeat of Louis XIV. It has
remained the private home of the Marlborough Family ever since. It has a 2000-acres park with
terraced water gardens laid our by landscape designer Capability Brown. Sir Winston Churchill,
the British wartime leader, was born here in 1874.