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A Walk through the Swells & Slaughters

Daily

Cost: free

Forming one of the most beautiful walks in the Cotswolds, the Swells and Slaughters are four villages which nestle between dairy pastures and wooded corners, linked by the bubbling rivers of the Dickler and the Eye.

Consult a map and you'll see that the villages of the Swells and the Slaughters are all within easy walking distance of each other. For a longer walk, start at Upper Swell, park your car in the village and prepare for a 3-4 hour journey. Take the footpath signposted (just after the bridge on the sharp bend as you enter the village) which runs beside the River Dickler and will take you to Lower Swell.

If you want to keep the walk shorter (2-3 hours) then start at Lower Swell. Walk along the road out of the village (towards The Slaughters) and take the footpath off to the left which takes you down a lane and into a series of dairy pastures. Walk along the valley floor following the Dickler and after an hour or so you come to a road. Heading for Lower Slaughter rather than Upper Slaughter, you end up walking along a quiet road into a village of great beauty.

Small cottages line the banks of the River Eye which runs through the village, with tiny bridges criss-crossing the water. The force of the current used to power a corn mill at the top of the village and you should head in this direction. From here you can follow a beautiful footpath along the bubbling River Eye towards Upper Slaughter.

If you're feeling like a treat, be sure to call ahead and order a Michelin-starred picnic from the Lord of the Manor, a country house hotel in Upper Slaughter. Select a suitable venue for your gourmet picnic and then take a well-earned rest.

After your break, walk up the hill towards Upper Slaughter. The village itself perches astride the Slaughter Brook (the name Slaughter is thought to derive from the old name for a stream - 'slough' - and not from any murky historical associations). It boasts an elegant Norman church and the cottages in The Square were designed by Edwin Lutyens (co-architect of New Delhi), as was Upper Swell Manor, which you glimpse through the trees as you walk from Upper Swell to Lower Swell along the river.

From Upper Slaughter you then take the high road back to Lower Swell (which is a one-lane road and fairly potholed so cars tend not to use it). This road offers breathtaking views of the landscape you have just walked through and you can see the route you have just taken from on high.

If you left your car in Upper Swell, don't bother dipping down into Lower Swell from the high road, just keep walking and the road comes into Upper Swell a mile or so after the Lower Swell signpost.

Lower Slaughter