The Slaughters Circular Walk
Lace up your boots and follow the River Eye south-west out of Bourton for a circular walk that links Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter — two of the most achingly pretty villages in the entire Cotswolds — and returns you to the village green in time for a cream tea. At just under seven miles, it is the perfect half-day investment.
The Route and Its Rewards
The outward leg follows open fields and the gentle valley of the River Eye to Lower Slaughter, whose mill stream and honey-stone cottages have barely changed in three centuries. From there a gentle one-mile riverside path connects to Upper Slaughter, a quieter, less-visited village that rewards those who make the extra effort.
The return route retraces the Eye valley back toward Bourton, with wide views across the Cotswold plateau and enough pub options along the way to make the distance feel entirely manageable. The path is largely flat and well-signed throughout.
Light, Timing, and the Photographer's Advantage
The stone bridges of Bourton itself catch extraordinary light at around 4:30 pm in spring and autumn, when the low sun hits the facades at a perfect angle and turns the limestone a deep amber. Timing your return from the walk for late afternoon means you arrive back into the village at its most photogenic.
For the quietest experience of the riverbank itself, walk downstream past the main bridges toward the St. Lawrence Church area — the crowds thin dramatically within 200 metres and the river is just as beautiful.
The Slaughters Circular Walk on video
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