Hidden villages Cotswolds guides rarely mention include a clapper-bridge parish with two Norman churches, a pigeon loft in a church roof and a canal tunnel that was once the longest in England.
The popular Cotswolds are a short list of famous names. Everyone photographs the same cottages and walks the same high street.
Most people miss the smaller places. Villages of a few hundred people, with a Grade I church, a river crossing or a pub with a flagstone floor, none of it signposted from the main road. These five are in Gloucestershire, and all are worth the narrow lanes.
Quick Facts
Region: Gloucestershire, the Cotswolds
Best for: Churches, canal history, quiet lanes and village pubs
Getting there: By car. The lanes are narrow, and parking is limited in every village on this list; Naunton is one long street with very little room
Time needed: A day for two or three villages; a weekend for all five
Hidden villages Cotswolds: how to use this list
Duntisbourne, Elkstone and Sapperton sit in the same part of the region, west and north-west of Cirencester, so they work as one day. Eastleach lies to the east, and Naunton in the upper Windrush valley to the north, and each is better kept for a day of its own.
Every village here has a church or a structure with a documented date, so you are looking at something, not just passing through. Wear boots, because the lanes and verges are wet for much of the year.
Eastleach: two churches facing each other across a river
Eastleach is really two villages, Eastleach Martin and Eastleach Turville, on either side of the River Leach. They were combined into one parish in 1935. The 2011 census counted 306 people, and the parish has more than 60 listed houses and farm buildings.
The two churches stand directly opposite each other. St Michael and St Martin, on the Martin side, has early Norman origins. It was founded by Richard Fitz Pons and given to Great Malvern Priory in 1120. The present building is mostly 13th century. It no longer holds services and is looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust.
Across the water, St Andrew is mostly Norman and still a working church. Over the west door is a Christ in Majesty tympanum, and the chancel is Early English. Both churches are Grade I listed.
What joins them is Keble’s Bridge, a clapper footbridge of stone slabs across the Leach. It is named after John Keble, curate of St Michael and St Martin in the early 19th century, who founded a Sunday School there. The bridge has been Grade II listed since 23 January 1952. The walk between the churches is flat and takes minutes, and the loudest sound in autumn is water running low over the stones.
For lunch, the Victoria Inn at Eastleach Turville is an Arkell’s pub housed in an early 18th-century building. It began as a private house with a coach house and became an inn in 1856.
Where to Stay: Tranquil Leach Cottage in Eastleach. Martin sleeps four in two bedrooms, with an open fire in the lounge and a south-facing garden. Two pets are allowed.
Worth Knowing: The Victoria Inn is on the road from Southrop (postcode GL7 3NQ) and is about 4 miles from Lechlade.
The Duntisbournes: Saxon stones along a stream
Several villages share the name Duntisbourne along a small valley. Duntisbourne Abbots had 225 people in 2011. Duntisbourne Rouse had 70 in 2001.
The name is Old English for the stream of a man called Dunt. Duntisbourne Rouse appears as Duntesborne in the 1086 Domesday Book. The Rouse part comes from the le Rous family, once lords of the manor, and by 1287 the village was written down as Duntesbourn Rus.
St Michael’s at Duntisbourne Rouse sits on a hillside above the valley and dates from Saxon times. It has a small crypt, a Norman-era chancel, five misericords in the choir stalls and a 15th-century tower. The organ was given by the Beauchamp sisters in memory of the writer Katherine Mansfield, and a plaque on it says so. The church has been Grade I listed since 26 November 1958. There is a ford at Duntisbourne Rouse, so keep to the footpath and do not drive through it unless you know the water level.
At Duntisbourne Abbots, St Peter’s was built in the 12th century on the site of a Saxon church. The tower is Norman, the belfry has 13th-century stone lattice windows, and the font is Norman too. The chancel arch is Victorian.
One note before you plan a pint. The Five Mile House on Old Gloucester Road was listed by CAMRA for its historic interior, but it closed in 2015 and is now a private house.
Where to Stay: The Long Barn in Duntisbourne Abbots is a 17th-century barn conversion sleeping four, with two double bedrooms and a seven-night minimum stay. Dogs are not allowed.
Worth Knowing: The Katherine Mansfield link is a plaque on the church organ, given by the Beauchamp sisters.
Elkstone: a Norman church with pigeons in the roof
Elkstone is about seven miles south of Cheltenham and eight miles north-west of Cirencester. It is listed as Elchestane in the Domesday Book of 1086. The 2011 census counted 248 people.
The reason to come is the church of St John the Evangelist, built around 1160. The nave, chancel and central tower date from then. In the 13th century, the central tower was taken down and the roof raised, creating a columbarium, a dovecote inside the church, with pigeonholes in the north and east walls. A new three-stage tower was added in the 15th century.
Over the south doorway the Norman tympanum shows a seated Christ on a cushioned throne, with the Book of Judgement in his left hand and his right raised in blessing. The chancel arch carries Norman chevron carving. Inside you will find box pews and a Jacobean hexagonal pulpit dated 1609. The nave stays cool and dim even on a bright day, and the light falls on the pews rather than from above.
The tower holds six bells, the oldest of which dates to 1657. Gargoyles and grotesques look down from the outside walls. The church has been Grade I listed since 12 November 1958. A composting eco-loo was opened in 2017, which is the one modern detail you will be grateful for.
Where to Stay: The Long Barn at Duntisbourne Abbots works as a base for this corner of the Cotswolds, with parking for two cars about 200 metres from the barn.
Worth Knowing: The pigeon holes are in the north and east walls of the raised roof space, not in a separate outbuilding.
Naunton: a four-gabled dovecote and a flagstone pub
Naunton runs along one long street in the upper Windrush valley, off the B4068 between Bourton-on-the-Water and Winchcombe. It appears in Domesday as Niwetone in 1086, and a Saxon church stood on the site of the present one.
The dovecote is the surprise. Historic England lists it as Grade II* and dates it to the 16th century, possibly earlier. It is a square building with a gable on each face and a lantern light on top, in rubble stone with a Cotswold stone roof. Inside, it was built with well over a thousand L-shaped nest holes, and just over 900 remain because the lower levels were filled in during the Second World War. A local charity, now the Naunton Dovecote Trust, bought it in 2000 and restored it with grants and donations. It is free to visit in daylight hours.
St Andrew’s church is largely 15th-century, with a medieval stone pulpit and font, and two 18th-century sundials on the tower. The Warden’s Way, a 14-mile route between Bourton-on-the-Water and Winchcombe, passes through the village.
The Black Horse Inn opened in the 1870s in a former row of small cottages. It has a flagstone floor, low black beams and built-in pews in the front bar, and it pours Donnington cask ales. It is dog-friendly. Listed hours are 11am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sunday.
Where to Stay: Naunton Little Barn is a detached barn conversion for two, with one double bedroom, an enclosed garden and a pub within walking distance. One dog is allowed.
Worth Knowing: The dovecote is an Ancient Monument and a Grade II* listed building.
Sapperton and Daneway: England’s longest tunnel, once
Sapperton is about 4.5 miles west of Cirencester. It had 412 people in 2011, and the Bathurst family still owns most of the village and its land.
Its fame is underground. The Sapperton Canal Tunnel on the Thames and Severn Canal is 3,817 yards (3,490 metres) long and opened on 20 April 1789 after about five years of construction. King George III visited in 1788 to see it going up. It was the longest tunnel of any kind in England until 1811, when Standedge on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal overtook it.
There was no towpath, so boats were moved through by legging until 1911, when the last commercial traffic passed. Men lay on their backs and pushed against the walls with their feet. The tunnel is now disused and partly collapsed, and the canal was abandoned by 1933.
The Daneway Inn at Daneway, GL7 6LN, sits beside the old canal. It was the Bricklayers Arms before it was renamed in 1955, and its cottages housed the leggers. It has a large garden overlooking the canal and serves Wadworth cask ales. Listed hours are noon to 9.30pm Monday to Saturday, with food until 8pm, and noon to 7.30pm on Sunday.
Sapperton also has an Arts and Crafts past. Ernest Gimson built the Leasowes north-east of the church, and the Barnsley brothers built Upper Dorvel House and Beechanger. St Kenelm’s church was rebuilt in Queen Anne’s reign.
Where to Stay: The Long Barn at Duntisbourne Abbots is the closest stay in this guide.
Worth Knowing: The Daneway Inn was the Bricklayers Arms until 1955, and two of its cottages housed the leggers who walked boats through the tunnel.
Practical Tips
- Park considerately. Naunton and the Duntisbournes have little room, so use the church verges only where it is clear you will not block a gate.
- Wear boots. The lanes and fords are wet for much of the year.
- Do not drive through the ford at Duntisbourne Rouse unless you know the depth.
- Take Duntisbourne, Elkstone and Sapperton together in one day, and give Eastleach and Naunton a day each.
- Phone the Daneway Inn on 01285 760297 and the Victoria Inn on 01367 850277 if you want to check food before a long drive.
- Visit the Naunton dovecote in daylight. It is free to visit during daylight hours.
Responsible Visiting
These are working villages, not attractions. Keep to rights of way, leave gates as you find them and keep dogs on a lead near livestock and on the fords. Park without blocking farm gates, and take your rubbish with you.
Reader Q&A
Which Cotswolds villages are least visited?
Eastleach, the Duntisbournes, Elkstone, Naunton and Sapperton are all small, away from the main tourist routes and have a documented church, dovecote or tunnel.
Is the Naunton dovecote free to visit?
Yes. It is free to visit during daylight hours, and the Naunton Dovecote Trust looks after it.
Can you walk through Sapperton Tunnel?
No. The tunnel is disused and partly collapsed, and the canal had been abandoned by 1933.
Is the Five Mile House still open?
No. The pub at Duntisbourne Abbots closed in 2015 and is now a private house.
Can you cross Keble’s Bridge?
Yes. It is a clapper footbridge over the River Leach between the two churches at Eastleach, and it has been Grade II listed since 1952.
Are dogs allowed in the Black Horse at Naunton?
Yes. CAMRA lists it as dog-friendly.
Where to Stay
Tranquil Leach Cottage, Eastleach Martin. Sleeps four in two bedrooms, with an open fire and a south-facing garden. Two pets allowed.
The Long Barn, Duntisbourne Abbots. A 17th-century barn conversion sleeping four, with a seven-night minimum stay. No dogs.
Naunton Little Barn, Naunton. A detached barn for two with an enclosed garden. One dog allowed.
When the light drops, the five villages go quiet again, and the only tourist noise is the water over the stones at Eastleach.
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