Bourton-on-the-Water

Bourton-on-the-Water's hotels and guesthouses trade on the village's riverside setting, and the best of them make the most of it. Coaching inns such as the Old Manse and Chester House sit directly on the banks of the Windrush, giving guests a view of the footbridges and grassy banks from their windows, while a scattering of smaller B&Bs occupy converted Cotswold stone townhouses just off the main street, within a few minutes' walk of the shops and attractions. Further out, country house hotels around the neighbouring villages of the Slaughters and Clapton-on-the-Hill offer a quieter, more spread-out alternative, often with their own grounds and restaurants, for guests happy to drive or taxi the short distance into Bourton itself.

Booking ahead is strongly advised for spring and summer, when Bourton is one of the most visited villages in the Cotswolds and rooms on or near the river sell out weeks in advance. Many of the village-centre hotels have limited parking, so it is worth checking availability before arriving by car, and some properties get genuinely lively downstairs in their bars on summer evenings, which suits some travellers better than others. Outside peak season, rates drop and availability opens up considerably, making autumn and winter a good time to find a central room at short notice.

Bourton punches well above its weight for things to see given its size, with several attractions built around its distinctive setting and a handful of genuinely unusual museums.

• Wander the River Windrush footbridges — the village's five low stone bridges, some dating to the early 19th century, cross the shallow river along the main street and are the classic Bourton view.
• The Model Village — a one-ninth-scale replica of Bourton itself, built in the 1930s in the garden of the Old New Inn and Grade II listed, complete with its own tiny model of the model.
• Cotswold Motoring Museum and Toy Collection — housed in an old mill building on the Windrush, with vintage cars, motorbikes, enamel signs and a large collection of childhood toys, including the original Brum car from the children's TV series.
• Birdland Park and Gardens — home to several hundred birds across landscaped gardens beside the river, including the UK's only colony of king penguins and a walk-through flamingo enclosure.
• Bourton Model Railway Exhibition — an intricate OO-gauge layout with more than 900 metres of track, tucked just off the high street.
• Cotswold Perfumery — a small working perfume house on the edge of the village offering blending workshops and a museum of scent.
• Dragonfly Maze — a yew-hedge maze on the site of the old motoring museum garden, aimed at families with younger children.

The village has a good spread of pubs, cafes and restaurants for its size. The Mousetrap Inn and the Kingsbridge occupy prime spots overlooking the river and serve solid pub food alongside local ales, while Rose Tree Restaurant, set right on the water's edge, is known for its riverside terrace and seasonal British menu. For something more casual, Bakery on the Water and the various tea rooms along the high street do a brisk trade in cream teas and coffee, and Small Talk Coffee Roasters serves its own roasted beans a short walk from the green. The Croft Riverside Cafe and Kingsbridge Chippy cover fish and chips and quick lunches for those passing through on foot.

Bourton-on-the-Water sits in a stretch of the Cotswolds with several established campsites and glamping sites within a short drive, though there is nothing directly in the village itself given its compact, largely built-up centre. As with the rest of England, wild camping is illegal without the express permission of the landowner, so pitching up informally on farmland or verges around the village is not an option; stick to licensed sites, of which the wider Cotswolds has a good spread.

The terrain around Bourton is gentle by Cotswold standards, a mix of open farmland and river meadows rather than the steeper wolds further north, which makes it comfortable walking and cycling country for anyone camping nearby and wanting to explore on foot. Nearby sites range from simple, family-run touring and camping fields to more established caravan parks with better facilities, and several offer easy access to the Windrush Way and Monarch's Way long-distance footpaths that pass close to the village.

Late spring through early autumn is the practical camping season here, with April to October the reliable window for pitching a tent; conditions can turn wet and cold outside that period, as in the rest of the Cotswolds. For those who would rather skip the tent altogether, glamping has taken hold strongly in this part of Gloucestershire, with shepherd's huts, safari tents and converted horseboxes available on farms within a few miles of Bourton, offering proper beds and, often, a wood-burning stove or hot tub while keeping the countryside setting.