Notgrove

Hotels in Notgrove itself are limited to a small number of farmhouse bed and breakfasts, reflecting the size of the parish – this is high, quiet wold country rather than a village with a hospitality scene of its own. Most visitors base themselves instead in nearby Bourton-on-the-Water or Stow-on-the-Wold, both under ten minutes away by car, where options range from traditional Cotswold coaching inns with stone fireplaces and exposed beams to boutique hotels and country house properties set in their own grounds. Cheltenham, a little further afield, adds a wider spread of choice again, from Regency townhouse hotels to budget chains, along with better transport links for those without a car for the whole stay.

Whichever base you choose, the appeal of staying near Notgrove is the same: quick access to genuinely open, uncrowded countryside, with the long barrow, St Bartholomew’s church and miles of footpath walking a short drive or a longer walk from the door, while the shops, restaurants and railway connections of the bigger Cotswold villages and Cheltenham remain within easy reach for day trips or evenings out. Booking ahead is worthwhile in summer and around Cotswold show and festival weekends, when accommodation across the wider area fills up quickly.

Notgrove rewards anyone happy to walk, look, and take their time; its interest is archaeological and scenic rather than a checklist of attractions.

• Notgrove Long Barrow – a Neolithic chambered long barrow of the Cotswold-Severn type, around 50 metres long, standing on a ridge with wide views. First excavated in 1881 and again by Elsie Clifford in 1934–5, it revealed a stone burial chamber, a male skeleton, and a ritual forecourt formed by two projecting ‘horns’ – one of the more substantial Neolithic monuments in the Cotswolds.
• Church of St Bartholomew – a 12th-century church much enlarged in the 14th century, with an octagonal spire and a rare Saxon carving of the Crucifixion, dated to at least the 10th century, set into a niche on the exterior of the east wall. Inside is a Norman tub font and effigies linked to descendants of Dick Whittington.
• Cotswolds National Landscape walking – Notgrove sits within the Cotswolds National Landscape (formerly AONB), and the surrounding footpaths link the long barrow, the church, and neighbouring villages across open wold country and along the Warden’s Way and Gloucestershire Way long-distance routes.
• Bourton-on-the-Water – a few miles south, the “Venice of the Cotswolds”, with the River Windrush running through the village centre, low footbridges, and Model Village, Motoring Museum and Birdland attractions.
• Stow-on-the-Wold – the highest town in the Cotswolds, with its market square, antique shops and the yew-flanked north door of St Edward’s Church.
• Naunton and the Windrush valley – a neighbouring village with a restored dovecote and gentle valley walking along the young River Windrush.

Notgrove has no pub or shop of its own, so eating out means a short drive. The Plough Inn at Cold Aston and The Coach and Horses at Longborough are among the traditional Cotswold pubs within easy reach, while Bourton-on-the-Water offers a wide choice of cafes, tea rooms and restaurants along the Windrush, and Stow-on-the-Wold has long-standing options such as The Old Butchers and the many pubs around the market square. Cheltenham, a short drive away, adds a much larger choice of restaurants and independent cafes.

Notgrove and its surrounding wolds offer some of the most open, quietly beautiful camping and glamping country in Gloucestershire, though as with all of England, wild camping on private land here is illegal without the landowner’s express permission – unlike parts of Scotland, there is no general right to pitch up on open countryside, so a booked site is the way to camp legally and considerately. The terrain around Notgrove is high, exposed wold farmland: gently rolling arable fields and pasture divided by drystone walls, at around 200 metres above sea level, with long views but relatively little natural shelter, so a site with hedging, walls or established trees makes a real difference to comfort in a stiff Cotswold breeze.

Sites in the area range from simple, small-scale camping fields on working farms to well-equipped touring and glamping parks with shepherd’s huts, bell tents and yurts, many within a short drive around Bourton-on-the-Water, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold and the wider Windrush valley. Glamping has grown quickly across this part of the Cotswolds in recent years, and it suits the area’s changeable weather well – a solid canvas structure with proper bedding takes the edge off a cold night on the wolds without losing the feel of sleeping under the stars.

Late spring to early autumn is the best window for camping here: the ground is driest, the days are long enough for evenings sitting out, and the surrounding footpaths – including routes past Notgrove Long Barrow and along the Warden’s Way – are at their most walkable. Even in high summer, pack for changeable British weather and bring layers for the exposed, breezy high ground after dark. Spring and autumn camping can be atmospheric, with mist settling over the wolds at dawn, but nights are colder and pitches can be muddy after rain, so check site conditions before booking outside the main season.