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Bourton-on-the-Water: Mirroring the CotswoldsBy Marilyn LoeserIf you’ve ever read a book about England’s Cotswolds, I can almost bet you’ve read about Bourton-on-the-Water, regularly voted one of the prettiest villages in England. The village has more than its share of Cotswold houses and cottages, many of them 300 to 400 years old and built almost exclusively of honey-colored Cotswold stone. The village, situated on the banks of the River Windrush, was populated in Anglo-Saxon times and became a strategic outpost along the ancient Roman road — Fosse Way — which traversed Britain from the North Sea to St. George's Channel. During the Middle Ages, its prosperity came from wool, which was shipped all over Europe. During the Industrial Revolution, when the greatest profits lay in finished textiles, it became a center for raw wool production which kept modernization at bay. Visiting Bourton-on-the-Water
The improvement of motor cars between WWI and WWII opened up the Cotswolds to day visitors, and finally motor coaches started becoming a familiar site beginning in the 1930's. Today people travel here from around the world to take in the ambiance synonymous with the word Cotswolds. After all, Bourton-on-the-Water has all the right ingredients. The River Windrush — with its six arched bridges and wide grassy banks — runs through the village paralleling the main street lined with shops and restaurants. The village isn’t short on attractions either — historic and otherwise. The Church of Saint Lawrence in the center of the village, for example, was built on the site of a Roman temple. The earliest evidence of a Christian presence here goes back as far as 709 AD when a wooden church was built on land donated by the local king. Three hundred years later, the first stone church of Norman design was built. The church was then dedicated to Saint Lawrence, a 4th century Christian martyr. A drawing of 1780 shows the church with a central tower. In 1784, the Norman church was largely replaced with one in the neo-classical style, with a new heavy clock and bell tower, still standing today.
Built by an earlier inn owner and a small team of local craftsmen during the early 30s, it opened on the coronation day of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
Built in the same warm Cotswold stone of the real village, the walls and roof tiles of the model buildings weather so that each year the model becomes more and more realistic.
More than 500 birds reside here is varying habitats set in a seven-acre park and gardens with woodland and ponds. The River Windrush runs through the park making a natural habitat for water fowl. If you go: For more information check the websites: bourton-on-the-water.co.uk or bourtoninfo.com. All photos by Marilyn Loeser |
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Bourton-on-the-Water has been a
tourist draw for centuries. Roman chariots and wagons trundled into town
followed by the age of horse-drawn coaches and finally by railcar during the
second half of the 19th century. 
One of the most popular attractions and a personal favorite
of mine is the Model Village. Built in 1937 in the garden of the New Old
Inn, the village is a one-ninth scale of Bourton-on-the-Water.
It’s
fun to walk through the tiny village with children who peer in windows and bend
down to knock on tiny doors. The village is complete with the River Windrush with its distinctive
bridges, and shaded by miniature willows and chestnut trees. Choir voices can be
heard from the Church of Saint Lawrence and the Baptist Church nearby. 
Another favorite with all ages is Birdland offering
a large collection of exotic birds including penguins, pelicans and pink
flamingos.