Naunton

Naunton street scene

Summary

Oh, my, What a lovely village! Naunton sits on the River Windrush, in a bowl in the Cotswold hills.

The village

If you're looking for attractions, like stately homes, museums, or gardens, you won't find them here. Like many Cotswold villages, the village itself provides reason enough to make a visit. Naunton is set in a lovely spot on the floor of the Windrush valley. The cottages are built of the golden Cotswold stone, as is most of the church.

The river winds along the valley bottom, and cottages line twisting lines leading up the hillside. A short walk up one of the lanes leading up the hills provides quite striking views over the village. A listed medieval dovecote can be found just off the road.

Naunton dovecot

The church

The church of St Andrew is a wonderful historic building, with a medieval sundial, and gargoyles adorning the drip-caps of the tower windows.

Notes

I first found Naunton when browsing through leaflets at the Tourist Information Centre at Northleach. A strikingly pretty photo on the cover of a Cotswold travel brochure caught my eye. It showed a gorgeous church tower and warm-toned stone cottages peering above green trees in the heart of a valley.

"Where's that?" I enquired of the TIC representative. One look at the photo and she replied, "Oh, that must be Naunton." She knew right away. After visiting the village several times, I feel I will always know it too.