Tours and tales to bring your visit alive

A walk through history

Sat 2 Nov

Sat 5 Oct

BOOK NOW

Walking tours 10.30am-12 noon

Sat 2 Nov

Sat 5 Oct

BOOK NOW

Walking tours 10.30am-12 noon

Sean Callery

Welcome! I live in the beautiful Cotswolds and I love sharing its stories and sights.

I’m a qualified Blue Badge guide for the area and a Green Badge city guide in Oxford. I really love giving tours because there's so much to see and enjoy, plus fantastic stories to share.

Offbeat Cotswolds book

Sean Callery

5 min read

Pun times in Oxford

Oxford loves puns and wordplay. Centuries of lexicon-loving academics exploring and enjoying the intricacies of our language have...

Sean Callery

2 min read

Cotswolds safari... continued!

Cotswolds Menageries: the safari continues! Here’s the second section, from L to Y, with lots of ‘S’s, but sorry, no zebras available...

Sean Callery

3 min read

Cotswold safari part one

Let’s go on a Cotswolds safari to find some unlikely animals, including apes, dolphins and elephants… and you can be sure to catch them...

Sean Callery

2 min read

Yews story

Many of the Cotswolds’ beautiful churches are set in graveyards framed by yew trees. It’s a quintessential British sight. But the reason...

Ten reasons why you should visit Hook Norton

Sean Callery

3 min read

Ten reasons why you should visit Hook Norton

Hook Norton is known around the world for its beer, but this edge-of-Cotswolds village offers many fascinating stories that take in the...

Chipping Norton: the town that moved up the hill

Sean Callery

3 min read

Chipping Norton: the town that moved up the hill

Enjoy a stroll through some stories about Chipping Norton from its earliest days as a Saxon settlement to today's lovely market town.

This chap has been looking a trifle startled since the 1450s. He is one of many figures carved on the outside of Winchcombe's lovely church.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland #englishvillage
#englishcountryside

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

The pelican is the symbol of Corpus Christi, Oxford. Why? When the college was founded in 1517, the pelican was thought to pierce its own breast with its beak and feed blood to its young, so it was a symbol of Christ sacrificing himself for man.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds
#oxford #corpuschristi

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

Next time you are in a church, see if you can spot a wheatsheaf motif in the stained glass. If so, you've found one by prolific 19th-century designer Charles Kempe. It's the trademark of his studio, taken from his family coat of arms. This example is in Batsford Church.

DM to book a top Cotswolds tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland #englishvillage
#englishcountryside

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

See if you can spot these carved Seville oranges near Oxford Station. They are on the front of the old marmalade factory named after Frank Cooper - although the recipe was actually from Sarah, his wife.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #oxford #frankcoopermarmalade

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

This rather drab memorial links with the American election. Bear with me: Can you see the stars and stripes? A floor slab from 1697 in Wyckhamford church remembers Penelope Washington. One of her relations was George Washington, first President of the United States. He followed the family tradition of having a star and stripes on his signet ring, and the design inspired today’s US national flag.

It's one of many American connections in the Cotswolds.

DM to book a top tour for more.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland #englishvillage
#englishcountryside

#photosofengland #instabritain #starsandstripes

Spot the tower! This is the view from my garden on the edge of the Cotswolds. As the trees lose their leaves, our local church re-appears.

DM to book a top Cotswolds tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland #englishvillage
#englishcountryside

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

Smile or snarl? This lion is on the grave of William Lovell, who died on 13 June, 1455. He is buried in St Kenelm's Church that he built as part of his estate in Minster Lovell. The ruins make for an atmospheric visit - then pop into the church and decide the lion's expression yourself.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland #englishvillage
#englishcountryside

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

This chap has helped many a church-goer stay upright(ish) during a long sermon. Misericords are hinged seats that allow choristers to rest a little. This one lurks in Swinbrook Church.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland #englishvillage
#englishcountryside

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

The first thing us tour guides are taught is "Look up". Always a good idea in Oxford's 250-year-old covered market - you might catch a sight of Alice, famously created by an Oxford don.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland #englishvillage
#englishcountryside

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

Castle Combe is named after its 12th-century castle sitting in a valley (that's the combe). Just so pretty.
DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland #englishvillage
#englishcountryside

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

Good mourning. Eternally saddened by the loss of a loved one, this 'weeper' cries alone in Cirencester's magnificent church.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland #englishvillage
#englishcountryside

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

Not a lampfish, but a fish lamp. It's in the Pitt Rivers, truly the weirdest museum in the world. I recommend it to clients and encourage them to wander and see what they chance across. Never fails to please. Oh... and the fish became a lamp because it was super oily.
DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#oxford #pittrivers
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #visitengland

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

It might look like a castle, but this is just the toll house for Clopton bridge in Stratford upon Avon. The sign warns that anyone blowing the bridge up will be transported (probably to Australia) for 7 years... and coaches must pay a shilling (5p today) to cross.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #visitengland
#stratforduponavon

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

This stained glass stagecoach surprised me! It's in Bibury church and commemorates Rowland Cooper (1846-1910), who lived in this enchanting village for 20 years and whose daughter married the local vicar.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage #Bibury
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

Two hares chase each other for eternity (well, as long as the thatch lasts) on a roof in Ebrington. Such creations probably once identified the thatcher, but nowadays the householder can choose what will decorate their roof ridge.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside
#explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

"Proud British lion crushes uppity French cockerel," is the message of this stonework at Blenheim Palace, built to celebrate the Battle of Blenheim (actually Blindheim, but us Brits couldn't pronounce that). On this day in 1704, John Churchill's forces helped stop the rise of Louis XIV. Hurrah!

DM to book a top tour. Or enjoy Blenheim's neighbour via my new #VoiceMap tour of Woodstock

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#blenheimpalace #blenheim #woodstock
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

Sheep and a church: kinda sums up the Cotswolds in Medieval times, when the church pretty much ran the lucrative wool industry. This is beautiful Duntisbourne Church, built from the 13th century.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

I hope he didn't tip the barber who cut this brutal fringe, now immortalised in a carving in Woodstock Church.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

Just love the paintings of saints in Hailes Church, which have miraculously (maybe!) survived when so many others were destroyed.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

Once the headgear of the University Police force, the bowler hat now tops the uniform of Oxford Proctors' Officers.

DM to book a top Oxford or Cotswolds tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

Upper Slaughter is such a peaceful spot in the Cotswolds. My clients love it.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

Check out those curls! This is Sir Robert Atkyns, historian and MP, whose effigy with its abundant hairstyle has decorated Sapperton Church since 1711.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

I love telling clients the story of Lodge Park, a 17th-century party house built on the Sherborne Estate in the Cotswolds. Guests cheer on as hunting dogs raced after deer in front of this elegant grandstand.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

Spotted this creature in Worcester College in Oxford. Pangolin comes from the Malay word for 'roller' - it can curl up behind its scales. It's in the chapel, and symbolises independence and self-sufficiency.

DM for my top tours of Oxford.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#oxford #worcestercollege #pangolin

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

Congrats if you recognise this coat of arms, or even know where it is. Check out the statue for a clue. Visitors often assume this is Shakespeare, but it's one of his pals, the Earl of Pembroke. He gets prime position in Oxford's Old Schools Quad because he gave so much money to the University and helped found... Pembroke College.

DM me for a top tour of #Oxford.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#oxford #oxforduniversity
#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

I so hope this is a seagull. This carving decorates the ceiling of St Ives Church in Cornwall. Hey, I know that's not in the Cotswolds, but they both begin with 'C' and I really like the idea of a high-flying angel gull. Only brave worshippers pray under THIS figure...

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#stives #cornwall

#englishvillage
#visitengland
#englishcountryside

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

#VoiceMap

Five eerie figures stride across Blenheim Palace Park. The 'Walking men' were made by British sculptor Laurence Edwards' and have branches, leaves, and clods of clay woven through them. You can spot them until 10 June.

DM to book a top tour.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds
#blenheimpalace #scultpures

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

Steamy action: Hook Norton brewery runs its wonderfully atmospheric steam engine on the first Sunday of each month. This whirring marvel helped the famous brewery produce pints of 'Hooky' from 1899.

DM for my tour of Hook Norton and hear about pioneers, pals and pyramids (plus have a pint)

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides @britainsbestguides
#Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#englishvillage #hookybrewery
#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
#cotswolds #thecotswolds #your_cotswolds #cotswoldvillage #visitengland
#englishcountryside

#walks #staycationuk #travelling_europe #travelling_ #explore_britain_ #traveling_uk
#photosofengland #instabritain #europetravel

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Tours and tales to bring your visit alive

A walk through history

BOOK NOW

Walking tours 10.30am-12 noon

BOOK NOW

Walking tours 10.30am-12 noon

Sean Callery

​

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