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.

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

5 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

2 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

3 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...

Sean Callery

2 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...

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.

Sean Callery

3 min read

Ahead of Father's Day this coming Sunday, here's a beautiful sculpture of a father and child. The image by Ginny Coates bursts with love and movement, and you can enjoy it among many other treasures in #burford church.

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

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
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#englishcountryside

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Look carefully to enjoy the ethereal elegance of this piece by @lisa_pettibone at @sculpture_at_kingham_lodge recently. The title? POND.
Next week I'll be back to showing images from the Cotswolds.

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#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

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This striking piece by @stuartstockwellsculpture was one of many delights at @sculpture_at_kingham_lodge which raises money to support the arts. Oh, and yes, that is a replica of the alhambra which is one of the delights of the impressive garden.

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#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
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#englishcountryside

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This pleasingly symmetrical entrance is in Bibury, one of the prettiest villages in the Cotswolds - it's well worth exploring beyond Arlington Row down the road. This image is a sort-off contribution to celebrating the joys of maths as per National Numeracy Day on 21 May.

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The 18th-century elegance of Bath's Royal Circus is pretty much the same now as when Jane Austen lived in the city.

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Stratford-upon-Avon Canal's final lock links to the Avon so it linked the industrial Midlands to the south west coast from 1816. Always fun watching boats come through!

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Not the Cotswolds, so way off my patch. But definitely 'Offbeat': these carvings adorn the outside of St Stephen's cathedral in Vienna. What do they represent? Well, they indicate which side men and women should sit, as they were expected to worship separately... Shout if you’ve seen anything similar on a British church.

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Visit Minster Lovell Hall and travel back to the 1450s. This atmospheric site gives such a sense of grand medieval life. Always a highlight on my tours.

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#minsterlovellhall

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All Souls College in Oxford, completed by Nicholas Hawksmoor in 1734. The college was already nearly 300 years old by then. Looks pretty good nearly 300 years later. There are great stories about this college - DM for a top tour.

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Can you spot Burford church through the blossom? It's spring! And the Cotswolds and its buildings are looking as beautiful as ever.

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This wildly over-the-top angel rests over the grave of Marie Corelli, the most famous writer you've never heard of. She features in my new Literary Cotswolds talk that I will deliver this week as a fundraiser for Hook Norton library.

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#mariecorelli

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Sezincote is the essence of offbeat: an Indian Mogul-style domed palace in a Cotswold valley.

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This 24-hour clock painted with symbols from astronomy and the zodiac fits perfectly in the zany surroundings of Snowshill Manor with its collections of the weird and wonderful. I suggested Snowshill in this weekend's visit recommendation on Radio Winchcombe.

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#radiowinchcombe #snowshill #snowshillmanor

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Why is this elephant on an Oxford roof? Because it decorates what was once the Indian Institute, where from 1884 Oxford students learned about India ahead of going out to... well, pretty much rule it as part of our Empire.

More info on my tours!

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This hunting scene is just inside the entrance to The Bear in Woodstock. The town, and nearby land now Blenheim Palace, were royal hunting grounds for centuries.

Find out more on my VoiceMap audio tour of this lovely medieval town.

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#VoiceMap

Not a flattering image, is it? I'm sure the students of Balliol see no resemblance as they pass this grotesqsue in their quad.

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This fake Roman temple is a surprising addition to the Cotswold landscape. It's a folly (a show-off structure with no real purpose, although this one acts as a dovecote) in the grounds of Barrington Park, and dates from the 18th century.

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#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

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#englishcountryside

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Blockley is a lovely Cotswolds village whose church is used for filming some of TV's Father Brown series. My next Saturday morning slot on Radio Winchcombe this week offers surprising facts from the village's industrial past.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds
Radio WinchcombeRadio Winchcombe

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
#your_cotswolds
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#englishcountryside

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It's snowdrop season in the Cotswolds! Enjoy views of Colesbourne Gardens with its hundreds of varieties of snowdrop, set in grounds with an eerily blue lake. As mentioned in my slot on on Tom Lowe's Radio Winchcombe Saturday morning show.

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#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
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The zig-zag, or chevron, pattern of the stonework around this doorway of Woodstock church is typical of a Norman design from the 12th century.Find out more on my excellent audio tour of this lovely town, neighbour of Blenheim, available on the terrific VoiceMap app.

#offbeatcotswolds #bluebadgeguide #bluebadgeguides
#britainsbestguides
#woodstockoxfordshire
#blenheimpalace

#englishcountryside

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#VoiceMap

Wooden houses only really need a basic box frame, but owners liked to show their wealth and style with extra flourishes, as here on the main street in Winchcombe. Centuries later, it still looks fab!

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#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

#discoverthecotswolds #visitthecotswolds #discovercotswolds #cotswoldslife #cotswoldlife #thecotswolds
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#englishcountryside

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This is a great example of re-use: a medieval window at Swinbrook Church was shattered by a wartime bomb in 1940. The shards were re-set to create this pleasing sort-of mosaic: a lovely blend of the past and present.

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#englishcountryside

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Gladys Deacon happily adorns the formal gardens of Blenheim Palace - because she adored the place. Sadly, she stopped adoring the 9th Duke of Marlborough after they married in 1921. Her story includes disastrous plastic surgery, banished dogs and a revolver. Hear more on my tours of Woodstock and Blenheim.

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#britainsbestguides #woodstockoxfordshire #blenheimpalace

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#VoiceMap

In case you had forgotten what the sun looks like, here's the one on the gates of All Souls College, Oxford. it's the toughest college to study at. Why? Find out on my tours.

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It's a bit of a trek from the house to the Column of Victory at Blenheim, so I've saved you the trouble. Carved on the base is the act of parliament giving the estate to John Churchill to reward his 1704 bashing of the French - so he had more than a piece of paper to prove ownership!

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

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#VoiceMap

Mr and Mrs William Grevel have been devout on their memorial brasses in Chipping Campden church for 600 years. You need to ask for a carpet to be moved to see them. It’s worth it!

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#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

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#englishcountryside

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#VoiceMap

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.

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#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.

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#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.

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#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

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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.

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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.

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#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

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#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.

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#britainsbestguides #Cotswolds #thecotswolds
#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

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#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.

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#englishcountryside

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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.

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#inthecotswolds #cotswoldcountry #Cotswolds_Culture #lovethecotswolds

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#englishcountryside

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#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.

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#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.
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#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.

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#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.
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#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.

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#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.

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#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.

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#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.

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#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.

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#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.

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#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.

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#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.

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#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.

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#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.

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

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

#VoiceMap

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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

Pun times in Oxford

Cotswolds safari... continued!

Cotswold safari part one

Yews story

Ten reasons why you should visit Hook Norton

Chipping Norton: the town that moved up the hill

​

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