Bibury
Called “the most beautiful village in England” by William Morris, Arlington Row is the image printed on the inside pages of British passports.
Bibury sits on the River Coln. In the 19th century, the artist William Morris praised it as “the most beautiful village in England.” The most famous sight is Arlington Row, a row of stone cottages built in 1380 as storehouses and converted into weavers' cottages in the 17th century. Its honey-colored stone walls, steep roofs and riverside meadows make up one of the most iconic scenes in the Cotswolds. The row has also been printed on the inside pages of British passports. It is a listed building of the highest protection grade and is still lived in, so visitors can only admire it from the outside. The village also has the 17th-century Swan Hotel, the clear River Coln where trout swim, a trout farm where you can fish and taste smoked trout, and the Saxon-era Church of St Mary. The village is very small and can be walked in an hour. At midday in peak season, tour buses and cars are numerous and parking is limited, so arrive before 9 a.m. or in the evening. It is about 50 minutes' drive from Oxford and about 15 minutes from Cirencester.
Opening hours
Open all day (townhouses are private homes; exterior only)
Nearby sights
- Cirencester
- Bourton-on-the-Water
- Upper and Lower Slaughter
- Burford
- Stow-on-the-Wold
- Sudeley Castle
- Broadway Tower
- Chipping Campden