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Often called England's prettiest village, Castle Combe in southern England’s Cotswolds is one of those beautiful places you will never forget, especially with its world-famous view across the river to the bridge in the village beyond.
Visiting here is like stepping into a dream, travel back to the Middle Ages, surrounded by buildings 500 years old with no hint of the modern world. The video is fully narrated to give you a complete description and feeling for this wonderful little village.
It's quite small, just 200 meters across, but there is a lot to see. So take your time. You could walk from one end to the other and back again in 15 or 20 minutes but you'll see this is such an unusually special place that it is worth slowing down to let it all soak in.
It's located on the southern edge of the Cotswolds just 12 miles from the nearest city of Bath, and a 75-minute drive from London.
The By Brook river is one of the main reasons why Castle Combe was founded over eight centuries ago because the river powered the mill that manufactured wool from all of the sheep of the area and they manufactured the wool into high-quality fabrics, thanks to the skill of local weavers and these textiles were sold throughout the region, which created great prosperity enabling this little village to thrive.
However, the wool industry declined for various reasons about 500 years ago, and the town never developed any further as a result castle Combe is beautifully preserved as a rare example of a medieval village.
Like many visitors, we’re taking a day trip from Bath which is our home base for seeing the region. It was organized by Mad Max, a very capable company with many different tours in the area. [ Ссылка ]
The center of the little village is Market Square with several pubs around it. There is the White Hart where you can have a meal or just a pint and across the way the other pub the Castle Inn, which also serves as a small boutique hotel with 12 rooms. It is part of the five-star Manor House hotel, as you'll see on a little tour inside the hotel at the end of the video.
The four-column structure in the center is called the Market Cross, erected in the 14th century when the privilege to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was granted. Produce would be sold in and around this stall, and they say that a priest would stand in the middle giving a sermon to a captive audience, located at the crossroads of the three streets of the village. The stone steps are another historic landmark. It was so that horse riders could easily get on and off their horses.
It seems like an outdoor museum, but it's a living village with a local population of about 400 people. The historic appearance of the town is maintained by a zoning code in which everything is strictly controlled to maintain the authentic look of a 16th-century village.
On the right side notice the doorway with some tables of food outside -- payment is on the honor system. You can buy baked goods and bottled water and other items then put your money in the slot in the door. It's Ellen's Cottage.
Castle Combe is one of the most photographed little villages of England and it can get very crowded during the peak summer season, but you'll notice it's rather quiet now – we’re visiting in early May, which is a great time to be here and it.
The village houses are all typical of the Cotswold type, constructed in honey-colored stone with thick walls and roofs made of split stone tiles. No new homes have been built in this historic area since about the year 1600.
That was about the time when the river decreased in volume for some reason, which made it difficult for the wool mills to continue functioning. It was the beginning of the end of the wool industry in Castle Combe and a big reason why no modern developments ever took place here.
And yet now, ironically, the river has become one of the important reasons why Castle Combe is so attractive to the visitor. It's created this absolutely beautiful scene, so be sure to walk beyond the bridge at the south end of the village so that you can enjoy it. After you've seen that classic view once you'll probably want to come back and have another good look at it.
The 15th-century tower of the church is 80 feet high with many features of the late medieval. Including for pinnacles diagonal buttresses a belt turret and fortified battlements.
You'll certainly want to pay a visit inside the church called St. Andrew. It was built mostly in the 15th century, but includes some earlier 13th and 14th-century sections, and then later in the mid-19th century it was extensively rebuilt in the original style. There is no record of any earlier Saxon church on this location.
You can find more videos about other Cotswold villages in our collection and also a series of films about the main city of Bath
