Broadway

They call it the Jewel of the Cotswolds. It's one of those nicknames that sounds like marketing until you actually stand on the High Street and realise it's just accurate. Broadway is wide, that's literally where the name comes from, a broad village way and lined with horse chestnut trees and coaching inns built in the 16th and 17th centuries, when this was one of the busiest stops on the London to Worcester road. Oliver Cromwell slept at the Lygon Arms before the Battle of Worcester. Charles I had been there first. The pub has been trading since 1377 and shows absolutely no sign of stopping.

What makes Broadway different from other pretty Cotswolds villages is the quality of what's here. Russell's of Broadway on the High Street is genuinely one of the best restaurants in the region, modern British, daily-changing menus, everything sourced from the Vale of Evesham and surrounding farms. Next door, Russell's Fish and Chips was listed in Giles Coren and Marina O'Loughlin's 100 best places to eat in the UK, which tells you everything you need to know. Broadway Deli is where locals go for coffee and supplies. The Tattersall's Brasserie at the Broadway Hotel is quietly excellent and often overlooked.

The walk up to Broadway Tower is non-negotiable. Designed by James Wyatt in 1798 and sitting on top of Beacon Hill, it's one of the highest points in the Cotswolds and on a clear day you can see into 16 counties. It's about 45 minutes from the village on foot through open fields, go in the morning, before the car park at the top fills up. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway runs from Broadway through beautiful countryside towards Cheltenham and is worth an hour of anyone's time, particularly with children.

In July, the fields around nearby Snodshill turn purple with lavender, Cotswold Lavender is a working farm that opens to the public during the flowering season and is one of those genuinely surprising Cotswolds experiences that most people drive straight past without knowing it's there.

The shopping on Broadway High Street is nearly 90% independent, proper boutiques, galleries, gift shops and the Broadway Museum and Art Gallery in a 17th-century building tells the story of the village's unexpected artistic history, including a long connection with American painters who colonised the village in the late 19th century.

Come at any time of year. Broadway is one of those villages that earns its reputation in every season.