Burford

Burford calls itself the Gateway to the Cotswolds, which is either accurate or marketing depending on which direction you're coming from, but either way it's one of the best looking towns in the area and it knows it. The High Street runs downhill from the top of town to the River Windrush at the bottom, lined with medieval buildings, coaching inns, and the kind of independent shops that somehow manage to sell both artisan cheese and overpriced candles without it feeling cynical.

The town's been here since at least the 11th century, it's in the Domesday Book and made serious money from the wool trade in the medieval period. The merchants who got rich off Cotswold wool built St John the Baptist Church at the bottom of the hill, one of the largest and finest wool churches in England. Inside there's a memorial to three Levellers, soldiers executed by Cromwell in the churchyard in 1649 for mutiny, and you can still see the names they scratched into the lead font while they were imprisoned in the church waiting to be shot. It's one of those historical details that stops you cold when you read it.

The High Street is what everyone photographs. It's steep, it's wide, and it's almost entirely unspoiled, 16th and 17th-century buildings, many of them still doing what they were originally built for. The Tolsey Museum halfway down is tiny and easy to miss, but it's the old tollhouse where merchants paid their market fees and it's now full of local history and old records if you're into that sort of thing. Entry is free.

For food, The Angel at the top of the High Street has won Cotswold Pub of the Year three times and the food backs it up, modern British, locally sourced, the kind of menu that changes with the seasons and actually means it. The Royal Oak does what a lot of people think is the best pie in the Cotswolds, and they're not wrong. The Highway Inn down by the bridge dates from 1480, has a medieval courtyard, and feels like the kind of pub where Roundheads and Cavaliers probably had a pint between skirmishes.

Huffkins on the High Street has been running since 1890 and does proper cream teas, excellent cakes, and Cotswold lardy cake if you've never tried it. The Cotswold Cheese Company is essential if you're self-catering or just want to take something good home, local cheeses, cured meats, condiments, all from producers you can actually visit if you wanted to.

The Madhatter Bookshop is one of the better independent bookshops in the area and has been going since the '70s. Three French Hens sells vintage French homewares and linens if you're into that. There's a proper old-fashioned sweet shop that does pick-and-mix and sells things you forgot existed.

Burford has a surprising number of antique shops for a town this size, and they're not all overpriced tat, there are some serious dealers here who know what they're doing. If you're actually looking for something specific rather than just browsing, it's worth an afternoon.

The walk down Burford Hill from the roundabout at the top gives you one of the best views of the town, the whole High Street laid out in front of you with the church at the bottom and fields beyond. Early morning or late afternoon when the light's golden and hitting the stone at an angle is when it looks best.

Levellers Day happens in May every year, a commemoration of the three soldiers shot in the churchyard, with speeches, music, and a parade. It's been running since the 1970s and attracts a mixture of historians, activists, and people who just like a good local tradition.

Cotswold Wildlife Park is a couple of miles outside Burford and is one of the better zoos in the country with 160 acres, rhinos, giraffes, penguins, and a manor house you can walk through that's full of exotic birds. It's excellent if you've got kids and still interesting if you haven't.

Parking is the main problem. There's a big pay-and-display car park off Sheep Street which is your best bet. Do not try to park on the High Street unless you enjoy your wing mirrors being clipped by coaches. Avoid weekends in summer if you value your sanity, midweek in spring or autumn is the sweet spot.