Moreton-in-Marsh

Moreton-in-Marsh is the most practical town in the Cotswolds, which sounds like damning with faint praise but isn't. It has a proper train station with direct services to London and Oxford, a massive farmers' market every Tuesday that people drive half an hour for, and a High Street that's actually still used by locals rather than just existing for tourists. It's not the prettiest town in the area, Broadway and Chipping Campden have that covered, but it's genuinely useful, which counts for a lot when you actually live here.

The town sits on the Fosse Way, the old Roman road that runs dead straight from Exeter to Lincoln, and that practicality has defined it ever since. It's flat, the streets are wide, and it was built to move goods and people efficiently. The market charter dates back to 1227 and the Tuesday market is still one of the biggest and best in the region, proper fruit and veg, local meat, bread from actual bakers, plants, clothes, tools, the lot. It starts early and by 10am it's heaving.

Moreton also has the train station that makes the North Cotswolds accessible without a car, which is rare round here. Direct trains to London Paddington take about 90 minutes, and it's the jumping-off point for Chipping Campden, Stow, and the villages that don't have their own stations. There's a regular bus service that actually works, which again, counts for something in this part of the world.

For food, the White Hart Royal on the High Street is a 17th-century coaching inn that does a solid Sunday roast and has rooms if you're staying over. The Redesdale Arms at the top end of the High Street is the posher option, two AA rosettes, tasting menus, good wine list. The Yellow Brick Café does excellent coffee and homemade cakes if you just need a sit-down between errands.

Batsford Arboretum is a couple of miles outside town, 56 acres of trees and rare plants, particularly good in spring when the magnolias are out and in autumn for the colour. The garden centre attached to it is one of the better ones round here. Sezincote nearby is a Regency house built to look like an Indian palace, complete with onion dome, and is genuinely odd and worth seeing if you've never been.

The Cotswold Falconry Centre just outside town has flying displays daily and is excellent if you've got kids or just like birds of prey. They do experience days where you can actually fly the birds yourself, which is more impressive than it sounds.

Wellington Aviation Museum at the old RAF base has a huge collection of wartime memorabilia and a restored Wellington bomber. It's run by volunteers who actually know what they're talking about, and entry reasonably priced.

Parking is easier here than in most Cotswolds towns there's a big car park behind the Fire Station off the High Street, and street parking. Come on a Tuesday if you want the market, avoid it if you just want to walk around without the crowds.