Northleach

Northleach is one of the great wool towns of the Cotswolds, sitting on the Roman Fosse Way at the heart of the high wolds. Despite its modest size, it punches well above its weight historically — during the fifteenth century it was one of the wealthiest places in England, its fortune built on the backs of thousands of Cotswold sheep grazed across the surrounding limestone uplands.

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is the crown jewel of the town and one of the finest wool churches in England. Its elaborate south porch, soaring nave and magnificent clerestory windows were paid for by the great wool merchants of the medieval period, several of whom are commemorated in the famous brass memorial plaques on the nave floor. These merchant brasses, depicting prosperous traders standing on woolsacks or sheep, are among the most detailed and expressive medieval brasses surviving anywhere in the country.

The town's market square retains much of its original character, with a handsome mix of Cotswold stone buildings dating from the medieval period through to the Georgian era. The old House of Correction on the edge of the town — a rare surviving example of an eighteenth-century prison — now houses the Cotswold Heritage Centre, which explores the agricultural and rural history of the region with considerable depth and is one of the better free museums in the Cotswolds.

Northleach has a good selection of independent shops and a strong pub culture, and makes a quiet alternative base for exploring the central Cotswolds. It sits within easy reach of Bourton-on-the-Water, Burford and Cirencester, giving access to some of the most visited places in the region without the tourist pressure those towns attract themselves.