Ozleworth

Ozleworth is one of the most hidden villages in the Cotswolds, accessible only by narrow lanes that wind through deep, densely wooded valleys near Wotton-under-Edge. The village consists of little more than a farm, a manor house, and the Church of St Nicholas of Myra — a Norman building with a unique hexagonal central tower that is the defining feature of the whole place. The tower, probably dating from the twelfth century, is one of only two hexagonal church towers in England and makes Ozleworth an essential destination for anyone with a serious interest in Norman architecture.

The manor house and farm beside the church are private, but the church is generally accessible and the whole setting — deep in a combe with the surrounding woodland pressing close — has a quality of isolation that feels genuinely medieval. Newark Park, a National Trust property with a dramatic position on the escarpment above, is within walking distance and offers outstanding views across the Severn Vale.

Ozleworth Bottom, the valley below the village, is one of the most beautiful and least visited parts of the southern Cotswolds. The stream that runs through it once powered several cloth mills, and the remains of mill ponds and leats can still be traced in the undergrowth. The area around Ozleworth, along with the neighbouring valleys of Newington Bagpath and Kingscote, represents the Cotswolds at its most secretive and most rewarding for those willing to explore it properly on foot.