A private single-track road leads to my rustic but cosy end-of-the-road accommodation, Jackdaw Cottage (sleeps 4; from £700 for 4 nights), which spent its previous life as a cowshed. Dan, the former foreign reporter who owns Westley Farm with his wife, issues a warning before I go in.
“Some people find it too dark and too quiet at night,” he says, but I assure him that with an 11-month baby in tow, that shouldn’t be a problem.
The estate is like the Knepp of the Cotswolds. Dan and his wife work with Natural England and Back from the Brink to encourage species recovery. And it’s working. Five years ago they saw the return of a rare species of butterfly, which is best not to name, as otherwise butterfly twitchers might descend and disturb their habitat. Dormice, hedgehogs and various species of bee also now call the ungrazed pasture home.
Critters aside, Dan says he gets good business from the Dutch: “I think they’re attracted by the hills.” There is architectural intrigue here, too. Down at the bottom of a field I find a slightly wonky bridge engineered by Brunel, built to transport stone from these hills across the railway tracks to the canal.
Obviously, a fair few tourists have discovered the Golden Valley since Queen Victoria passed through all those years ago. The Roman town of Cirencester, nearby, is a big draw, Stroud has what is possibly the best farmer’s market in the country, and there are plenty of wedding venues bringing British visitors. But Dan agrees that the Golden Valley has sidestepped the coach-tour crowds.
“We’re like the Basque country. Nobody could ever invade us because of the topography,” he jokes.
It does feel like Chalford, with its higgledy-piggledy donkey paths, hidden river and (crucially) nowhere really to park, has sufficient white blood cells to fend off any threat of overtourism. The welcome is warm if you do visit, but it’s also perfectly happy being that glimpse of quiet splendour from a train window. That sweet little village, left off the map.
Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/cotswolds/the-secret-cotswolds-village-that-even-google-forgot-to-map/
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Publish date : 2023-08-15 03:00:00
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