Lechlade Travel Guide

Take the train from London Paddington to Swindon station (approx 1 hour 15 min), then transfer by bus or taxi for 25 minutes to reach Lechlade. Enter the town along the A361 and you'll immediately see Market Place — the market town centre founded in the 13th century by Isabella de Mortimer, surrounded by 18th-century stone terraced houses. Walk to the River Thames, where Halfpenny Bridge spans the water — this stone bridge built in 1793 once charged pedestrians a halfpenny toll until it was abolished in 1839 following public protest, and is the first of 109 bridges from the Thames source to London. Climb St John the Baptist Church, built in the 1470s from Taynton honey-coloured stone near Burford, its spire one of the four great "wool churches" of the Cotswolds (the others being Northleach, Burford and Chipping Campden), early Perpendicular Gothic style, free entry. Walk south along the Thames Path to Inglesham, passing the Round House (canal lock keeper's dwelling — stables downstairs, living quarters upstairs) and St John's Church (personally restored by William Morris). In the evening, enjoy a riverside dinner at the Trout Inn — a 13th-century old pub that has welcomed guests since 1220, with original beams from the monastic hospital era still in place by the fireplace.

If staying overnight, hike south along the Thames Path for 6 miles to Buscot Lock, passing Inglesham — St John's Church personally restored by William Morris (kept simple and unchanged, preserving centuries of original features) and the Round House lock keeper's cottage. Continue to Kelmscott Manor — the 16th-century Tudor manor house rented by Morris in 1871, with grey limestone walls, heavy stone slate roofs and a dovecote forming a "perfect heaven," where the closing scene of News from Nowhere was written. Open seasonally from April to October, Thursday to Saturday, timed entry (groups every 15 minutes), gardens and tea room free, manor tickets approx £12. In the afternoon, drive 10 minutes to Buscot Park — built 1780-83, the Faringdon family seat, housing works by Rembrandt and Rossetti, with Harold Peto's Italianate water garden of exceptional beauty, open April-September 14:00-18:00, house+garden adult £14. On the return journey in the evening, go birdwatching at the Cotswold Water Park (140 lakes) or watch the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford (every July).