Cotswolds

Winchcombe, Stanton, Naunton, Great Tew or Willersey

We stayed in Chipping Campden and loved it. Don't avoid Broadway and Burton on the Water, the crowds aren't that bad.

If you get to the honeypot villages either first thing or late afternoon, you should be able to miss the worst of the crowds.

If you have access to a map or road atlas rather than just sat nave, you will find lots of small villages. Apart from a church which may or may not be open, these very often don't have shops, tea rooms or other thinbgs to attract the tourist. Many of themn are very pretty though. The churches are often well worth a look as some of them are very old with splendid tombs or even the reamins of wall paintings.

These are small towns rather than villages but Cirencester and Nailsworth are nice for a wander and not very touristy.

It will be a shame to miss out on such lovely places as Broadway and Burton on the Water. The key is timing. You will be effectively local so you can go whenever you want. You don't have to be there when the tour buses and hoards of others arrive. You can be there before or after. They will have a completely different atmosphere be even more beautiful

Northleach and Lacock were not too touristed.

"the crowds aren't that bad." - in February, maybe. I'm here now. Bourton was buzzing today, the main road leading there very busy. The Slaughters had a good number of visitors. Still worth visiting, as are the other more visited villages.

Over twenty years ago we stayed in Kingham and Painswick, and were driven around quite a bit. Painswick is nice and hilly. Kingham was (is?) quiet - one expensive pub, one very expensive pub. Daylsford Farms is up the road (have not been).

Winchcombe was quiet the other day. Sudeley Castle is a fantastic visit.

Woodstock, where Blenheim Palace is located, is a good visit.

Bottom line, the driving will be busy in July, no matter where you visit.

On the western edge of the Cotswolds is Tewkesbury. It’s nice to walk around and to visit its abbey. Nearby is Sudeley Castle if you like big houses. Not a village, but Cheltenham has some architecturally pretty buildings, but not much else.

It would be a shame to avoid BoUrton on the water. If you go there after 4pm it will be a lot quieter, once the day trippers have left.

My wife and I spent four days in Broadway just three weeks ago, despite numerous warnings about crowds, bus tours, and general over- touristy-ness. Well, we’re here to report that the warnings were overblown: we saw no crowds, we had wonderful service without waits or problems getting reservations, and we hiked for hours, mostly alone. Our favorite part of the trip was hiking to Snowshill Manor, touring the house and garden ( no crowds or waiting), eating lunch in the lovely on-site coffee shop, and then walking home in time for a pint in a marvelous local pub. At the end of the hike we had to climb a fence because two enormous sheep were snoozing in the kissing gate and could not be encouraged to move.