A picture-perfect village in the Cotswolds is home to less than 700 people and has been named the most beautiful in the world. Bibury is a small village on the River Coln in Gloucestershire that attracts many visitors.
The 19th-century textile designer William Morris called it “the most beautiful village in England” when he visited. It is a major tourist destination that is known for its honey-coloured stone cottages with steep roofs, which were the homes of weavers who worked with nearby Arlington Mill. Arlington Row, a street of cottages in the village from the 1300s, is thought to be one of the Cotswolds’ most photographed sights. It has been named the world’s most beautiful village by Forbes, which said it is like a “watercolour dream” with a gently weaving river and air that smells like “blooming lavender and freshly-baked scones”.
It is a nationally notable architectural conservation area run by the National Trust. It is depicted on the inside cover of some British passports and featured in the film Stardust.
There are not a lot of attractions in the pretty village, but there is a trout farm where you can feed fish, an old stone church, an antique shop, a pub, a restaurant and two cafes.
Popular among ducks, the River Coln sits beside the village and has a path running along it. It opens up to a water meadow known as Rack Isle, where wool used to be hung out to dry. The meadows are lined with flowers like buttercups and forget-me-nots.
Despite its small size and population, it can get busy during the summer months with a handful of car parks in the area. Further afield, there are many other Cotswold villages, as well as Blenheim Palace, Cotswold Water Park and Westonbirt Arboretum.
There are lots of places to stay in both the village itself and the surrounding area, from hotels to holiday lets. Bibury can be accessed by car via the B4425 and the M4 or M5, or via train to nearby Swindon, Kemble and Cheltenham Spa.
Also included on Forbes’ list are Hallstatt in Austria, Reine in Norway, Giethoorn in the Netherlands, Gasadalur in the Faroe Islands, and Oia in Greece.
