Bibury in the Cotswolds is rightly described as the most beautiful village in England – but the sheer number of tourists who visit every day is off-putting
William Morris once hailed Bibury as “the most beautiful village in England”. Given his expertise in aesthetics as the esteemed poet and artist who spearheaded the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain, I’m inclined to trust his judgement on such matters.
And he certainly wasn’t mistaken about this gem in the Cotswolds, a little north-east of Cirencester. Before my visit, I had seen numerous photos of Bibury and was half-convinced they were the result of some clever photographic manipulation — could it really be that beautiful in reality?
The answer is a resounding yes. Imagine the quintessential storybook British village with a dash of Harry Potter magic — even then you might not quite capture the sheer loveliness of the place. Bibury is enchanting, whimsical and could be considered the crowning glory of the Cotswolds, an area renowned for its beauty.
The tranquil river Coln meanders through the village centre, flanked by charming low stone bridges. Nearby, cows leisurely graze beside the road adjacent to the Swan Hotel, which looms over the village and boasts perhaps the prettiest beer garden in the country.
The Bibury Trout Farm nearby nurtures fish that grace the plates of restaurants throughout the Cotswolds, including those at Jeremy Clarkson’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog, where I ate it — you can read what I thought here.
The true gem of Bibury is undoubtedly Arlington Row, a sequence of cottages initially constructed from the local stone in 1380 next to the River Coln as a monastic wool store, and later converted into weavers’ cottages in the 17th century. It’s probably the most photographed street in the Cotswolds — and potentially the entire country.
As you amble down the slender lane beside the cottages, having crossed a quaint stone bridge over the river to reach them, the weight of everyday life just seems to disappear. I strove to balance my respect for the privacy of residents with an irresistibly wide-eyed admiration for their astonishingly attractive homes. Hopefully, the people lucky enough to live here enjoy the fact that, like Buckingham Palace, thousands of people take pictures of their homes every day.
And that brings me to the one thing about Bibury that is a bit off-putting: the number of tourists here is way out of proportion to the size of the village and its ability to cope with them. The 600 or so people who live here are sharing these narrow lanes and pretty fields with coaches, tour groups and day-trippers every day — thousands of them.
One resident, Lynn Edward, who has lived in Bibury for six years, told The Guardian this year: “We have such a beautiful place that we want to share, but the level of tourism and the hordes of people that come has just made it entirely unpleasant, and the infrastructure doesn’t really cope with it.
“All they want to do is come and take a photograph. They don’t stay in the village. They don’t linger enough to really ingest the beauty and historic value of the place. It’s literally, I think, to take a selfie.”
I knew in advance that Bibury was a tourist attraction — and obviously I was here as a tourist. But I didn’t appreciate just how many people there would be on a random weekday afternoon.
But it was obvious even before I got to the village centre, with groups of tourists strolling in the middle of the road en route, long lines of parked cars beside the river, several different languages from all over the world to be heard and people of all nationalities standing on Bibury’s pretty stone bridges to grab a selfie. Some of them were not especially inclined to bother moving when it was clear others wanted to get across, instead taking their time to get that perfect shot for Instagram — and some claim the rocketing number of visitors to Bibury is down to the boom in travel and tourism influencers on social media.
There’s even a large car park on the outskirts of the village, where visitors are charged £5 to park before walking into the heart of the village. There is enough space for 300 cars but villagers say even this is not enough on some days, Express reports. The narrow lane between the car park and the village is a tight squeeze when trying to cope with two-way traffic as well as all the tourists on foot.
While you might assume that such a large number of tourists would also bring a significant economic benefit, people in the village don’t seem convinced. Victoria Summerley, a journalist and author who has lived here since 2012, says: “[The villagers] would say [the tourists] don’t put any money into the village.”
It is clearly a difficult balance. While tourism can bring benefits and people are often proud to share the beauty of where they live with visitors, it is understandable that villagers who call Bibury home are frustrated by the extent to which it has now become a tourist attraction. It is undoubtedly a staggeringly beautiful place, and lives up to its billing as “the most beautiful village in England”, even considering the amount of competition in the Cotswolds alone. So if you do visit, please try and be as respectful as possible of the people who live here.
Things to do in Bibury
Arlington Row
A row of cottages originally built of local stone in 1380, next to the River Coln, is probably the most photographed street in the Cotswolds, possibly even the country. A short circular route runs from the Swan Hotel to the cottages and back along a track to the hotel.
Bibury Trout Farm
Bibury Trout Farm is one of Britain’s oldest trout farms. Founded in 1902, you will find its trout on the menu in restaurants around the Cotswolds. It is open to the public while being a working trout farm producing hundreds of thousands of trout (brown, blue and rainbow) a year. It also has an on-site smokery. You can buy the trout on site and in the village shop. Entry to the farm costs £9 for adults.
Swan Hotel
The beautiful Swan Hotel is perhaps the most prominent building in Bibury, its walls covered in greenery. You can stay here or simply book a table for lunch or dinner. It also has arguably the most beautiful beer garden in Britain, with deckchairs set almost on an island surrounded by the tranquil River Coln.
Eleven Bibury
With interiors designed by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Eleven Bibury is a mixture of cafe, restaurant, art space and shared working space just across the main road from the river. Grab a brunch, a slice of cake or coffee and escape the crowds of tourists outside.