Travel About Britain

• Home
• Towns & Cities
• Attractions
• Events
• Information

This classic Cotswold's stone village is rated as one of the prettiest places in England. A firm favourite with film makers - its recent set productions include The Wolfman and War Horse.

This picture-book scene lies in a deep wooded valley and is one of the most photographed places in the country. The village is set on a hillside, from where the main street narrowly descends, with charming honey coloured cottages tightly packed either side. In Market Place, at the centre of the village, is a stone and tile Market Cross, a white rendered White Hart pub and the capacious Castle Inn, which provides excellent B&B accommodation. At the bottom of the hill a picturesque pack-horse bridge crosses a gentle trout stream.

Overlooking the Market Place is St Andrew's Church, built by local cloth merchants in decorated stone and wood. The church was restored in 1851 but the original 15th-c tower still stands extant. The nave contains a 13th-c font and exquisite fan vaulting. In the north aisle lies the tomb of Sir Waiter de Dunstanville, the village founder who built his castle just north of here in the 12th-c.

The ancient manor house, beautifully set in Cotswold stone, with mullioned windows and stone-tiled roofing, is now a hotel. Also a late 17th-c Grade II Dower House, in rough rendered rubble stone with stone tiled roof and gables, can be found just up the hill from Market place.

Castle Combe was a centre for cloth weaving during the 15th-c, and near the triple-arched bridge are several weavers' cottages and the Weavers House - the home of the master weaver. This house was once lived in by the Blanket brothers, who gave their name to this common-place bed covering.

Very little traffic passes through the village and what does it not allowed to stop, courtesy of extensive yellow lines. If you want to visit, park in the visitor's car park at the top of the hill and walk down the lane into the village square.

The ancient Fosse Way passes near the village and a Roman villa and cemetery have been found nearby.

The "Castle Combe Circuit" motor- racing circuit is close by. A small race track that offers single-seater and sports car driving experiences plus corporate events.

Map of Castle Combe

South West England

Towns and Villages in Wiltshire

Attractions in Wiltshire