Lady’s Beautiful Guide to Upper Slaughter in the Cotswolds

I recently promised to share more of my favorite villages in the Cotswolds with you, and today I want to make good on that. I started this series by writing about Painswick, and in this post I’m going to continue the theme by writing about all the lovely things to do in Upper Slaughter.

Upper Slaughter

Upper Slaughter is a small village in Gloucestershire. It straddles the banks of the River Eye and lies on a slope above Lower Slaughter, its sister village. Upper Slaughter is full of pretty houses and classic English countryside scenery.

Located near Bourton-on-the-Water, it’s a good alternative if you’re looking to visit somewhere less crowded and more local than other places in the Cotswolds.

Upper Slaughter Accommodation

For such a small village, Upper Slaughter has a lot of good places to stay.

The most famous of these is Lords of the Manor. This Upper Slaughter manor hotel dates back centuries and is one of the best luxury hotels in the Cotswolds.

With elegant furnishings and fine-dining restaurants, this is a truly special place to stay. It also features sweeping lawns and gardens, so it’s a great place indoors and out.

How to Get Here

The village is most easily reached by car. There’s no train station here, so if you’re coming from London or elsewhere in the UK, driving is a good idea.

Upper Slaughter Walks

Another good way to get to the village is on foot. There’s a great Upper Slaughter walk from Lower Slaughter and Bourton-on-the-Water. It’s about a mile to Lower Slaughter and another to Bourton-on-the-Water.

There’s a walking path that connects the three, making it easy to visit all of them in one day. The path goes through pretty countryside and alongside sheep-filled pastures, so it’s a great way to take in the scenery around the villages.

When I visited the area, a friend and I drove to Bourton-on-the-Water and walked from there to the Slaughters. It made things easy since Bourton-on-the-Water is larger and has more room for parking than the other two villages.

Village History

The name Upper Slaughter may sound strange, but it comes from the Old English term “slough”, which means “wet land” or “muddy place”.

And speaking of old, the village has a long history. It merited a mentioned in the Domesday book in 1086, and everything from castle ruins to Elizabethan facades can still be seen here today.

Interestingly, this is one of the UK’s Thankful Villages, the term given to places that didn’t lose any soldiers in World War I.

In fact, it’s known as a Doubly Thankful Village since it lost no soldiers in either World War I or World War II. There are only 13 Doubly Thankful Villages in Britain, so it’s a unique title.

Things to Do in Upper Slaughter

Once you’re here, you’ll find everything from beautiful Cotswold stone cottages to grand manor houses.

There isn’t much in the way of visitor attractions or facilities here, so don’t arrive expecting to find lots of Upper Slaughter pubs and museums.

It’s primarily a place to soak up the local atmosphere and photograph the pretty streets and cottages.

Places of Interest

The village is known for Upper Slaughter Manor, a stately home that dates back to the 17th century. It’s now the aforementioned hotel called Lords of the Manor.

Also worth seeing is the historic St Peter’s Church. This Anglican parish church traces its roots back to the 12th century, and it’s worth popping in to see the interior.

There are also attractive cottages around the square that were restored by celebrated architect Edwin Lutyens in the early 20th century.

He was responsible for places like Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island and many World War I memorials in England and France.

Upper Slaughter is home to the ruins of the motte and bailey of a Norman castle, too. They can be seen at Castle Mound in the north of the village, and they’re a testament to the village’s long history.

Eyford House

Not far from the center of the village, Eyford House is a quintessential English country house with stunning gardens.

The grounds are occasionally open to the public, and it’s worth visiting to see why this place was voted England’s best country home by Country Life.

Upper Slaughter, UK

I hope you’ve found inspiration in this blog post and that you enjoy discovering Upper Slaughter as much as I have.

I’ll be sharing more of my favorite Costwolds villages in the future. In the meantime, you can see them all on my Cotswolds itineraries and my map of villages in the Cotswolds.

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