Northleach

A few years ago the main road from Oxford to Gloucester ran through Northleach. Since then, this beautiful town has been bypassed and so has returned to a time when traffic was more of a novelty. The magnificent Church of St Peter and St Paul at Northleach can claim to be a 'Cathedral of the Cotswolds'. A fine example of 15th century Cotswold perpendicular, with some of the best wool merchants' brasses in the country. The church stands just off the market place - in fact there are two open spaces, the Market Place and The Green. A walk along the entire length of the High Street is recommended; the medieval property boundaries - the burgage plots - can still be traced from the town's foundation in the 13th century.