5 places · every place verified by us
Bourton-on-the-Water fits five attractions into a few streets by the River Windrush: a bird park with King Penguins, a model of the village, a motoring museum, a hedge maze and a perfumery. It suits families with young children, and it is best before 10am.
5 places
Wildlife and nature · Bourton-on-the-Water
A bird park on the Windrush at Bourton-on-the-Water since 1957, with what it calls England's only breeding King Penguins, flamingos, pelicans and a nature reserve.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Oct 2026
Museums and galleries · Bourton-on-the-Water
A museum of twentieth-century motoring and toys in an eighteenth-century watermill on the Windrush in Bourton-on-the-Water, with seven galleries, over 800 enamel signs and Brum from the children's television series.
Family-friendly · Rainy days · Dog-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Tours and experiences · Bourton-on-the-Water
A perfumery founded in 1966 in a former garage on Victoria Street in Bourton-on-the-Water, with a shop and one-day perfume-making courses.
Verified Oct 2026
Family days out · Bourton-on-the-Water
A yew hedge maze on Rissington Road in Bourton-on-the-Water, with 14 clues to a rebus and a golden dragonfly at the centre designed by Kit Williams.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Family days out · Bourton-on-the-Water
A one-ninth scale model of Bourton-on-the-Water as it was in the 1930s, itself listed Grade II, in the garden of the Old New Inn.
Family-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Bourton's things to do are all within a few minutes' walk of the river, so you can park once and see them on foot. Birdland, on Rissington Road since 1957, keeps more than 500 birds, among them England's only breeding King Penguins, fed daily at 3pm. The Model Village, in the garden of the Old New Inn, is a one-ninth scale copy of Bourton as it was in the 1930s, and makes a short visit.
The Cotswold Motoring Museum fills an eighteenth-century watermill on Sherborne Street with cars, motorbikes, enamel signs and Brum, the little yellow car from children's television. The Dragonfly Maze on Rissington Road hides 14 clues among its yew hedges, leading to a golden dragonfly made by Kit Williams. The Cotswold Perfumery on Victoria Street has made scent since 1966, and runs one-day perfume-making courses for adults.
Bourton suits families with young children best. Birdland is mostly level, with a Changing Places toilet and free wheelchairs to borrow, the maze suits children old enough to read the clues, and the motoring museum is the village's rainy-day stop. Pushchairs are the catch: they cannot go into the Model Village or the maze.
Come early. The county council puts visitors at around 10,000 a day at peak times, summer weekends and bank holidays are the busiest, and the Rissington Road car park is free before 10am. None of the five needs booking for a visit. The Model Village and the maze sell on the day only, and on bank holidays the maze's timed slots can sell out by mid-afternoon, so buy one in the morning. Birdland's online price is £1 lower than at the gate, but online bookings carry a £1.50 fee.
Most of Bourton's attractions cost less than £10 for an adult. In 2026 the Model Village was £4.95 and the maze £4.50, with a family ticket at £15. The motoring museum was £9.95, or £27 for a family of four. Birdland was £14.95 at the gate, with no family ticket but 20 per cent off for anyone arriving by bus or train with a same-day ticket.
Rissington Road car park, run by Cotswold District Council, charges from 10am to 8pm: £4.40 for 2 hours or £10.60 for 10 in 2026, by card or PayByPhone. Blue Badge holders park free for up to 10 hours, and eight bays have 7kW chargers for electric cars. Birdland, the maze and the motoring museum welcome dogs, Birdland and the maze on a lead. The Model Village takes only assistance dogs.
In winter the Model Village closes at 3.30pm and Birdland opens every day but 24 and 25 December. The motoring museum's 2026 leaflet says it opens daily, but it has closed for spells in past winters, so check before a winter visit. For a bed, see where to stay in Bourton-on-the-Water.
For lunch, see places to eat in the North Cotswolds, and for the rest of the region, things to do in the North Cotswolds.
Birdland for the penguins at 3pm, the Model Village for twenty minutes of the 1930s, the motoring museum for a wet afternoon, the maze for children who like a puzzle, and the perfumery for a course.
All places
Wildlife and nature · Bourton-on-the-Water
A bird park on the Windrush at Bourton-on-the-Water since 1957, with what it calls England's only breeding King Penguins, flamingos, pelicans and a nature reserve.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Oct 2026
Family days out · Bourton-on-the-Water
A one-ninth scale model of Bourton-on-the-Water as it was in the 1930s, itself listed Grade II, in the garden of the Old New Inn.
Family-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Museums and galleries · Bourton-on-the-Water
A museum of twentieth-century motoring and toys in an eighteenth-century watermill on the Windrush in Bourton-on-the-Water, with seven galleries, over 800 enamel signs and Brum from the children's television series.
Family-friendly · Rainy days · Dog-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Family days out · Bourton-on-the-Water
A yew hedge maze on Rissington Road in Bourton-on-the-Water, with 14 clues to a rebus and a golden dragonfly at the centre designed by Kit Williams.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Tours and experiences · Bourton-on-the-Water
A perfumery founded in 1966 in a former garage on Victoria Street in Bourton-on-the-Water, with a shop and one-day perfume-making courses.
Verified Oct 2026
Out of the crowds in a few minutes: to the Slaughters, Wyck Rissington or round the lakes.
All walks starting here
Walk · Starts in Bourton-on-the-Water · 2 hrs, 15 mins · Circular
A 6-mile (9.7km) circular walk from Rissington Road in Bourton-on-the-Water, two to two and a half hours of moderate walking with a few stiles. It heads west on bridleways, up a quiet lane to Upper Slaughter, and down the River Eye to Lower Slaughter's mill.
Walk · Starts in Bourton-on-the-Water · 45 mins · Circular · Dog-friendly
A 2-mile (3.1km) circular walk from the middle of Bourton-on-the-Water, flat and easy, in 45 minutes to an hour. It goes out along Rissington Road and back through Greystones Farm reserve, past a replica roundhouse and the banks of Salmonsbury Camp, and is often wet underfoot.
Walk · Starts in Bourton-on-the-Water · 5 hrs · Circular
A 10-mile (16.4km) circular walk from Bourton-on-the-Water, four to five hours of moderate walking with stiles and steep slopes. It follows the Wardens' Way through Lower and Upper Slaughter to Naunton, then comes home down the Windrush valley on the Windrush Way.
Walk · Starts in Bourton-on-the-Water · 2 hrs · Circular
A 4-mile (7km) circular walk from the war memorial in Bourton-on-the-Water, about two hours, easy and without stiles but muddy at times. It passes a roundhouse on Greystones Farm, crosses the Eye and the Dikler to Wyck Rissington's church, and returns by Rissington Mill.
Where to go, what is on and what is in season, about once a month.
Go to the Cotswold Motoring Museum: seven galleries in the Old Mill, open daily from 10am (last admission 5.15pm), with dogs welcome. It is busiest on wet summer afternoons, so go early. The Cotswold Perfumery's shop on Victoria Street is a short stop, and the Model Village rarely closes for rain, though the maze shuts in heavy rain.
Birdland is the easiest with a pushchair: mostly level paths, a Changing Places toilet, and the penguins fed at 3pm, with under-3s free. Pushchairs cannot go into the Model Village or the maze, though the Model Village has pushchair parking by its entrance. The motoring museum lets under-5s in free and has Brum.
No. The Model Village and the Dragonfly Maze sell tickets on the day only, and you can pay at the gate at Birdland and the motoring museum. On bank holidays the maze's timed slots can sell out by mid-afternoon, so buy yours in the morning. Only the Cotswold Perfumery's one-day course needs booking.
Yes, for a short visit at under £5 an adult in 2026. It is a stone model of Bourton as it was in the 1930s, built in the inn's garden from 1936 and opened in 1937, in time for George VI's coronation. It was recognised as Grade II listed in its own right in 2013. Pay by card at the gate. Wheelchair users go in free through a side gate.
Birdland opens every day except 24 and 25 December, and the Model Village opens daily from 10am to 3.30pm, closing only on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and in snow. The motoring museum's 2026 leaflet says it opens daily, but it has closed for spells in past winters, so check before you go. The village switches on its Christmas lights on Friday 27 November 2026 at 5.30pm, and in past years a Christmas tree has stood in the river.
The River Windrush runs shallow through the middle of the village under a run of low stone bridges. The county council puts visitors at around 10,000 a day at peak times, so arrive before ten.
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