Jo and Steve Turner, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Bourton-on-the-Water
Cotswold Perfumery
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.
A shop worth ten minutes on a walk round Bourton, and a full day if you book the perfume-making course with its owner-perfumer. Courses are for over-18s only.
- Good: Shop open every day
- Good: One-day perfume-making course, lunch included, £325 (2026)
- Good: Fragrances made on site by its own perfumer
- Worth knowing: Courses are for over-18s only and run on set Saturdays
About
The Cotswold Perfumery has made fragrances in Bourton-on-the-Water since 1966, from a building on Victoria Street that was once a garage. The building is Grade II listed: Historic England's list describes it as an early 18th-century cottage remodelled in the mid 19th century. Its owner and chief perfumer, John Stephen, has more than 50 years' experience; the perfumery says he is one of only six independent perfumers in the UK. Besides its own range, it makes fragrances that other firms sell under their own names in London, Europe, the USA and the Middle East.
Most visitors come in for the shop, which sells the house perfumes, flower waters and diffusers. It opens every day, from 10am on weekdays, 9.30am on Saturdays and 10.30am on Sundays, until 5pm. Like everywhere in the village centre it is busiest from late morning on summer weekends.
The reason to plan ahead is the one-day perfume-making course, run in the perfumery's own laboratory. The day covers the art and science of scent, and you make a perfume of your own to take home, with refreshments and lunch in a Bourton restaurant included. It costs £325 (2026), runs from 9am to 5pm on set Saturdays for up to eight people, and is for over-18s only. When we checked in October 2026 the 7 November date was full and 12 December was the next with places; dates are published into 2027. A five-day advanced course and lab days follow for those who want more.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 10:00 to 17:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:00 to 17:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00 to 17:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00 to 17:00 |
| Friday | 10:00 to 17:00 |
| Saturday | 09:30 to 17:00 |
| Sunday | 10:30 to 17:00 |
Published as spring opening hours: weekdays 10am to 5pm, Saturday 9.30am to 5pm, Sundays and bank holidays 10.30am to 5pm. Check winter hours.
Facilities
- ShopFragrances made by the perfumery, flower waters and diffusers
The details
- Time to allow
- A few minutes, or a day for a course
- Features
- Shop · Guided tours
- History
- Established in 1966
Photos
The shop in summer
Location
Places to stay nearby
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Chester House Hotel
Hotel · Bourton-on-the-Water
A family-owned hotel with 22 rooms on Victoria Street, Bourton-on-the-Water, with L'Anatra Italian Kitchen, a walled garden, a car park and rooms for small dogs.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
-
Old Manse Hotel
Inn · Bourton-on-the-Water
A Cotswold-stone inn of 1748 on Victoria Street, Bourton-on-the-Water, with 15 rooms, three of them for dogs, and pub food all day, run by Greene King Inns.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
-
The Dial House
Hotel · Bourton-on-the-Water
A hotel with 13 rooms on Bourton-on-the-Water's High Street, five of them designed by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, with a restaurant, a garden and parking for guests.
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Chester House Hotel
- The Kingsbridge 0.1 km away
- Old Manse Hotel 0.1 km away
- The Croft 0.1 km away
Sights nearby
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Narrow Bridge, Bourton-on-the-Water
Sight · Bridge · Bourton-on-the-Water
Narrow Bridge is the oldest dated of the low stone footbridges over the Windrush in Bourton-on-the-Water, built in 1756 with three rusticated arches and low parapets. Listed Grade II with three of its neighbours, it is crossed free at any time.
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Bourton-on-the-Water war memorial
Sight · Monument · Bourton-on-the-Water
Bourton-on-the-Water's war memorial is a tall stone cross of 1920 on the green beside the Windrush, raised by the village for its 27 men who died in the First World War, with 12 names added after the Second. Listed Grade II; open at all times.
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St Lawrence's Church, Bourton-on-the-Water
Sight · Church · Bourton-on-the-Water
St Lawrence's is Bourton-on-the-Water's parish church on the High Street: a chancel of 1328, a Georgian tower of 1784 under a lead dome and a nave taken back to the Gothic style in 1891. Grade II*, open daily from about 10am to 4pm, step-free and dog friendly.
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Salmonsbury Camp
Sight · Hill fort or barrow · Bourton-on-the-Water
Salmonsbury Camp is an Iron Age fortified enclosure of about 23 hectares just east of Bourton-on-the-Water, its double banks still up to 2m high on three sides, with Roman and Saxon finds and a charter of AD 779. A scheduled monument on Greystones Farm reserve.