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Lower Slaughter
A small village along the River Eye, crossed by low stone footbridges, with a red brick watermill at its western end and a field path to Upper Slaughter.
- Nearest station
- Moreton-in-Marsh, then the 801 bus to Bourton (about half an hour) and a walk of about a mile and a half
- Parking
- No public car park; walkers report free street parking on Copsehill Road that fills early at weekends, so walking in from Bourton-on-the-Water is easier
- Best time
- Early morning, or a weekday out of the school holidays
- Toilets
- None in the village; the nearest are at Rissington Road car park in Bourton
- Dogs
- Both hotels have designated dog rooms, booked by ringing reception: £20 a dog a night at the Slaughters Manor House, £10 at the Slaughters Country Inn, and no dogs in either main restaurant
About Lower Slaughter
Lower Slaughter is a small stone village on the River Eye, a short tributary of the Windrush. The village grew round a green beside the stream, which is crossed by several simple stone bridges. It is quieter than Bourton, but it has no car park, and the best way to arrive is on foot.
The Old Mill
At the western end of the village is the mill, early nineteenth century, in red brick and stone with a tall brick chimney and a large iron waterwheel on its south gable. A mill has stood here since at least 1502. The family who had run it since at least 1879 sold it in 2023, and its museum, shop and café have been closed for renovation since. A coffee kiosk in a converted horsebox at the entrance has served walkers from April to October; check before you count on it.
St Mary's and the manor
St Mary's church was rebuilt in 1867 by Benjamin Ferrey, keeping an arcade from the late twelfth or early thirteenth century, and is listed Grade II*. The manor house beside it was built in 1656 by the mason Valentine Strong for Richard Whitmore, and stayed with the Whitmore family until 1964. It is now the Slaughters Manor House hotel, with a dovecote in the grounds.
The walk to Upper Slaughter
Turn left after the mill and a footpath follows the Eye upstream through gates and over a footbridge to Upper Slaughter, about a mile away. It is part of the Wardens' Way. Walkers report mud after rain and through the winter, and sheep with lambs in the riverside fields in spring, so keep dogs on a lead there. From Bourton-on-the-Water the Wardens' Way brings you here in about a mile and a half, crossing the Fosse Way at the traffic lights and then the fields. It is on our lists of short walks and dog-friendly walks.
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When to come
Early in the morning, or on a weekday out of the school holidays. Coaches are barred from the village except to drop off at the hotels, and there is no car park, so walking in from Bourton is easier than driving. That is how our one-day trip sees it, on foot from Bourton at about 10.15am. Our Cotswolds weekend with children is based here, at the Slaughters Country Inn, about 10 minutes by car from the Cotswold Farm Park. Cotswold film locations by car spends the night between its two days in Lower Slaughter.
Last verified 27 October 2026 by our editors
Part of
The North Cotswolds
The high wolds between Chipping Campden and Bourton-on-the-Water: the Fosse Way towns, the Windrush villages, the Slaughters and the escarpment at Broadway.
Things to do in Lower Slaughter
Family days out · Bourton-on-the-Water
The Model Village, 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.
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Birdland Park and Gardens
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
Where to stay in Lower Slaughter
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The Slaughters Country Inn
Inn · Lower Slaughter
An inn in Lower Slaughter, bought and renamed by the Brownsword family in 2011, with dog rooms and a Field Kitchen from April to September.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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The Slaughters Manor House
Hotel · Lower Slaughter
A 17th-century manor house hotel with 19 bedrooms on Copsehill Road, Lower Slaughter, home of the Whitmore family until 1964, with dog rooms booked by phone.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Oct 2026
Where to eat and drink in Lower Slaughter
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The Willow
Pubs · Bourton-on-the-Water
A Fuller's pub on the High Street in Bourton-on-the-Water, open from 10am, with a garden and outside seating, food all day, and dogs and families welcome.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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The Duke of Wellington
Pubs · Bourton-on-the-Water
A village inn with rooms on Sherborne Street, Bourton-on-the-Water, serving food from noon to 9pm every day, with deal nights in the week, a Sunday carvery and live sport.
Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Kingsbridge
Pubs · Bourton-on-the-Water
A Marston's pub on the River Windrush in Bourton-on-the-Water, with a beer garden by the water, food from noon to 8pm every day, cask ales and dogs welcome.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Walks in and around Lower Slaughter
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Bourton-on-the-Water and Wyck Rissington
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.
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Bourton-on-the-Water, the Slaughters and Naunton
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.
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Bourton, Salmonsbury and the lakes
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.
Sights in and around Lower Slaughter
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St Mary's Church, Lower Slaughter
Sight · Church · Lower Slaughter
Lower Slaughter's church, almost entirely rebuilt in 1867 for the Whitmore family, lords of the manor, but keeping a north arcade of around 1200, with a broad spire behind a pierced parapet. Grade II*; open, with a ramp.
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The Old Mill, Lower Slaughter
Sight · Historic building · Lower Slaughter
The red-brick mill with its tall chimney and iron water wheel at the top of Lower Slaughter, on the River Eye: early nineteenth century, on a site milled since at least 1502. Grade II. The museum and shop closed in 2023, when the mill was sold; check before visiting.
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Manor House, Upper Slaughter
Sight · Historic building · Upper Slaughter
Upper Slaughter's Elizabethan manor house, Grade I, home of the Slaughter family until 1741: gabled Cotswold stone over a fifteenth-century vaulted basement, with a two-storey porch of the early seventeenth century covered in fretwork. A private house, seen from the lane.
Stories about Lower Slaughter
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Afternoon tea in the Cotswolds
Story · Guides · 10 minute read
Where to have afternoon tea in the Cotswolds: country house hotels at the Slaughters and Buckland, old inns in Woodstock, Broadway and Malmesbury, and tearooms in Chipping Campden, Stow and Bourton, with times, prices and booking.
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The best villages in the Cotswolds
Story · Guides · 13 minute read
The best villages in the Cotswolds, from Bibury, Castle Combe and the Slaughters to quieter Naunton, Eastleach and Biddestone: what to see in each, a walk from the green and a pub or tearoom.
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The Cotswolds in March
Story · Guides · 8 minute read
The Cotswolds in March: daffodils, lambs and the gardens reopening, the Cheltenham Festival week to plan around, Mothering Sunday and an early Easter, what opens when, three walks for the first dry days, and a day out from Winchcombe.
Quieter places near Lower Slaughter
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Upper Slaughter
Village · The North Cotswolds
A village of stone houses round a ford on the River Eye, about a mile above Lower Slaughter, with a twelfth-century church, a Grade I manor house and almost nothing to buy.
Getting to Lower Slaughter
- By bus
- No timed bus stops here. The Robin, a minibus you book by phone (0345 263 8139) or app, calls in the village; or take the 801 to Bourton and walk.
- Parking
- No public car park. Walkers report free street parking on Copsehill Road that fills early at weekends; or park in Bourton and walk about a mile and a half on the Wardens' Way.
