Dani, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Naunton
A long, quiet village on the floor of the upper Windrush valley, with a sixteenth-century dovecote by the river, a Donnington pub and the Windrush Way on the hill above.
- Nearest station
- Cheltenham Spa, about 12 miles, then a taxi; no bus comes into the village
- Parking
- No car park. Park with care on the village street without blocking gateways, or on the verge by Harford Bridge on the B4068 and walk the mile in
- Best time
- Spring and autumn for the valley walks; any summer weekend when Bourton is full
- When it's busy
- Rarely crowded, even on summer weekends when Bourton is busy
- Toilets
- St Andrew's church lists toilets for visitors, including an accessible toilet; there are no public toilets
- Dogs
- Welcome at the Black Horse, CAMRA records. Racehorses are ridden on the old golf course above the village, so keep dogs close there and near any livestock
About Naunton
Naunton lies along the floor of the Windrush valley, off the B4068 about 5 miles west of Stow-on-the-Wold and 12 miles east of Cheltenham. About 350 people live here, strung out along one street, and much of the village is a conservation area. It is the same river that draws the crowds to Bourton-on-the-Water 6 miles downstream, but here it runs through fields and past a single pub, and on most days you will meet more walkers than cars.
What to see
Two buildings are worth the stop: the dovecote and the church. Naunton's dovecote stands between the street and the river, down the lane marked No Through Road by the manor house. It is square, with a gable on each face and a lantern on top, and the nesting boxes survive inside. The listing dates it to the sixteenth century, perhaps earlier, and grades it II*. It is looked after by the Naunton Dovecote Trust, a charity set up in 1998. The National Landscape's walk leaflet sends walkers down to it on a short detour and calls it a good picnic spot; we have not confirmed opening arrangements with the Trust.
St Andrew's was largely rebuilt around 1500 and is listed Grade II*. Look up at the tower: two painted sundials sit at its south-west corner, one dated 1748, the other lettered Lux Umbra Dei, light is the shadow of God. Inside are a stone pulpit of about 1500 and a cross believed to be Anglo-Saxon, found under the nave during the rebuilding of 1878. The church says it is open every day from 9am to 6pm, with occasional exceptions, and runs a drop-in coffee shop on Thursdays from 10.30am to 12.30pm.
Between the two, the Cotswolds National Landscape's walk leaflet points out Cromwell House, of about 1600, and an old cider mill beside Vicar's Bridge. The old golf course above the village is now part of Ben Pauling Racing, and racehorses are ridden there.
A morning in Naunton
Come on foot from Harford Bridge, where the B4068 crosses the river a mile below the village and there is room on the verge. The Harford Bridge walk crosses the Windrush by a footbridge beside the humps and hollows of the lost village of Lower Harford, climbs onto the Windrush Way and crosses the B4068 before dropping into the village. The dovecote is a short detour down the No Through Road lane by the manor house, and the lane back to the bridge passes the Black Horse, Cromwell House and St Andrew's, so there is time for the sundials and a meal on the way. The National Landscape allows about an hour and a quarter for the whole loop.
Walks from Naunton
Three of our walks come through the village, and two long-distance paths. The Windrush Way and the Wardens' Way both pass through on their way between Winchcombe and Bourton-on-the-Water. The Guiting Power and Naunton circuit starts from Guiting Power's green and is 6.3 miles (10.1km) with 200m of climbing and two stiles, three to three and a half hours, coming home on the Wardens' Way by the edge of Naunton. The 10-mile loop from Bourton by the Slaughters reaches Naunton at its halfway point and comes home down the valley on the Windrush Way. The 3-mile walk from Harford Bridge, with no stiles, is on our list of short walks.
Food and drink
There is one pub and no shop. The Black Horse, on the main street, is a Cotswold stone pub owned by Donnington Brewery, with a garden, lunchtime and evening meals, and dogs welcome, by CAMRA's record; its survey of August 2025 gave the hours as 11am to 11pm, Monday to Saturday, and 11am to 6pm on Sunday, so check before a Sunday evening. For anything else, Guiting Power, up the valley, has the Farmers Arms, another Donnington house, and the Cotswold Guy, a farm shop and café on Church Lane open every day from 9am (to 4pm, or 5pm on Saturdays). Donnington's other pubs are in our guide to Cotswold pubs and the breweries behind them.
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When to come
Spring and autumn are best for the walks, when the valley paths are firm and the woods above the village have colour. Naunton is never crowded, which is the point of it: on a summer Saturday when Bourton's car parks are full by late morning, the street here is quiet and the pub has a table. Expect mud on the riverside paths after winter rain. St Andrew's holds concerts in late spring, summer and early autumn. Naunton is one of the places in our guide to the Cotswolds without the crowds.
Last verified 28 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 Naunton
Family days out · Guiting Power
Cotswold Farm Park
Adam Henson's farm near Guiting Power, opened by his father Joe in 1971 to show rare and native breeds, with play barns, a restaurant and a Changing Places toilet.
Where to stay in Naunton
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The Hollow Bottom
Inn · Guiting Power
A racing pub with six bedrooms in Guiting Power, once Ye Olde Inn, bought in 1996 by Nigel Twiston-Davies and Raymond Mould, with dogs welcome throughout.
Dog-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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Guiting Guest House
B&B · Guiting Power
An adults-only guest house with six rooms in a seventeenth-century farmhouse in Guiting Power, kept free of pets, with an honesty bar and walking breaks.
Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Where to eat and drink in Naunton
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The Farmers Arms
Pubs · Guiting Power
A Donnington Brewery pub in Guiting Power with a log burner, a large beer garden and a skittle alley, serving food from Tuesday to Sunday.
Verified Nov 2026
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The Cotswold Guy
Farm shops and delis · Guiting Power
A chef-run farm shop and takeaway on Church Lane, Guiting Power, with seats inside and in the garden, which also does catering and events, open every day.
Verified Oct 2026
Walks in and around Naunton
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Guiting Power and Naunton
Walk · Starts in Guiting Power · 3 hrs, 30 mins · Circular
A 6.3-mile (10.1km) circular walk from Guiting Power's green, moderate and three to three and a half hours with two stiles: south on the Windrush Way round Gazeley Wood past Aylworth, up by the golf course above Naunton, and home on the Wardens' Way.
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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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Lower Slaughter to Upper Slaughter
Walk · Starts in Lower Slaughter · 45 mins · Circular · Dog-friendly
A 2-mile (3.1km) there-and-back from Lower Slaughter, easy and almost level, in 45 minutes to an hour: on the Wardens' Way from Lower Slaughter's mill up the River Eye through riverside fields to Upper Slaughter's ford, church and manor, and back the same way.
Sights in and around Naunton
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Naunton dovecote
Sight · Historic building · Naunton
Naunton's dovecote is a square stone pigeon house of the sixteenth century or earlier, with a gable on each face, a lantern on top and its nesting boxes still inside. Listed Grade II*, it is looked after by a charity, the Naunton Dovecote Trust.
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St Andrew's Church, Naunton
Sight · Church · Naunton
St Andrew's is Naunton's parish church in the Windrush valley: largely rebuilt around 1500 on an older site, with a pinnacled tower carrying two painted sundials, a stone pulpit of about 1500, a Saxon cross and a ring of six bells. Grade II*; open daily.
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St Michael's Church, Guiting Power
Sight · Church · Guiting Power
Guiting Power’s Norman church of about 1180, open daily, with two carved twelfth-century doorways (one capital a head with its tongue out), a fifteenth-century tower, transepts of 1820 and 1844 and Green Men in its roof. Grade II*; accessible toilet in the churchyard.
Stories about Naunton
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Cotswold pubs and the breweries behind them
Story · Guides · 4 minute read
Donnington, Hook Norton, Arkell's and Wadworth, the newer breweries at Uley and Stroud, the old coaching inns and the village pubs with rooms: a guide to Cotswold pubs.
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The Cotswolds without the crowds
Story · Guides · 15 minute read
Five Cotswold villages take most of the visitors: Bibury, Bourton-on-the-Water, Castle Combe, Broadway and the Slaughters. Here is when each is busiest, what the councils have done about it, the best and worst hours, and the quieter village on the same river or ridge.
Getting to Naunton
- By car
- Off the B4068 between Stow-on-the-Wold and Cheltenham, about 5 miles from Stow, down in the Windrush valley.
- Parking
- There is no car park. Park with care on the village street, or on the roadside verge by Harford Bridge on the north side of the B4068, a mile south-east of the village.
- By bus
- No bus comes into Naunton. The 801 between Cheltenham, Bourton and Stow runs by Andoversford, Notgrove and Northleach, not along the B4068.
- By train
- Cheltenham Spa is about 12 miles away, Moreton-in-Marsh a little further; from either, a taxi. On foot, the Wardens' Way links Naunton with the Slaughters and Bourton.
Access
The village street runs along the valley floor. The dovecote is down the lane marked No Through Road by the manor house; the walks around the village are on unsurfaced paths that can be muddy.
| Guiting Power | 2.5 mi |
|---|---|
| Stow-on-the-Wold | 5 mi |
| Bourton-on-the-Water | 6.2 mi |
| Cheltenham | 11.8 mi |
Places near Naunton
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Bourton-on-the-WaterThe 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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Upper SlaughterA 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.
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Guiting PowerA small stone village round a green on the Wardens' Way and the Windrush Way, a few miles from Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park, with a twelfth-century church.
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Stow-on-the-WoldA hilltop market town on the Fosse Way, more than 230m up, with a broad Square, a church that held 1,600 prisoners after the last battle of the Civil War, and a horse fair.