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The village pond at Willersey with stone houses and gardens beyond

Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Willersey

A village round a long green and a duck pond at the foot of Willersey Hill, 2 miles from Broadway, with a Grade I church, a Donnington pub and the weekday bus from Evesham. The quieter base for Broadway.

Nearest station
Honeybourne, about 4 miles, then a taxi. Or Evesham, 6.5 miles, and the R4 bus on weekdays
Parking
We found no public car park in the village. Park with care on the street; Broadway's long-stay car parks are 2 miles away
Best time
Spring to autumn. A weekday if you are coming on the R4 bus
When it's busy
Willersey itself is rarely busy. Broadway, 2 miles south-west, fills on summer weekends, which is when Willersey is worth staying in

About Willersey

Willersey is a village at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment, 2 miles north-east of Broadway, built round a long green with a duck pond at one end. Its church, listed Grade I, stands down a lane off the green, and the hill rises steeply behind the houses to the hotels on top. It has the same stone and the same hill as Broadway and almost none of its traffic, and the weekday bus from Evesham ends here.

What to see

The green and the pond are the heart of the place, with the Bell looking over the pond and the New Inn near the top of Main Street, which also overlooks the green. Walk the length of it, then take the lane to the church.

A stone house beyond the village green and its trees
The village green Photo: David Purchase, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

St Peter's is listed Grade I, and it is an unusual shape for a village church: a central tower stands over the crossing between the nave and two transepts. Historic England dates the nave to the twelfth century, with a blocked Norman doorway in its south wall, and the north porch and north aisle to the thirteenth. The tower was put in during the fifteenth century, cutting into the north arcade, and has a gargoyle at each corner below its battlements. Inside, look up at the fan vault over the crossing, dated 1859, and look for the Norman tub font, the medieval glass fragments and the royal arms of George III.

Reeds and a bench beside Willersey pond with houses across the green
The green and the pond Photo: Philip Jeffrey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Above the village is Willersey Hill, where the 500-acre Farncombe estate holds three hotels: Dormy House, a hotel and spa; Foxhill Manor, an eight-bedroom house where meals are included. And the Fish, with rooms, huts and treehouses.

A morning in Willersey

Come on the R4 from Evesham or the 606 from Broadway and get off on Main Street. Walk the green to the pond and down to St Peter's, which takes the best part of an hour if you look properly at the church. Then either drive or take the 606 the 1.5 miles east to Saintbury for its church under a spire, or go on to Broadway for lunch and Broadway Tower. On a Friday afternoon or at the weekend, the New Inn is open for a drink before you leave.

Walks

No walk of ours starts in Willersey. The Cotswold Way runs along the top of the hill above the village, about a mile and a quarter away at its nearest, on its first section, Chipping Campden to Broadway. From Broadway, the 4-mile circuit up to Broadway Tower and the walk by Pye Corner are a short bus ride away.

Food and drink

The New Inn is a seventeenth-century Donnington pub with beams, a flagstone floor and a log burner, a skittle alley in the back bar, a large garden, a covered terrace and a paddock. It keeps short hours. In winter it is closed on Mondays and opens Tuesday to Thursday 3pm to 10pm, Friday 1pm to 11pm, Saturday midday to 11pm and Sunday midday to 8pm; its own website, which warns that winter hours change, also gives Monday 3pm to 6pm. Food comes from visiting caterers: fish on Friday evenings from 5pm to 8pm and a Sunday roast every other week.

The Bell, a pub with five en-suite rooms on the green, was being offered to a new tenant by its owner, Stonegate, when we checked in October 2026, so ring before you rely on it. For a full meal, Broadway is 2 miles away, and the hotels on Willersey Hill have restaurants.

The Bell Inn, a gabled stone pub on the green at Willersey
The Bell Photo: DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When to come

Willersey is pleasant at any time, and most useful on the summer weekends when Broadway is full: stay here and go into Broadway early. From St George's Day to Midsummer the Vale of Evesham below is in its asparagus season, which our Evesham guide covers. In late November and early December, Broadway's late-night Christmas shopping is 2 miles away, and on the Friday after the late May bank holiday (4 June 2027, still to be confirmed by the organisers) the Cotswold Olimpick Games are held on Dover's Hill above Campden. The R4 bus does not run at weekends, on bank holidays or between Christmas and New Year.

Last verified 1 November 2026 by our editors

Sheep grazing a hillside above a stone village in a valley

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.

  • St Peter's church and its central tower above the fields from the footpath
  • A stone house behind clipped yews across the pond in winter
  • Stone houses along the wide main street of Willersey
  • A stone cottage with climbing roses round the windows
  • A stone inn with a decorated gable stands on a corner of the village street under a blue sky

Things to do in Willersey

See all
Gabled honey-stone front of Tudor House on Broadway High Street under a blue sky

Museums and galleries · Broadway

Broadway Museum and Art Gallery

A museum and gallery in Broadway's Tudor House on the High Street, with John Singer Sargent's portrait of Elizabeth Eberstadt among its paintings, free for under-16s.

  • A sculptural walnut console table with a woven base

    Gordon Russell Design Museum

    Museums and galleries · Broadway

    A museum of the furniture designer Gordon Russell in one of his former workshops on Russell Square, Broadway, open Tuesday to Sunday, with a ticket that lasts a year.

    Rainy days

    Verified Nov 2026

  • A castellated stone folly tower in weak autumn sunshine

    Broadway Tower

    Historic houses and heritage · Broadway

    James Wyatt's folly of 1798 on Beacon Hill above Broadway, with a museum in the tower, a red deer park, two cafés and a Cold War nuclear bunker.

    Family-friendly · Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly

    Verified Oct 2026

  • An Arts and Crafts pendant of mother-of-pearl and green stones in its velvet case

    Court Barn Museum

    Museums and galleries · Chipping Campden

    Chipping Campden's museum of craft and design, telling the story of Ashbee's Guild of Handicraft and the makers who followed, with half price for bus passengers.

    Rainy days · Car-free

    Verified Oct 2026

Where to stay in Willersey

See all
  • Leather armchairs before a large stone fireplace with a log fire

    Dormy House

    Hotel · Broadway

    A hotel and spa on Willersey Hill above Broadway, on the 500-acre Farncombe estate it shares with the Fish and Foxhill Manor, with a pool, hot tub suites and dogs in set rooms.

    Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · Hot tubs

    Verified Nov 2026

  • A sofa and armchair by a log fire in a bare stone sitting room

    Foxhill Manor

    Hotel · Broadway

    An eight-bedroom house on the Farncombe estate above Broadway, run as a small hotel where meals and drinks are included, with the spa at Dormy House and dogs welcome.

    Dog-friendly · Hot tubs · Wedding venues

    Verified Oct 2026

  • Lounge with a log fire in a stone hearth, a patterned sofa and a kilim rug

    The Fish Hotel

    Hotel · Broadway

    Rooms, suites, huts and three treehouses on a hillside of the Farncombe estate above Broadway, with Hook restaurant by Martin Burge and dogs welcome in set rooms.

    Dog-friendly · Family-friendly

    Verified Nov 2026

Where to eat and drink in Willersey

See all
  • A light dining room with round tables, rattan lamps and doors open to a terrace

    House of George

    Restaurants · Broadway

    A restored seventeenth-century house on Broadway's High Street with ten bedrooms, a relaxed lunch from Wednesday to Sunday and Moda, its fine-dining restaurant, from Wednesday to Saturday evenings.

    Verified Oct 2026

  • The Broadway Deli under its gabled stone frontage, with a painted vegetable van outside

    Broadway Deli

    Cafes and tearooms · Broadway

    An independent delicatessen and café on Broadway High Street, opposite the Lygon Arms, open since 2002, serving brunch all day with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices.

    Verified Oct 2026

  • Light conservatory dining room with grey chairs, laid tables and windows onto the garden

    Childswickham Inn and Brasserie

    Pubs · Broadway

    A village pub and brasserie at Childswickham, about two miles from Broadway, with cask ale and ciders, a daily specials board, a garden and a dog-friendly bar.

    Dog-friendly

    Verified Oct 2026

Walks in and around Willersey

All walks starting here
  • A round-towered stone folly on a grassy hilltop under a blue sky streaked with cloud

    Cotswold Way: Chipping Campden to Broadway

    Walk · Starts in Chipping Campden · 3 hrs, 30 mins · Dog-friendly

    A 6-mile (9.6km) one-way walk on the first section of the Cotswold Way, from the Market Hall in Chipping Campden to Broadway, moderate and about three and a half hours: up to Dover's Hill, along the edge to Broadway Tower, then steeply down into the village.

  • Broadway Tower lit by the setting sun, with a path curving up the hill towards it

    Broadway and Broadway Tower

    Walk · Starts in Broadway · 3 hrs · Circular

    A 4-mile (6.5km) circular walk from the war memorial in Broadway, two and a half to three hours, moderate with steep sections and no stiles. It passes St Eadburgha's, climbs Coneygree Lane to Broadway Tower and comes back down the Cotswold Way.

Sights in and around Willersey

All sights
  • A weathered mossy standing stone among green woodland plants

    Kiftsgate Stone

    Sight · Monument · Chipping Campden

    A small holed standing stone on the Cotswold edge west of Chipping Campden, the meeting place of the hundred of Kiftsgate, where the proclamations of new monarchs were read up to William IV in 1830. A scheduled monument about 30m from the Cotswold Way.

  • Green slopes of a hill falling away to a wide vale under a blue sky with clouds

    Dover's Hill

    Sight · Viewpoint · Chipping Campden

    A National Trust hill on the Cotswold edge above Chipping Campden, about 230m up, with a topograph naming the view over the Vale of Evesham and a level path to it. Robert Dover's Cotswold Olimpicks have been held here, on and off, since 1612.

  • A cruciform stone church with a central tower in a sunny, tree-lined churchyard

    St Eadburgha's Church, Broadway

    Sight · Church · Broadway

    St Eadburgha's is Broadway's old parish church, out on Snowshill Road a mile from the village: a cross-shaped church of the twelfth century and about 1400, with a crossing tower, Tudor and Stuart brasses and medieval woodwork. Grade I; open daily, 10am to 4pm.

History of Willersey

Willersey belonged to the abbey of Evesham, and Domesday Book records the abbey as its lord in 1086, with 16 villagers, 4 smallholders, 2 slaves and a priest. The nave of St Peter's church is twelfth-century. The north aisle and porch were rebuilt in the thirteenth century, and the central tower was put up in the fifteenth. The village grew round its green and pond at the foot of the hill, and the New Inn dates from the seventeenth century. In the nineteenth century the church was restored and the fan vault over its crossing added in 1859. Willersey stayed in Gloucestershire, while Broadway, 2 miles away, is in Worcestershire.

Questions about Willersey

Is Willersey a good base for Broadway?

Yes, if you want somewhere quieter. Willersey is 2 miles from Broadway, with the 606 bus between them from Monday to Saturday, and it has a pub on its green and three hotels on the hill above. For cafés, the shops of the High Street and Broadway Tower, you go into Broadway.

Is there a pub in Willersey?

Yes. The New Inn, a Donnington pub near the top of Main Street, opens Tuesday to Sunday in winter, only from the afternoon on weekdays, and its food comes from visiting caterers. The Bell, on the green by the pond, was being offered to a new tenant in October 2026, so check before you go.

How do you get to Willersey without a car?

Take the train to Evesham and N N Cresswell's R4 bus, which runs on weekdays by Broadway and ends at Willersey, four times a day each way, with the last bus back at 1.36pm. From Cheltenham, Winchcombe or Chipping Campden, the Pulhams 606 serves Willersey from Monday to Saturday. There is no bus on Sundays.

What is special about Willersey church?

St Peter's, Willersey, is a Grade I church with a twelfth-century nave and a central tower of the fifteenth century over the crossing, unusual in a village church. The tower has a gargoyle at each corner, and inside there is a fan vault of 1859 over the crossing, a Norman tub font and medieval glass.

Getting to Willersey

By bus
R4 (N N Cresswell) from Evesham station, weekdays only, four a day each way; last bus back 1.36pm. Pulhams 606 to Broadway, Campden and Cheltenham, Monday to Saturday.
By car
On the B4632 between Broadway and Weston-sub-Edge, 2 miles north-east of Broadway.
By train
Honeybourne is about 4 miles away and Evesham 6.5, both on the Cotswold Line from London Paddington. From Evesham, the R4 bus on weekdays.
Parking
We found no public car park in Willersey. Park with care on the street, or use Broadway's long-stay car parks and take the 606.
Distances from Willersey
Saintbury1.2 mi
Broadway2.5 mi
Honeybourne station4.3 mi
Snowshill4.3 mi
Chipping Campden5 mi
Evesham station6.2 mi
Map of Willersey
© OpenStreetMap contributors

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