You will probably have noticed that when you take a branch from certain trees (some conifers for example), the branch looks like a miniature version of the tree, and when you break a piece off the branch, that looks like a tree too. Mathematicians call this property self-similarity.
Bourton has a wonderful example of self-similarity: it contains a 1/10 scale model of itself. Because the 1/10 scale model is a complete model of the town, it must contain a model of itself, and it does, a 1/100th. scale model of Bourton, and because the 1/100th. scale model is also a complete model of Bourton, it must also contain a 1/1000th. scale model of the scale model of the scale model of Bourton.
And it does. It is only a matter of time before a team of nano-technicians turn up in the town to etch a sub-micron scale model of Bourton on a silicon wafer, complete with mill, waterwheel, and a highly imaginative interpretation of the River Windrush as a stream of electrons.
Bourton is often referred to as "the Venice of the Cotswolds", on the strength of six picturesque bridges across the River Windrush. This is the Cotswold tourist venue par excellence, and the town is well adapted to handle the summer invasion, with pubs, coffee shops, ice cream parlours and eateries. The grass verges along the Windrush become dusty and threadbare with the constant tramp of sneakers, but the surprising thing is that the town survives as well as it does and remains as pretty as it is. The architecture is traditional Cotswold - stone roofs, gables here and there, mullioned windows, golden brown limestone throughout. It looks just like it looks in the picture of the model village above.
Bourton-on-the-Water is a place to be gregarious. There is no point in going to Bourton if you are looking for a sleepy little hamlet. It is a place to promenade. The town (or large village) is neatly divided lengthwise by the River Windrush, and the large space formed, with its little low bridges, was made for strolling around in the Italian fashion, seeing and being seen, togged out in your drop-dead Sunday best. Most of the kiddies seem to prefer to do their promenading in the river; someone ought to tell them what the bridges are for.
Look out for the Cotswold Perfumery. I have no financial interest in making this recommendation. A long time ago I took an interest in perfumery, and I am constantly annoyed by the appalling stuff which masquerades as perfume in mass-market toiletries. Each perfume sample in the Cotswold Perfumery is like a visit to another land. I won't say I liked them all, but there wasn't one that didn't carry me off. The difference between this perfume and the mass-market stuff is like the difference between a penny whistle and an orchestra.
Return to Contents
A bridge over the Windrush. The river is a popular paddling place for
children in summer. 
Barclays Bank, Bourton. I have been a customer of Barclays for 20 years
and I still think their cyan-blue corporate livery is a blot on any landscape. How can
they do this to a beautiful building in a beautiful town? 
The Cotswold Perfumery. Return to Contents
In most cases further details can be found under Things to See.
Return to Contents
Return to the Cotswold HyperGuide Town Index
Copyright Digital Brilliance 1995