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About Chipping Campden

The High Street

Chipping Campden or Campden - not Chipping Camden! - is one of the most charming and unspoilt of the Cotswold towns.

Consisting of Chipping Campden, Broad Campden and Blockley, and set on the edge of the Cotswolds, this historic town in north Gloucestershire is a Mecca for discerning visitors, from home and abroad.

Chipping Campden was once described as the most beautiful village in England. It's easy to see why.

Volunteer Inn

Chipping Campden High Street

One of its main attractions is its High Street. Filled with beautiful honey-coloured stone buildings (14th-17th centuries), it's often described as the most perfect High Street in England.

The High Street features a wide range of interesting, sometimes unique, small shops. You'll also find a large variety of good restaurants, hotels and pubs – all offering both traditional and international cuisine.

"Take a walk along High Street and a step back in time!"

Yes, anyone searching for the heritage of the Middle Ages, will find it in Chipping Campden. For, in the space of a hundred metres or so, you'll find excellent examples of Elizabethan, Georgian, Jacobean, Regency and Victorian architecture.

More Chipping Campden Attractions...

The famous Market Hall stands in the High Street too; its picture sent around the world via postcards and calendars.

Then you'll find the War Memorial, the Town Hall... - even the local hotel, The Cotswold House Hotel, is worth a visit (it was built in 1815!).

And for those keen on walking there are many public footpaths, including the Cotswold Way which starts in Chipping Campden and goes all the way to Bath.

Dover's Olympick Games

Olympick Games

The Cotwolds' own 'Olympicks' are held at Dover's Hill, Chipping Campden every summer.

The event is named after Robert Dover, who established the festival of games in the 17th century on the hill that overlooks Chipping Campden. The first Cotswold Olympicks were held with permission from King James I in 1612, they were revived in 1951 and, since 1963, they have been held every year.

The original games featured shin-kicking and sword play but modern day games feature rural sports, tug-of-war and band displays.

The Scuttlebrook Wake is held the following day and includes the crowning of the May Queen, a fancy dress parade and maypole and morris dancing.

For more information about Chipping Campden's Olympick Games visit: www.olimpickgames.co.uk

Gardens

Cotswold House Hotel

Nearby are the two famous gardens, Kiftsgate Court the home of the biggest rose in England, and Hidcote Manor Gardens. Both are well worth a visit.

(Find more details about Chipping Campden in Things To Do.)

Don't just read, visit!

Reading about the delights of Chipping Campden is not enough, though. You really do have to visit, to appreciate this relatively unspoilt gem of the Cotswolds.