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The Pretty Village of Snowshill and it's Lavender Fields
Snowshill

Village Charm
Close your eyes and picture a secluded village full of charm and tranquillity. It’s quaint and pretty cottages, with their colourful welcoming gardens, clustered around it’s beautiful old Church on the village green. A subtle scent of lavender in the light breeze - welcome to a delightful piece of English countryside - Snowshill.
The Village of Snowshill



The Village of Snowshill in The Cotswolds
Snowshill is situated in ‘The Cotswolds’ a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, covering an area of 790 square miles. Incorporating the counties of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire but also extends into parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
It is popular with both the English and international visitors and is well known for it’s small villages and market towns. Also the ‘wolds’ - meaning the gentle hillsides.
The Cotswolds is a popular area for walkers and the countryside can be enjoyed via the famous ‘Cotswold Way’ a long distance footpath, approximately 103 miles long, running the length of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Cotswold village of Snowshill
The Quaint Charm of Snowshill
As the name ‘Snowshill’ suggests, this Cotswold village is set in the hills above the popular small town of Broadway. If there is any snow in the area, Snowshill gets to hear about it first!
You can easily walk around the village of Snowshill in a matter of minutes, but to truly enjoy the delights here it will take much longer!
The 19th Century village Church of St Barnabas stands proudly in the centre of the village, surrounded by a small village green and a cluster of old cottages.
The English love to give their home a name, the first picture is Clare’s Cottage (the name is under the window) and is probably named after the owner.
The second picture is of the Old Forge (the sign is to the right of the window) and would have originally been the Old Forge, more common names are the Old Bakery, Old Post Office and Old School, you often see these in small villages.
House Names




Quaint Cottages & Welcoming Gardens
With it’s quaint cottages and beautiful gardens, no wonder the picturesque village of Snowshill was chosen for the winter scenes in the film ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’
Filming took place in the centre of the village, including the village green and a local house featured as the home of Bridget’s parents.
The cottage in the picture below is just off the main village path. If you look closely you will see that the downstairs window is just above the pathway, so when the residents look out of the window they may just see some legs passing by!
In the picture below, the garden seemed so welcoming I wanted to push the gate open and go in and explore!
Quaint Cottages and Welcoming Gardens


Snowshill Arms and the Donnington Way
The Snowshill Arms is a Donnington Brewery pub. A local brewery located in the village of Donnington.
They have 15 Cotswold pubs and they are all identified by the black and white sign.
Not only are the Donnington pubs popular for their beer, they are also popular for those that like exercise!
There is a 62 mile walk that links all the pubs together called the Donnington Walk, there is even a book published detailing the pubs and walks.
It’s a circular walk that can be broken down into smaller walks from pub to pub. All the walks are through beautiful Cotswold countryside and each has a pub at the start and end.
I am proud to say over the years we managed to visit 13 of the Donnington pubs, most of them using the walks!
A walk from the Snowshill Arms to The Mount in the village of Stanton is a particularly beautiful walk.
Snowshill Arms


The charm of Snowshill
Click thumbnail to view full-size






Snowshill Lavender Fields
The Snowshill Lavender Farm has 53 acres of lavender fields and is a third generation family farm.
It has become a booming business and produces and sells the finest quality lavender products including essential oils, soaps and creams.
There are many health benefits of lavender oil which is extracted from the flowers using steam distillation.
The flowers of lavender have a distinct fragrance and are known to have a calming and relaxing effect both physically and emotionally.
Lavender flowers during the months of July and August. Although we visited in July, due to the wet early summer many of the lavender fields were only just coming into flower.
Lavender Fields



Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies
A delicious recipe for you to try!
Ingredients
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp dried lavender flowers or 3-4 tbsp fresh flowers
1 large egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup oatmeal
1 ½ cups white flour
¾ tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips
Method
In Bowl 1: Blend butter, sugar & lavender until smooth.
Then add the egg, milk & vanilla.
In Bowl 2:
Blend oatmeal, flour, and baking powder together.
Add in your chocolate chips to this dry mix.
Blend both mixes together to form a soft dough.
(If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour.)
Use a teaspoon to put onto a baking tray.
Set oven to 350° F
Bake for 10 minutes for soft cookies, or 15 mins for crisp ones.
Enjoy!
Comments
Bet it smells like heaven. Lovely photos.
Flower and flour in the ingredients. Sounds like a cookie to die for.
The lavender fields alone make an enticing visiting spot for me!
Lovely. Pictures of those cottages are nostalgic.
This might be our next stop! Just beautiful!
Wondrous photographs! I must admit I've never been to the Cotswolds - too busy drinking in the scenery of Yorkshire! - but what idyllic settings and homes. Our old English villages must have been so peaceful before industry and technology arrived but that's progress?
Votes and a share, thank you.
Hi Lesley - Happy June.
Beautiful photos. Love the lavender fields. Thanks so much for the recipe. Voted up ...
I can smell lavender...ethereal!
How beautiful! I am not too far away from the Cotswolds, but haven't been there since I was a child. I must go and visit Snowshill next summer, and maybe try out the lavender cookies :)
Voting up.
What a beautiful hub! I love the quaint cottages and pubs! The rock walls are really unusual and very "old world" in appearance. Your pictures are beautiful as always. I have to get "across the pond" someday! Voted up and more! :)
Absolutely awesome hub and photos. That's the kind of place I want to visit and you have just make my wanderlust heart beast faster..thanks!!!
VU and Shared!!!
What's not to love about this endearing, pretty English village? Your photos are so delightful...thanks for sharing them with us...lot's of votes, tweeted & shared...cheers
Stunning photos! And I could just about smell the lavender.
Many years ago I lived just outside the Cotswolds - close enough for a Saturday afternoon drive. Sadly, I didn't really appreciate it until we had to move away.
Thanks for sharing.
The pictures are so enchanting!
I have reopened my own Armchair Travelling slot and this one without a doubt is being saved.
I loved it and here's to so many more to come.
Just a note at the end to let you know that I am now back in my old account as Eiddwen.
A long story but I will fill you in one day
Now it feels even more like HOME'.
Lots of love
Eddy.
Nice to know about Snowshill, your article presentation is so lively, you complete my visit sitting here in India only, great hub, thanks
Hello Moviemaster! That is pretty pretty indeed! Awesome, as I browse I have this vintage feeling, like I'm on a classic novel or movie. Great photos, great houses, great place! I just love them all :)
Lesley, Is that a private cemetery in the seventh photograph?
Up + UFABI.
Respectfully, and with many thanks for the lovely story in pictures and words, Derdriu
P.S. Only 2 more pubs to go?
MM, you always write the most entertaining articles about the history of Europe and England. Such a beautiful place. How could you not find peace and serenity in a place so beautiful. I never knew lavender could be eaten. As always, the pictures are stunning Lesley. Voting this up and all the way across but funny.
What a beautiful and fascinating hub, Lesley. I love the scent of lavender and the fields of it are beautiful. I would love to visit Cotswold some day. Your virtual tour is beautiful and so charming. I love the village. I could just walk around the town and the nearby walks and path for ages. England is just one of the most beautiful and romantic countries in the world. How blessed you are to live around all this beauty. Your photographs are gorgeous as usual. Thanks so much for the tour!
Hi MM. Thank you for this wonderful tour. It is many years since I visited the beautiful Cotswolds. You brought back memories of the area and a Hotel stay in Broadway. Happy days...........
Graham.
beautiful places...You have used some of the great pictures in your hub. Love to visit there one day...
Lesley, One of these days I bet someone will offer you a job as a magazine tourist photographer/writer. I love hearing about your side of the world and the beautiful tours that you provide with your photos.
Dear Lesley,
Snowshill looks like a slice of heaven with those gorgeous lavender fields. As usual, you take us there with your visual words and exquisite photography. Voted UP and UABI. Love, Maria
Your photos are so clear and sharp that I feel like I am really seeing these lovely things. I could live quite happily in this place. The recipe at the end was a pleasant surprise. How very lovely!
Beautiful rolling hills, acres of lavender and pubs within walking distance of this wonderful country side. You have given us a glimpse of unspoiled beauty and idyllic surroundings where one can find peace.
Lesley, I have always struggled to visualize what "quaint" would look like, until I read your gem here. I love the views, the cottages, the history, the total feel of it all. Beautiful...
Oh, I want to go! This village looks so beautiful, so peaceful. Thank you for sharing this.
I really enjoyed looking at the beautiful pictures. Reading books makes me wonder why the houses has names and that explains why. English people likes to name it. Voted up and interesting.
Nice blend of green and blue. Thank you Movie Master -)
A wonderful tour to the village along lavender field and a treat of lavender chocolate chip cookies.
Hi, I love all these little villages, and the houses are so beautiful, that lavender field! wow! I really should get out and about more and go and visit them myself! lol! wonderful hub!
Your hubs the UK country villages and photos always take me down memory lane. I don't think I have ever seen villages anywhere as pretty as the UK.
This has been a lovely trip for me Lesley. I can just shut my eyes and smell the lavendar as I am walking through the fields.
Thank you
Hi Lesley,
What a wonderful insight into a lovely part of Britain. The Cotswolds is so famous for its beauty and walks and now I see pub crawls too! Lovely info showing the connection between each pub with walks!
Lavender I love growing and grew up with it in the garden. The smell is truly gorgeous. Dying to try your cookies too! Awesome hub voted across the board and sharing!!!
Oh yes, that's the real England, Lesley. I love the Cotswolds, I've been there many times although I've never heard of Snowshill- amazing really because I've been to Broadway. Loved the pictures, makes me yearn for an escape from the suburbs.
My aunt and uncle live in Tackley, near Kidlington and I love whenever I go to visit them. Theirs is another idyllic English country village with a quaint church and a pleasant village green. Thanks very much for this. Voted up etc.
Hi Lesley. What a beautiful place. I really have to make it a point to get over to the UK someday soon. Great touch with the lavender chocolate chip cookies, they sound wonderful. As usual, this is a great hub with stunning photos. Voting up, sharing, etc....
Lesley, So brilliant that you're planning to write a hub about the tradition of naming homes! I was actually dropping a hint for you to do that very thing!
The Cotswolds is definitely on my to-do list.
Kind regards, Stessily
Now that I'm nice and calm with the memory of lavender in my brain...thank you for this lovely visit. The information was great, the pictures lovely, and the hub down home and welcoming.
Voted up, useful, awesome, beautiful, and interesting.
Lesley, There's so much here of incomparable beauty: stone cottages, Donnington pub walks, yellow roses, lavender chocolate chip cookies, and lavender fields --- to paraphrase the Beatles, "lavender fields forever". I'll never forget the amazing grace of lavender fields in southern France, so I look forward one day to viewing and sniffing English lavender in the real English countryside. Congratulations on visiting 13 Donnington pubs, mostly by walking!
I love the English habit of naming their homes. Do subsequent owners tend to honor the names, or do they sometimes rename them? (DeeDee's [Derdriu] home is named Chickory Cottage in honor of our English grandmother, Rose, who first acquainted us with chickory.)
Thank you for sharing your photographic travelogues and for further fixing my resolve to return to the UK soon. All the votes, as usual.
Kind regards, Stessily
Brilliant photos, as usual. A very Wonderful hub Lesley, I love it.
Voted Up.
Take care. Best Wishes, Kamalesh
PS : I am so sorry my friend I have mistakenly typed your name as Joyce in my earlier comment!! Apologies .. Apologies.... Apologies. Request you to please delete that comment.
Thanks for the trip to the Cotswolds. Your photos are gorgeous as always. And a bonus recipe, too!
Thank you for such a delightful hub. I makes me want to walk the charming street and talk to the people living there. I like the cleaness of the little village, and the beauty of the fields of Lavendar.
This was such a great read.
Thanks again,
Bobbi Purvis
I would love to see these fields of lavendar. Lovely hub and I would enjoy the country walk in this area. Thanks for sharing this bit of heaven on earth.
I'd love to explore this quaint village. I love structures made of stone. And the lavender fields must be wonderfully fragrant when in bloom.
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