Adlestrop
is a rural village nestling under the brow of a Cotswold hill in the heart
England. This tiny
Main
Street
settlement with a population of about 80 people can be found just off the
road from Chipping Norton to Stow-on-the-Wold on the border between Gloucestershire
and Oxfordshire. Clothed in the honey coloured stone livery of a typical
Cotswold village, Adlestrop provides a peaceful rest to walkers on the Macmillan
Way
and the Oxfordshire cycle route. On one notable occasion it provided the
poet Edward Thomas with a scene of such tranquillity in the midst of a train
journey that it inspired one of the great poems of English literature.
Jane Austen made several visits to stay with her uncle who was the Church
rector and it is rumoured that the house and grounds of Adlestrop Park were
the setting for her novel Mansfield Park. There is a Church, a Village Hall,
a cricket pitch and a fishing lake and local footpaths provide the keen
rambler with wooded nature trails and breathtaking views. There is a path
leading over Adlestrop hill to Chastleton where a Tudor stately home can
be viewed by appointment. Another path will take you across the Daylesford
Estate, once owned by Warren Hastings. The nearest pub is the Fox
Inn at Oddington. Within easy walking distance, across Adlestrop Park,
The Fox
is noted for its imaginative menu, fine wines and real ales and also offers
accommodation for those who want to explore the area in more detail or base
themselves for a weekend of Antiques hunting in nearby Stow-on-the-Wold.