Why not make a point of visiting this very special village? It’s a great place for a day or half day out, and the shop can offer you morning coffee, light lunches and cream teas in charming surroundings.

What can you find in Dumbleton?

It has a charming main street, but little traffic. Because it lies between the Cotswolds and the Severn Vale, you can find houses built in the local Dumbleton brick, Cotswold stone and black-and-white half timbering. Roofs come in all types too: stone slate, Welsh slate, tiles and thatch. You can find three former farms, some handsome estate houses, a Village Hall used as a hospital during World War I, the village fountain, and the Old Rectory – all evidence of a thriving community with hundreds of years of history.

The church is fascinating. Over the porch is a weird carving – is it the Devil or the Lamb of God? Inside are the fine tombs of the Cocks family, dating from around 1600 to 1750 or so, and those of the Hollands. Under the tower is the tablet to the young explorer Gino Watkins, who died in Greenland in 1932. In the churchyard lie the brothers Wedgewood, grandsons of the great Josiah Wedgewood and cousins of Charles Darwin.

Old Dumbleton Hall once stood in the park behind the church and there is a panel there to help you locate it and find the remains of its Dutch water garden. The new Hall, now a hotel, was begun in 1820, and stands at the other side of the park. Among its guests were Mrs Gaskell, John Betjeman and the Nazi leader Ribbentrop. And the thriving  cricket club nearby is surely one of the most beautiful in England.

There is a great network of paths around the village. The best perhaps are those over and around  Dumbleton Hill. The shop sells an attractive leaflet about local walks and you can buy local maps too.

So plan a visit to Dumbleton soon – you won’t be disappointed but in the meantime why not take a look at the Dumbleton Village Web site containing a wealth of information and historical facts. Go to www.dumbletonvillage.co.uk.