Virtual Walks in English Villages

Explore the Most Picturesque Villages in England -The Cotswolds, An Area of Outstanding Beauty - and Never Leave Home!

Your treadmill can transport you to quaint, picturesque villages in England's charming Cotswolds, where time stands still. You'll exercise more and enjoy every minute as you experience these beautiful villages.

If you love charming scenic villages, their beauty, and history, then you'll love taking one of our three hour-long virtual walks through different quaint villages in the Cotswolds, designated by England as "An Area of Outstanding Beauty."

THE FIRST VOLUME of your 60 minute Cotswold Villages Virtual Walk begins beside the historic St. James Church in the village of Chipping Campden, a small market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire. Passing the Alms House you follow Church Street until it intersects with High Street and once on High Street, you encounter and pass through the famous Market Hall, built in 1627 by Sir Baptist Hicks, a prosperous Wool Merchant of that period. Leaving Market Hall, you pause for a brief look at the typical honey-coloured limestone buildings typical of the Cotswolds, then on down the street and eventually out of the center of Chipping Campden. On the outskirts of Chipping Campden, you pause to admire "Little Orchard," the home of Graham Greene, the prolific English novelist, playwright, short story writer, and critic and his wife Vivien between 1931 and 1933.

Then following the Cotswold Way, a 102-mile footpath and designated National Trail since 2007, you enter the east end of the village of Broadway by passing through a sheep field. Broadway has a wide main street lined with red chestnut trees and honey-coloured Cotswold limestone buildings, many dating from the 16th century. Often referred to as the "Jewel of the Cotswolds," Broadway is a center for arts and antiques and has a unique character all its own with tea rooms, hotels and pubs, all clustered near the expansive village green.

Then it's on to the small village of Upper Slaughter on a footpath beside the River Eye. Upper Slaughter was identified by author Arthur Mee as one of 32 "Thankful Villages." In Enchanted Land (1936), he wrote "that a Thankful Village was one which had lost no men in the Great War because all those who left to serve came home again." Although the village was subject to an air raid, it also lost no men in World War II, an honor held by only 14 villages, known as the "Doubly Thankful Villages." Climbing the hill and turning to the right, you encounter a sign reading "Flowers in Church." St. Peter's is the quintessential country church complete with working bells and polished pews. The church was renovated in 1877. During that renovation, much of the original fabric was re-used, and the original plan of the medieval church was not greatly altered. St. Peter's is lovingly decorated by local parishioners using flowers grown in their gardens, and after taking time to admire the "Flowers in Church," you move on to the nearby village of Lower Slaughter, entering by walking on a small path beside the River Eye.

As in Upper Slaughter, the village of Lower Slaughter is situated on both banks of the River Eye. Records exist showing that Lower Slaughter has been inhabited for over 1000 years and where most of the 16th and 17th century homes in the village use Cotswold sandstone and are adorned with mullioned windows and often with other embellishments such as projecting gables. You pause to enjoy the profusion of blooming flowers in almost every yard and then cross a stone footbridge and turn left and pause again to view a 19th-century water mill with an undershot waterwheel and a chimney for additional steam power. Behind the water mill, you turn onto a small path and pass through a gate which commemorates a visit by Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981. You continue walking northwest out of the village, beside the now wider river where your one hour Cotswold Villages Virtual Walk - Volume 1 ends here beside the River Eye.

THE SECOND VOLUME with another 60 minute Cotswold Villages Virtual Walk begins outside of the charming village of Snowshill. Walking down the hill and past some typical honey-colored cottages, constructed of local limestone, you eventually reach the center of Snowshill and pause for a moment beside the Church of St. Barnabus and its old graveyard with so many stories to tell. Your walk through Snowshill pauses periodically to contemplate the various quaint cottages found here before leaving the village by way of a tree-lined road you continue on as you next enter the village of Stanton.

Walking behind an elderly gentleman out for a stroll, you stop to take in a lovely thatched-roofed cottage on the outskirts of Stanton. Further on, a group of riders pass as you enter into the center of this traditional Cotswold village. Everywhere you look, green plants are thriving. Following the "Cotswold Way" road post, you leave Stanton and next enter into the picturesque village of Bourton-on-the-Water. The River Windrush flows through the heart of this popular Cotswold village. Your walk follows the footpath beside the river as it cuts through the village.

The idyllic village of Bibury is next on your walk. Starting at the Church, you soon pause at the famous Arlington Row, certainly one of the most well-known and most photographed sites in the Cotswolds. Further on, your walk takes you beside Rack Isle, where dyed woolens were once hung to dry, and on through the village and past the historic Swan Hotel. And last, your hour-long walk takes you into arguably the most scenic village in all of the Cotswolds, Castle Combe. You follow a narrow forest footpath, and suddenly the village appears - as if by magic. This quintessential old English Village has been the setting of numerous TV programs including an Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mystery along with the children's motion picture, Dr. Dolittle. Your walk will actually take you inside this quiet and tranquil church to view the effigy of a knight in a suit of chain mail who has rested here for centuries.

Steven Spielberg's production of "War Horse," nominated for 6 Oscars, along with the motion pictures "The Wolfman" and the 1999 Neil Gaiman movie, "Stardust." were filmed in this picture-postcard English Village. After a complete walking tour of this picturesque village, your 60 minute walk ends at the By Brook.

THE THIRD VOLUME with yet another 60 minute Cotswold Villages Virtual Walk is coming soon! It will feature the villages of Icomb, Adlestrop, Lower Swell, and Evenlode.

MIDSOMER VILLAGES:

Although not filmed in the Cotswolds, the Midsomer Villages Walk will take you to Oxfordshire and many of the villages used as filming locations in the BBC Television series, "Midsomer Murders."

Your 60 minute Village Virtual Walk begins beside the river in the village of Henley-on-Thames. The walk beside the Thames is crowded with people enjoying a sunny August day. Ahead is the Henley Bridge with its five elliptical stone arches, built in 1786. The current bridge replaced an earlier wooden structure, the foundations of which can be seen in the basement of the Henley Royal Regatta headquarters nearby on the Berkshire side. However, the remains of two stone arches on both sides of the river indicate the existence of an even more ancient stone bridge prior to the timber structure.

This bridge has been identified by some authors as the bridge which the Romans crossed pursuing the Britons in 43AD, as described by Dion Cassius. Turning left we cross the street, walk past St. Mary's Church and walk through the village center. Next you enter the village of Dorchester-on-Thames and first pass Dorchester Abbey, then turning onto High Street you pass the George Hotel, one of Britain's oldest coach inns, which dates back to the 15th century and has appeared in many Midsomer Murder episodes. Walking further down High Street, we come to the village's War Memorial. You next enter Warborough and begin your village walk in the grounds of the parish church of St. Laurence, then turn into the village center, walk past numerous cottages and cross the village's cricket field. After crossing the cricket field, we pass by the Six Bells, a beautiful English Pub dating from the 1600's in the heart of the village, which I'm sure you'll recognize from its numerous appearances in the TV series.

Next you enter Ewelme, and through the grounds of the 15th-century parish church of St. Mary the Virgin. This quiet village is the perfect place to rest by a small pond and watch the ducks play. Then it's on to Watlington, a market town in the Chiltern Hills with several half-timbered structures. Many 16th- and 17th-century cottages and houses survive today in Watlington and some have been little altered. Of course, the village has its War Memorial proudly displayed, one of about 100 free-standing war memorials in Oxfordshire. Then on to the small village of Lewknor and through the grounds of St. Margaret's parish church where you turn right and follow High Street, where many of the cottages in Lewknor are built using flints. It's appropriate that you saved Wallingford for our last village to tour. Wallingford has a strong history in the fictional murder mystery genre.

Agatha Christie, who is buried at nearby Cholsey, lived and worked in Wallingford. Wallingford is the filming location of the fictional village of Causton in the TV series "Midsomer Murders." Turning right onto High Street, we pass another 16th-century coaching inn, The George Hotel and, after crossing another bridge, your one-hour Midsomer Villages Virtual Walk ends, where it started 60 minutes ago, beside the River Thames.



Whether you use these Virtual Walks to make the time spent exercising on your treadmill FUN, or use them as a way of "relaxing" after a hard workday, you'll delight in the amazing scenery and vitality captured in these DVDs and HD Downloads.

Customers tell us again and again, that these virtual walk videos actually make the time spent exercising on their treadmills, ellipticals, or Nordic Tracks, "fly by!" They tell us they exercise longer and enjoy every minute! One of our Amazon customers recently posted this review, "These folks that make these DVDs do such a great job that I feel I am actually there! I can't wait to get the next DVD that they make. I am never disappointed."

Another customer wrote: "Hi, My name is Erin. I received 6 DVDs a number of months ago of various virtual walk tours (of which I only purchased 4 as you had included 2 extra tours that you thought my father would like). We had exchanged a couple of emails during the time that my father was struggling with Cancer. Unfortunately, he passed away November 21st. I just wanted to let you know that he thoroughly enjoyed all of the virtual tour DVD's you sent. During days that he was tired of watching CNN (or more so I got tired of watching it : ) he watched in awe at some of the beautiful locations you have captured on video. He was shocked at how real it seemed to him on his big screen TV. Some days he was just so tired from being unable to sleep at night, he actually was able to fall asleep to the sound of the birds in the 4 seasons video! The videos displayed such amazing graphics it truely did give him a sense that he was really at these locations walking himself (even though he physically couldn't walk). So sorry for the belated thank you, as the last few months have been quite difficult. I do plan on bringing them into work with me this week and play them on our big screen TV in our gym where I'm an Occupational Therapist. So often my patients say "I'm tired of riding this bike! It's so boring!" This way they can enjoy the beautiful scenery and not even think about how they're working in Physical or Occupational Therapy. So again, a huge thank you to you and your company for allowing not only myself and my father enjoy your videos but now for my patients as well! Sincerely, Erin""

So if you love quaint villages, pick out a location and order either a DVD or a High Def Download today. Tomorrow you could be taking a treadmill virtual walk in the BBC's Midsomer Villages or the Cotswold Villages. So much beauty and tranquility here, waiting for you to experience while you exercise!

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