Picture taken by Ben Davis
Broadway
Broadway is a few minutes off the Cotswold Way National Trail but is well worth the diversion. Boasting one of the longest high streets in the UK, Broadway contains all the architecture and atmosphere of a north Cotswolds village. Formerly an important staging point for coaches, the village flourished with no less than 33 Inns (sadly that number is now much reduced but you will have no trouble finding an inn if you require refreshment).
Picture taken by Robert Silverwood
Overlooking the village in a commanding position is Broadway Tower which is the first of many monuments sited along the Cotswold Way. The high escarpment along which the Way travels has been exploited by a number of people to create monuments and towers with stunning views and which make enduring landmarks. In the case of the Broadway Tower, this folly was erected in the late C18th.
Broadway has a strong cultural pedigree with links to Henry James and J.M. Barrie on the literature front and Elgar and Vaughan Williams on the musical. Broadway was also home to a bohemian group of American artists, known as the Broadway Group, who imitated the lifestyle of other eclectic gatherings elsewhere in the country.
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