The journey to WINCHCOMBE , twelve miles southwest of Chipping Campden, is stunning, whether you take the dramatic descent over the escarpment or the exhilarating ride down the B4632, which weaves along the lower folds of the cliff. Under the Saxons, Winchcombe became the provincial capital of the kingdom of Mercia , and it was the most important town in the Cotswolds until the early Middle Ages. The Saxon abbey didn't survive the Dissolution, and the town's m... [More]