Guiting is in the heart of the north cotswold country in the upper reaches of the Windrush Valley.
The original settlement was known as Gyting Broc.
Excavations revealed Iron Age activity, a Roman figurine, a small Saxon
sarcophagus and the remains of a very early Saxo-Norman chapel.
The village was based on a manor owned by King Edward (the
Confessor) but had had declined by the time of the Domsday Book of 1086. The
first word of the name comes from the lords lePohers while Guiting comes from
the Saxon word getinge, for rushing, perhaps referring the the Windrush River.
In 1968, The Manor lands and over half of the homes were
purchased by Raymond Cochrane who intended to renovate and develop the
infrastructure. In the 1970s, he formed the Guiting Manor Amenity Trust, a
charitable trust, to oversee the village after his death. The trust manages the
village and rents out some of the 67 houses.
The 5 mile circular tour takes in a number of cross country
lanes offering occasional superb rural panoramas and vistas.
En route there is a 17-acre wetland nature reserve.
Though a centre section taking in the working quarry and
mason works can be very dusty on dry days like these.
At Naunton you cross the river Windrush and pass through the
picturesque churchyard of St Andrews before leaving the village and joining
Wardens Way on the stretch back to Guiting. For the more adventurous the
Wardens Way passes through the village, on its 14-mile route from Bouton on the
Water – a favourite haunt of ours, particularly out of season - to Winchcombe, passing close by St Andrews. It
joins the Oxfordshire Way to the Cotswold Way and can be combined with the
Windrush Way to make a circular route.
