Bourton-on-the-Water & Vale
Cotswold 003 · 6 sub-areas · 9,555 residents
Cotswold 003 is a rural pocket of the Cotswold district in the South West, home to around 9,500 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £1,115 a month — close to the UK median for a 2-bed, though buying here is a different story, with median sale prices well above £500,000. Nearly two-thirds of residents own their home, and more than a third work from home.
Bourton-on-the-Water & Vale is a mid-density neighbourhood of Cotswold in the South West region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services. The population skews older, with a long-settled feel and a high share of retirees.
Overview
What's it like to live in Bourton-on-the-Water & Vale?
Greenspace is reachable but isn't on the immediate doorstep — most residents walk a few blocks to reach a park; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Transport links are limited — a car or e-bike is a practical assumption for most regular trips; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,263 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 6 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Bourton-on-the-Water & Vale in Cotswold
Living in Bourton-on-the-Water & Vale
This part of the Cotswold district feels more like settled countryside than a commuter suburb. The character is quiet, owner-occupied, and markedly older than most English neighbourhoods — nearly a quarter of residents are 65 or over, and the under-35s make up less than a third of the population combined. If you're arriving from a city, the pace shift is noticeable.
Rents here are more moderate than the area's sky-high sale prices might suggest. A two-bedroom property runs around £1,115 a month, roughly in line with the national average for a 2-bed, while a three-bedroom home costs about £1,354. But rents rose 9.1% in the past year — faster than most of England — so the affordability window may be narrowing. The bigger constraint for buyers is the deposit: at current prices, it takes the typical resident nearly eight years to save one.
The working population here skews older and professional. Median resident earnings sit at around £32,900 a year, above the workplace median of £29,655 — a gap of more than £3,000 that reflects the pattern of residents commuting out to higher-paying jobs rather than working locally. Nearly half of all journeys to work are made by car, and more than a third of residents work from home entirely — one of the highest remote-working rates you'll find anywhere in England.
Public transport connectivity is limited, and that's the honest trade-off for this kind of rural setting. The nearest rail station is roughly 8.5 km away, around a 15–20 minute drive for most residents. If you need reliable rail access into a major city regularly, you'll want to factor that in before committing. For everything else — greenspace, quiet streets, strong broadband — this part of the Cotswolds delivers. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Cotswold 003 a nice place to live?
- For people who want rural quiet, strong broadband, low crime, and access to Cotswold countryside, it's a genuinely appealing choice. The trade-off is limited public transport and high property prices — median sale prices are above £521,000. It suits remote workers and older households more than young professionals relying on daily commutes.
- What is the rent in Cotswold 003?
- A one-bedroom property runs around £877 a month, a two-bedroom about £1,115, and a three-bedroom roughly £1,354. Rents rose 9.1% in the past year. These are estimates based on local sale prices scaled from district-level data, so treat them as indicative rather than precise.
- Is Cotswold 003 safe?
- Yes, by most measures. The crime rate is around 43.6 incidents per 1,000 residents a year — roughly half the UK national rate. The area sits in the upper-middle range for deprivation (decile 7.2 out of 10, where 10 is least deprived), which correlates with the low crime figures.
- What's the commute from Cotswold 003 to the nearest major city?
- It's not easy by public transport. The nearest mainline rail station is about 8.5 km away, and rail journeys to London and Birmingham each take around three hours. Nearly half of residents drive to work, and over a third work from home — which tells you something about how most people handle the commute.
- Who lives in Cotswold 003?
- Mostly older, owner-occupying households. Nearly half the population is over 50, and almost two-thirds own their home. Degree-level qualifications are common (39.1%), and a large share work from home. It's not a particularly young or transient area — most residents are settled, professional, and have been here a while.
- What schools are near Cotswold 003?
- There are eight schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 32% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding school is about 16.7 km away. If Ofsted ratings are a priority, it's worth researching specific schools and checking the latest inspection reports before deciding.
- Is Cotswold 003 good for remote workers?
- It's one of the better spots in England for remote working. Over 37% of residents already work from home, and 97.3% of premises have gigabit-capable broadband with no properties below the minimum speed threshold. The rural setting and low crime rate add to the appeal for those not tied to a daily commute.