Paxford

Most people drive straight through without realizing they're passing through a place with genuine literary significance.

The village's real claim to attention comes from its connection to C.S. Lewis. Frederick Paxford was born here in 1898 and spent over thirty years working as Lewis's gardener, handyman, and general factotum at The Kilns near Oxford, from 1930 until Lewis's death in 1963. He did far more than tend the gardens—he drove Lewis around, kept the household running, and made such an impression that Lewis based the character Puddleglum the Marsh-Wiggle on him. That inwardly optimistic yet outwardly gloomy countryman, prone to pessimistic predictions but possessed of genuine shrewdness, came straight from observing Paxford himself.

There aren't formal tourist attractions to speak of here. The appeal is in walking through the village and contemplating this unexpected link to one of the twentieth century's most significant writers. You'll find St. James Church and pleasant countryside walks heading out in all directions. Paxford works best as part of a wider Cotswolds visit, combined with nearby market towns or other villages. If you're interested in Lewis, there's something more tangible about standing in the actual place where the man who inspired Puddleglum spent his entire life than in any museum setting.