I grew up in a town named Slaughter. Technicallly, it was renamed long before I came upon the scene. But my hometown of Auburn was named after Lieutenant William Slaughter who died in an Indian battle south of Seattle in 1856. Civic sensibilities overcame the desire to honor the Lieutenant and it was renamed before the turn of the century.
What, you may ask, does that have to do with the Cotswolds? Brilliant question. Turns out that on our trek through a number of villages today we walked through the small villages of Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter. The moniker for these two places has nothing to do with our modern day definition. In Olde English the word “slōhtre” means muddy place or slough. These two places are on a river and may have historically been so, but in the modern day the river is channeled and the places are clean. But, unlike Slaughter, Washington, the name stuck. It does make me wonder if the family of Lieutenant William Slaughter originated from this area.
The hike itself took awhile to start. There is a one ninth scale model Cotswold village in the town where we started and we hung out in a local bakery till it opened. Then the skies opened up and we hid out in another bakery. Finally, we set out for a hike through mostly flat fields populated by sheep, cows, and adorable and friendly dogs. Early on we passed through Upper and Lower Slaughter, before ending at the town of Stow on the Wold. The church (see picture at the top) has a door flanked by two yew trees. This door is supposedly the most photographed door in the Cotswolds and the inspiration for The Doors of Durin that appear in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Click here or on the image of “Tolkien’s Door” to the left to enjoy Laurie’s Relive video of our trek through the Cotswolds, and the two “Slaughter” villages—no longer muddy, just picturesque.