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Marking the westernmost navigable point of the Thames, LECHLADE teems with pleasure boats, but for most people it's handy as a springboard for exploring the southern fringe of the Cotswolds. For overnight stops the best place is the modern and stylish Cambrai Lodge (tel 01367/253173; GBP40-50) in Oak Street, or failing that, the New Inn (tel 01367/252296, ; GBP50-60). The boating and angling fraternities congregate at the Trout , a pub lying a mile southeast along the A417 (follow the signs for Faringdon) and reachable by footpath across the meadow near the church. You can rent boats from here in summer (GBP6/hour). There's lots to see around Lechlade, the nearest sight being the tiny, disused church at INGLESHAM , by a farm about a mile south. Its oldest parts are late Saxon, from which period is the carved Madonna and Child on the south wall; the colourful fragments of wall paintings date from the fourteenth century. You can walk to the church along the east bank of the Thames, though you must rejoin the A361 for a short distance at the end. Isolated among fields just three miles east of Lechlade, KELMSCOTT has become a place of pilgrimage for devotees of William Morris , who used the Tudor manor as a summer home from 1871 to his death in 1896. The simple beauty of the house (April-Sept Wed & first Sat of month 11am-1pm & 2-5pm; July & Aug also third Sat of month 11am-1pm & 2-5pm; GBP7; tel 01367/252486, ) is enhanced by the furniture, fabrics, wallpapers and tapestries - some rescued from dog baskets - that were created by Morris and his Pre-Raphaelite friends, including Burne-Jones and Rossetti. Morris and his wife Jane are buried in the southeast corner of the churchyard, in the shadow of the tiny church. Entry is by timed ticket and it's wise to call first to confirm the opening hours, which are erratic. Kelmscott is a pleasant stroll along the north bank of the Thames from Lechlade, and, should you need one, there's a bed for the night in the nearby Plough Inn (tel 01367/253543; GBP50-60) which also serves meals .
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