A key element for a Cotswold village's tourism is to close its doors after 28 years of operation.

The Old Mill at Lower Slaughter has announced a closing-down sale for its award-winning craft and gift shop, museum and ice-cream parlour.

The venue, close to Bourton-on-the-Water, had made its mark as a key tourism attraction since 1995 with the premises, a former Victorian flour mill, becoming a focal visitor point to a village that has previously been named as the prettiest in the Cotswolds.

The village also lays claim to an award as the 'Most Romantic Street in Britain', while as the backdrop for the 2020 romantic movie Emma, the building next door was turned into a pub.

The 19th century mill, with distinctive water wheel and later tower for extra steam production, was last used commercially in 1958 but has a history that traces back to the Domesday Book, where it is recorded as the site of the 'Old MIll'.

In its later years The Old Mill, on the River Eye, came into the ownership of the Wilkins family whose cousins ran John Wilkins and Sons at the nearby mill in Bourton-on-the-Water, now the Cotswold Motor Museum.

The knock-on effect of the closure for tourism could be significant: Tripadvisor lists ten private tour companies that make a beeline to the venue.

Punchline approached The Old Mill for comment.