One of the country's best-loved tourist hotpots has been slammed in online reviews by underwhelmed American tourists. Parts of the Cotswolds, renowned for its stunning scenery, historic towns and quintessential British charm, have been described as "big disappointment".
Well connected to both London and Birmingham, the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is much-loved for those seeking rickety old pubs, or who want to watch the village cricket team lazily bat a summer's afternoon away. But American tourists have been taking to TripAdvisor to vent after feeling disappointed.
Linnbada from Nevada took one look at Castle Combe - commonly cited as the most beautiful place in the Cotswolds - and decided to give it a miss, reports MirrorOnline.
"We were going to walk the town but after we saw what little it had to offer besides a steep walk down the hill to get there and the return, we decided we would pass and wait for the Cotswolds," she said.
Meanwhile, Bob from Alabama was annoyed due to the level of service he received. He wrote: "We entered the tea room and waited for 10 minutes while the owner spoke on the phone with someone, then she told us to order a full English tea or nothing - so we left.
"The one pub that was open seemed to have the only the town's activity. Castle Combe was a big disappointment."
Clearly the idea of a day's activity in Britain - sitting in the pub quietly - is not shared with our neighbours over the Pond.
Meanwhile, TripAdvisor user hickss85 from Texas also got a bit confused, specifically with the name Castle Combe.
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"There is NO CASTLE in Castle Comb [sic]," they said. "No castle but there are remains of a castle, but you won't see it. It is overgrown and on private property."
One particularly disappointed American couldn't even imagine why people would go there: "The walking tour suggests you 'imagine what it was like 400 years ago when...' I guess we didn't have enough imagination to find Stow worth the time."
Alcove12 from New York was excited to see the landscaped garden of the Highgrove Gardens, but ended up concluding that the attraction needed more gardeners. And it isn't just Americans who have visited the Cotswolds and left wishing they'd never been.
Paul from the famously scenic New Zealand made the trip to Stow on Wold, understood to be one of the most pleasant parts of the area.
"This would be a wonderful location if it was not completely filled with parked cars," he wrote on Tripadvisor.
"The buildings surrounding the square are gorgeous, but when you are standing there the dominant impression is that it is just a busy carpark. The council should take a leaf out of how many countries in Europe ban cars from beautiful town/village centres.
"Very unimpressed given that this is supposedly one of the top tourist attractions of the Cotswolds."
