Middle Littleton Tithe Barn

One of the largest and finest tithe barns in the country, Middle Littleton is a Grade I listed building raised for the monks of Evesham Abbey, once the third largest abbey in England. Its age is disputed: records long gave 1376, but analysis of its timbers points to the middle of the 13th century. Built of Blue Lias with Cotswold stone dressings, it stands 130 feet long and 42 feet wide, its raised cruck timbers resting on buttressed walls still pitted with the putlog holes left by the builders' scaffolding. Across the courtyard an old cider press building recalls the fruit once paid as tithes. Dogs are welcome inside and out, on a lead in and around the barn. The Trust's Middle Littleton Tithe Barn walk, a moderate 6.2-mile circuit, follows the River Avon and climbs Cleeve Hill. Reviewers are struck by the sheer size of the building and find parking easy, but several warn that pigeons have taken over the interior and leave a mess. For refreshments the Trust points visitors to its own pub nearby, the Fleece Inn.