I visited one of UK's prettiest villages but I won't return after one thing ruined it

It's fondly dubbed the "Venice of the Cotswolds", its charming waterways and picturesque stone bridges lit by the sun on a hot summer day.

The village sparkles with beauty, standing out even in the scenic Cotswolds. The tranquil River Windrush slowly moves through its heart, flanked by colourful trees and graced by elegant stone bridges.

Ducks and swans add to the serenity, meandering on the gentle river current, as historic cottages cast from 16th and 17th-century Cotswold stone keep a watchful eye.

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In short (and sorry for the cliché), it could not look more like it is straight from a postcard or the pages of a fairytale.

I visited on a sunny Saturday in June and strolled lazily along the water, crossing back and forth over the bridges as and when I felt like it and listening to an ice cream seller shouting the praises of the homemade ice cream he was selling from his little trailer.

I stopped at the shops, restaurants, pubs and tearooms made from the Cotswold stone that make this area famous to take in the atmosphere of each one, and people-watched the visitors sitting outside enjoying coffees, cakes, cups of tea and ice cream.

I tried not to linger outside people's homes too long but I did have to resist the temptation to tell one elderly gentleman enjoying a cup of tea in his front garden overlooking the water how much I loved his home — someone clearly spent a lot of time looking after it.

One of the standout features of Bourton-on-the-Water — in fact, one of the most remarkable things I've seen anywhere — is the Model Village, a one-ninth scale replica of the village as it was in 1930.

It's a stunning piece of work, created from local stone by skilled craftsmen. I loved walking around it, marvelling at the care and skill that has gone into creating each and every building. It costs £4.75 for adults and £3.75 for children and is well worth it.

You'll find it around the back of the beautiful Old New Inn, a historic hotel and restaurant that's one of the village's largest and most impressive buildings, run by a husband and wife who took over in 2018 with a view to restoring it.

There are lots of other options for food and drink along the water. There's the Box Bush, serving everything from home-smoked trout and homemade sausage rolls to luxurious profiteroles and gelato with flavours like Sicilian pistachio.

There's the Rose Tree Restaurant, set in a listed cottage with a river-facing garden serving traditional pub meals like Gloucestershire Old Spot sausage and mash and, of course, fish and chips. Or there's Smiths and Bourtons, a burger restaurant run by two brothers.

"So what's the problem?" I hear you ask. "This place sounds amazing."

Well, Bourton-on-the-Water is so beautiful, so picturesque, so quintessentially British, that it has become a victim of its own success.

The village is heaving with tourists from across the globe and locals are grappling with the issues that come with over-tourism, echoing the situation in the equally stunning Bibury just a few miles away, my thoughts on which you can read here.

Upon my arrival, the first clue that this was no ordinary British village was the large sign pointing to an all-day car park charging £5, spotted shortly after driving in.

In the car park, located on a school field a stone's throw from the village centre, stewards cheerfully collected fees and guided us to our spot, showing no signs of resentment towards the influx of tourists clogging up their charming village (and the parking charges help local charities too).

But villagers say over-tourism is causing "huge problems" for them, with the size of the village out of proportion to the number of visitors it receives.

They are currently waiting for plans to tackle coach traffic to be implemented, which would see coaches largely kept out of the village centre.

In particular, "the inconsiderate behaviour of coach drivers" and "free-for-all chaos" were flagged as particular problems, according to a BBC report, though a motion to get the council to accept that tourism is a problem in the village was rejected by elected officials.

However that has not stopped officials from pledging to tackle the "overtourism nightmare" and Cotswold District Council actively avoids promoting the village, according to local reports.

Asked whether he agreed that Bourton was dealing with over-tourism, council leader Joe Harris said: "While we lack specific survey data on perceptions of over-tourism, we acknowledge the strong sentiments of residents regarding the negative impacts on their quality of life due to excessive visitor numbers.

"Balancing the needs of local businesses benefiting from tourism with the quality of life of residents is crucial."

Many people would assume that such high numbers of visitors would bring significant economic benefits. But people living in nearby Bibury have said they don't believe that is the case, saying visitors are only there "for a selfie".

It was very clear to see the scale of the tourism on my visit, to which I was of course contributing. The stone bridges were closer to photoshoot locations and props than walkways, though I did not see anything akin to what one recent visitor claimed was an embarrassing scene in which he watched tourists "eating from saucepans".

I'm glad I got to see Bourton-on-the-Water in person. It's as beautiful in real life as it is in pictures.

I just hope it can find a way to balance the benefits that tourism brings with the quality of life of the people who live there.