During my walking vacation in England’s Cotswold Hills, I was glad to see that the iconic red British phone booths were still located in the villages. But now that everyone carries a smart phone, people have had to be creative—and they’ve given the old phone booths new lives and new purpose.
The phone booth in Upper Slaughter now has medical applications. ©Laurel Kallenbach
One booth in Upper Slaughter, Gloucestershire, now housed a defibrillator. You can use your phone to dial 999 for an ambulance, but you can’t jumpstart your heart with your mobile device.
Stanton now sports a bright-red Information booth. ©Laurel Kallenbach
In Stanton, another beautiful village in Gloucestershire, the red phone booth—located right outside the Old Post House—was now acting as a miniature Tourist Information Center. Step inside and you can pick up brochures on local attractions and find contact information for area restaurants and hotels.
—Laurel Kallenbach, freelance writer and editor
Read more about my Cotswold hiking trip:
- Village-to-Village Walking in the Cotswolds: Day 1
- Walking in the Cotswolds Day 2: The Beautiful Slaughters
- New Uses for England’s Old Phone Booths
- Wandering the Venice of the Cotswolds: Bourton-on-Water
- Musings from Cotswold Trails (Day 3): Naunton & Guiting Power
- Winchcombe: This Cotswolds Village Is a Hub for Hiking
More about my travels in England:
- Cottages in the Cotswolds: Old Minster Lovell
- My Pilgrimage to the Real Downton Abbey
- Bampton, England: Film Location for “Downton Abbey”
- King Tut Meets “Downton Abbey” at England’s Highclere Castle
- An Eco-Elegant English Hotel, “Downton Abbey” Style
- Sweet Dreams at “Downton Abbey”
- Touring England’s Ancient Roman Baths by Romantic Torchlight
- A Birthday among the Ancient Rocks of Stonehenge
