Brightwell-cum-Sotwell lies just off the A4130 a couple of miles west of Wallingford in the shadow of the Sinodun Hills. It is a village of picture postcard prettiness and is fortunate to be completely bypassed which means that the only traffic in the village is village traffic. At the heart of the village is the Red Lion pub which has been carefully restored after a near-disastrous fire. Dotted along the narrow village streets are picturesque black and white thatched cottages.

Brightwell and Sotwell were originally two separate villages, only combined into one since 1948. There are many houses still standing which date back to Tudor times, or even before.

The church in Brightwell is St Agatha. The oldest parts of the present church are 12th century, possibly on the site of a church mentioned here in Domesday Book.

The church in Sotwell is St James. The church has ancient origins, but was rebuilt in 1884 and included features of the original wattle and daub building, an example being the impressive open roof of oak timbers.

Visitors from all over the world visit the village to the home of the celebrated Bach Flower Remedies, Mount Vernon. Wild flowers grown in the garden of Mount Vernon are used to make the homeopathic treatments. Dr Edward Bach, the creator of the treatments, is buried in St James's churchyard.