Neil Robertson would have found himself in the heart of the beautiful Cotswolds had he made it all the way to Barnsley in Gloucestershire at the end of last week.

It’s been well documented that the one-time world snooker champion put the wrong Barnsley in his sat-nav and instead of heading north to Barnsley in Yorkshire to play a World Open qualifier he instead headed west to the delightful village just outside Cirencester.

And by the time the Australian, who lives in Cambridge, had realised his error it was too late and he was forced to forfeit his match against Ian Burns.

The village of Barnsley in Gloucestershire, 3.7 miles north east of Cirencester, is very different from its namesake up north of course.

It has a population of around just 200 compared to the 90,000-plus in the town of Barnsley in South Yorkshire and is certainly regarded by many around here as one of the jewels in the Cotswolds crown.

“Yes, it’s a splendid village,” said Sue Philips, who has lived in Barnsley for a number of years and runs the church hall with Stephanie Cushing.

“We’re a quiet village but we have an active village hall. There is a strong core of families and there is a good community spirit.”

Sue Philips was away at the weekend but heard about 37-year-old Robertson’s navigational error from her son.

“It is quite amusing,” she said. “I think if he’d have come to the Cotswolds the accents would have told him he was in the wrong place!”

As well as the village hall, Barnsley also has a church, pub and hotel.

“We’re surrounded by beautiful countryside,” said Sue, “there are some lovely walks.”

The village also has a thriving cricket club – Barnsley Beeches Cricket Club – who finished second in Division One of the Cotswold District Cricket Association in the summer just gone.

Robertson, meanwhile, was in this part of the world earlier this year because he competed in the Coral World Grand Prix at Cheltenham Racecourse in February, going out in the first round to Xiao Guodong.

The tournament is returning to The Centaur at Prestbury Park in 2020.