Cotswolds

Background

The Cotswolds lie in south-central England, mainly in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, extending into Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The area was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1966 (now branded a National Landscape) and covers 2,038 square kilometres. Its villages and towns are largely built of honey-coloured Cotswold stone; Cleeve Hill, at 330 metres, is the highest point; and the Cotswold Way, about 160 kilometres long, runs the length of the area, mostly along the escarpment. Around 1250 to 1350, the wool trade made the area rich, and much of the wealth went into building churches, leaving many tall stone "wool churches". Chipping Campden was an important base of the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Local customs

• Tour villages such as Bibury, Broadway, Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold
• walk a stretch of the Cotswold Way past stone walls and pastures
• enjoy a Sunday roast in a village pub.

Travel tips

• Buses between villages are infrequent, so driving or joining a local day tour is more convenient
• popular villages are busy at weekends, so go on weekdays or early in the morning
• restaurant and tea-room details are subject to their official websites.
• Trains from London and Oxford reach towns on the edge of the area, such as Moreton-in-Marsh, Kingham and Kemble, from where you can take a bus or taxi into the villages
• timetables are subject to the official information. In spring and summer the villages are in bloom and the pastures green
• autumn colours are soft
• winter is quiet, and some small shops shorten their hours.