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The Cotswolds, the largest area of outstanding natural beauty in England and Wales, are quintessentially English. Villages of honeycoloured limestone, some of the grandest stately homes and castles anywhere and glorious world famous gardens nestled in rolling hills where sheep have been safely grazing for centuries.

It is sheep that generated the wealth that led to the blossoming of the Cotswolds more than 300 years ago and the creation of idyllic villages such as Bourton-on-the-Water and Broadway. This truly is the heart of England because within the Cotswolds lie iconic destinations, including Oxford, Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford-upon-Avon and magnificent Warwick Castle; and who could not want to visit awe-inspiring Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill?

The Cotswolds are rich in English folklore: tales of a flying monk of Malmesbury Abbey, cheese rolling contests and the dunking of the mayor in Radwick village. And all this just a few hours’ drive from London.

 

The Cotswolds Fast Facts  Pub and Cathedral spire in the Cotswolds
• An area, 40 km across and 145 km long, has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
• Local honey-coloured limestone is used for everything from the stone floors in the houses to the tiles on the roof.
• It lies mainly within the counties of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire but extends into parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcester and Warwickshire.
• Has its own Romantic Road route.
• The Cotswolds has one of the lowest population densities in England.

Explore The Cotswolds Romantic Road

Map of the Cotswolds Romantic Road

Road for Today - The Romantic Road
takes you north from Cheltenham
over Cleeve Hill and down into historic
Winchcombe. From here you visit
Stanway and Stanton before calling
at picturesque Broadway. Chipping
Campden, Moreton-in-Marsh,
Stowon-the-Wold and the Slaughters
all feature in this tour of Cotswolds
highlights, before returning to
Cheltenham. A tour of some 114 km.		 Road for Tomorrow - From the
edge of Cheltenham, a country road
takes you to Northleach & onwards to
Burford following the Windrush Valley.
Lechlade and Fairford feature on this
journey, en route for Cirencester via
the pretty village of Bibury on the
River Coln. We follow the winding
road back to Cheltenham, calling
into Painswick, the Queen of the
Cotswolds. A tour of some 145 km. 

 

The Cotswolds Highlights

Cirencester - The unofficial “capital of the Cotswolds”. On Monday & Friday, it holds its market days.

The Tews - Great Tew and Little Tew are both unbearably gorgeous wee villages.

The Slaughters - Don’t worry you’re quite safe in Lower Slaughter & Upper Slaughter. The name is actually old English for marshy place. They are both picture postcard towns.

Walking - There are loads of walks all over the Cotswolds. One of the biggest and best is the ‘Cotswold Way’ it runs for about 170 km from Chipping Campden all the way to Bath.

Chipping Campden - Arguably one of the most popular of all the Cotswold villages, its High Street hasn’t changed much in the last few hundred years. Cotswolds sign post

Cheltenham - A little different from the other Cotswold towns, this spa town is famous for its mineral waters and its 19th century Regency architecture. Characterized by intricate ironwork balconies and painted stucco facades that line historic Promenades, gorgeous squares & terraces, it makes an ideal base for touring the Cotswolds.

Bibury - This is one of the most photographed of all the charming little Cotswold villages. It was once described by William Morris (1834-96) as “the most beautiful village in England.

Pub - One of the best things to do in the Cotswolds is to pay the local publican a visit. Cotswolds pubs have loads of character. In the summer time there is nothing better than sitting out in the garden bar supping on a local ale. During the winter months why not enjoy a warm meal in front of a hot open fire.

Burford - Extremely pretty but can get quite crowded.

 
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