The Cotswolds

Introduction

The Cotswolds are characterised by a landscape of gently rolling hills (wolds), lovely countryside and beautiful honey coloured stone used for most of the buildings and the dry stone walls which wander around field boundaries and gardens.


The Cotswolds contains famous cities such as Bath with its Roman remains and baths, towns like Cheltenham, famous for its wonderful architecture and world famous horse racing festival. There are hundreds of delightful villages such as Burford and Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold, The Slaughters, Moreton-in-Marsh, timeless and beautiful, where virtually all the buildings are built using the local honey-coloured limestone. Used for everything from the stone floors to the tiles on the roofs, the stone ensures a delightful uniformity of architecture, giving this area its unique charm and appeal.

The Cotswolds are an officially designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, created in 1966 and the largest in England and Wales, made up from parts of the English Counties of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Somerset and stretching from Stratford upon Avon in the north to beyond Bristol and Bath in the south. 

Cotswolds accommodation