Cotswolds Guide

Chipping Campden photos

This guide is an introductory guide to the Cotswolds, with links to other local websites opening in a new browser page.

The word Cotswolds literally means rolling hills and is is an apt description of this range of hills that is mostly within Gloucestershire but also is in Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. The gently rolling hills are some of England's most beautiful countryside but that is not the only appeal of this area. The local limestone, now referred to as Cotswolds stone has a warm yellow colour and the vast majority of the traditional houses in the area are made from it. This gives them a warm yellow character. Also a lot of the towns and villages were prosperous wool towns in the medieval period and have some impressive churches (sometimes referred to as Wool Churches) and merchants buildings that have retained their beauty and character in a timeless way.

The central core of the Cotswolds is the area to the east of Cheltenham. The most visited towns and villages include Chipping-Campden | Stow-on-the-Wold | Bourton-on-the-Water | Tewkesbury | Broadway in Worcestershire | Chipping Norton | Burford in Oxfordshire. Just to the North East of the Cotswolds is the wonderful town of Stratford-upon-Avon, famously the birthplace of Shakespeare that is often associated with the area. Other towns and cities of note within easy reach include Oxford, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Worcester Bristol and Bath. A break in the Cotswolds is one that can appeal on many different levels and is one you will not forget.

Chipping Campden