This is where the biggest collection of fossil sea urchins ever found turned up. Who knew! Roll time forwards and there’s evidence our Neolithic ancestors lived here, along with Bronze and Iron Age people who left behind traces of their mighty forts. The Romans built elegant villas, built the town of Gloucester, and paved over the ancient Celtic path now called the Fosse Way. Humans have loved this landscape for thousands of years and this place still feels special. Welcome to the Cotswolds, a stunningly pretty place to visit.
Where beautiful rolling landscapes unfold
The Cotswolds is a range of rolling hills rising from the marshy meadows of the Thames and ending up at a sharp escarpment overlooking the Severn Valley, the city of Bath, and Evesham Vale. It’s the lovely mellow, honey-coloured rock that most people think about. The landscape sits on top of rich warm brown Jurassic limestone, on which unique grassland habitats thrive, and the stone is quarried to make the sweet little villages nestling deep in the rolling rural landscape. No wonder this has been a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1966.
There’s a total of 787 square miles to explore, making it the biggest AONB and England’s third-biggest protected landscape, only beaten in size by the Lakes and the Yorkshire Dales. Spanning the counties of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, with bits falling into Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire, the Cotswolds is overlooked by the thousand-foot-high Cleeve Hill, the area’s highest point above sea level.
What’s in a name?
So what’s the name all about? It’s complicated, so if you’re into etymology this bit is for you. Cotswold apparently means ‘sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides, the ‘wold’ part being an ancient word for ‘hills’. On the other hand ‘weald is the Old English word for ‘forest’ so that might have something to do with the name.
These days the latest thinking is the name comes from the 8th century term ‘Codesuualt’, AKA Cod’s-wold, also AKA ‘Cod’s high open land’. Lucky old Cod. His or her name also seems to turn up in other local names; Cutsdean, Codeswellan, and Codesbyrig. Was Cod a rich man or was she actually Cuda, a mother goddess in Celtic mythology worshipped locally? The answer is lost in time.
Quintessentially English
This is a place of quintessentially English villages and vibrant market towns, vast palaces, castles and country houses, some of the nation’s most popular arboretums, breathtaking landscapes, beautiful walking trails, and even lakes with fresh water beaches. Cheltenham, Cirencester, Tewkesbury, Stroud and Witney each has its own personality and in summer there are festivals to enjoy, everything from music to art to literature and the spoken word.
Walkers adore this place, which offers a thrilling three thousand miles of footpaths to knit the landscapes together on foot. You could literally spend months or years walking in the Cotswolds and then another few years checking out the ancient woodlands, wildflower meadows, and four thousand miles or more of drystone walling dividing up the land.
Expect great local cheeses, artisan breads, meats and more, all grown on the doorstep in the famously fertile earth. You’ll find fine cuisine along with hearty beautifully-cooked basics in countless gastro pubs, historic inns, funky cafes and fine dining restaurants, supported by a huge variety of accommodation, from perfectly simple to the ultimate in posh, many of which welcome dogs.
More than just a touch of luxury
This is spa country, with a choice of lush spas to relax and be pampered in. The Cotswolds spa hotels are quite something, set as they are in this jewel of a place. Some offer perfect seclusion in small towns and tiny villages, others offer treatments in the gracious city of Gloucester and in regency Cheltenham spa. There’s a great choice. Pick from spa facilities, health clubs, beauty treatments, facials, massages and manicures and pedicures to leave you refreshed and revitalised. Switch off, slow down and… chill.
More cool stuff to do in the Cotswolds
Towns in the Cotswolds are the ultimate in scenic, offering oodles of eye candy for Instagram. Witney and Winchcombe, Woodstock and Cirencester, Tetbury and Painswick, Malmesbury and Northleach, they all offer plenty of typical charm along with cafes, shops stacked with locally-produced treats, antiques, interiors and delicatessens. Altogether there are hundreds of towns and villages to explore.
If gardening is your thing choose Highgrove Gardens, which offers tours of its own to take in the spectacular vistas and brilliant planting. It’s like heaven. Visit historic houses and gardens including Berkeley Castle, Blenheim Palace and Sudeley Castle, and amble down the huge avenue of trees at Batsford or Westonbirt Arboretum. Outdoor leisure pursuits, walking, rambling, hiking and cycling – both electricity-assisted and human-pedalled – are popular here.
You can take walks with hawks and visit the Cotswolds Distillery at Stourton, see amazing birds of prey at the Cotswold Falconry Centre at Moreton-in-Marsh and admire lovely Chavenage House at Tetbury. Tewkesbury Abbey is mind-blowing and Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway is great fun.
A visit to breathtaking Gloucester Cathedral is quite something and the Jet Age Museum in Gloucester delights lovers of aviation. Cotswold Wildlife Park at Burford is a must, maybe rounded off with a tasting session at Hook Norton Brewery. There’s something for everyone, as you can tell, and if you’re inspired to go clubbing there are places to rave the night away in the towns. Try Gloucester for Atik, Encore and Fever.
This region is home to the ‘most beautiful street in England, Arlington Row in the deliciously scenic village of Bibury, one of the most-photographed places in the Cotswolds. It’s such a charming place and right on the doorstep of Cirencester. The Cotswold Way is rightfully famous, more than 100 miles of panoramic countryside to enjoy. And while Lower Slaughter doesn’t sound like somewhere you’d want to visit, it is an incredibly pretty place. Come here between late April and August to see – and smell – acres of gorgeous purple Cotswolds lavender in bloom. Then head for brooding Warwick Castle, a medieval monster squatting on a bend in the River Avon built by everyone’s favourite baddie William the Conqueror in 1068, just two years after invading England. At the time it was created as an act of oppression and an expression of the invaders’ power, now it’s just a beautiful sight for sore eyes.
Visit the Cotswolds in spring for a burst of spring finery, in summer for long, lazy days filled with blooms and the buzzing of bees, in autumn for lovely mellow colours and in winter for crisp Christmas card landscapes, village-scapes and townscapes like something out of Dickens.
Cotswolds Day Tours
We have some wonderful day tours in the Cotswolds for you, so take a look at our inspiring collection of great things to do in one of the West Country’s most delightful spots.
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