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The Cotswolds Introduction
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The gentle rolling hills and the honey coloured stone are just two of the characteristics that bring thousands of visitors to the beautiful Cotswolds every year - and all year, because the seasons ensure that the scenery is continually changing. You will see dry stone walls, fields of crops, fine buildings and plenty of historic churches. The sleepy villages are crammed full of pretty cottages, quaint shops and typical English country pubs. |
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The Cotswolds Picture Guide
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We start our guided tour of The Cotswolds in the wolds themselves, the gentle rolling hills that are such a famous image of the English countryside, especially in summer. |
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The view from the A40 near Burford
Photo © pdam2 (CC) |
The harvest at Burford
Photo © pdam2 (CC) |
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Golden fields, blue sky, it must be an English summer!
Photo © wit (CC) |
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The Cotswolds are beautiful at all times of the year and the ever changing seasons bring totally different colours to the landscape. |
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Snowshill Lavendar
Photo © redjar (CC) |
Autumn in the Cotswolds
Photo © francolaria (CC) |
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They say Stow on the Wold is where the winds blow cold and the cooks can't roast their dinners! This is because this market town is built at the summit of a hill and at the convergence of major routes through the Cotswolds. It is famous for its fairs, which have been taking place since a royal charter in 1330. |
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Tourists in Stow on the Wold
Photo © gailf548 (CC) |
The Old Stocks Hotel, Stow on the Wold
Photo © gailf548 (CC) |
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The Main Square, Stow on the Wold
Photo © Iain Simpson (CC) |
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Chipping Campden is notable for its elegant terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century, when wealthy wool merchants lived here. Today it is a popular Cotswold tourist destination with old inns, hotels, specialist shops and restaurants. The High Street is lined with honey-coloured limestone buildings, built from the mellow locally quarried oolitic limestone known as Cotswold stone, and boasts a wealth of fine vernacular architecture. At its centre stands the Market Hall with its splendid arches, built in 1627. |
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Bourton on the Water is a village in the Cotswolds. It is known as the ' Venice of the Cotswolds' because of the bridge-spanned stream that runs through the village. One of the main attractions is the model village, a 1:9 replica of the village which was built by local craftsmen in the 1930s, and opened in 1937. |
Cottages grouped around the river at Bourton on the Water
Photo © cyrildoussin (CC) |
The Bridge over the River Windrush at Bourton
Photo © gailf548 (CC) |
The church of St Lawrence at Bourton on the Water
Photo © Fearless Fred (CC) |
Bourton on the Water Model Village
Photo © sddunne (CC) |
The church inside Bourton on the Water Model Village
Photo © andrew j w (CC) |
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The capital of The Cotswolds is Cheltenham, which has been a health and holiday spa town resort since the discovery of mineral springs in 1716. The spa waters continue to be taken recreationally at Pittville Pump Room, built for this purpose and completed in 1830. Horse racing began in Cheltenham in 1815, and became a major national attraction after the establishment of the Gold Cup Festival in 1902. Whilst the volume of tourists visiting the spa has declined, the racecourse still attracts thousands of visitors. |
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Cheltenham Festival Hall
Photo © welovethesky (CC) |
Inside Cheltenham Festival Hall
Photo © welovethesky (CC) |
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The front facade of a typical property in Cheltenham
Photo © sjdunphy (CC) |
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Pittville Pump Room
Photo © sjdunphy (CC) |
The dome inside the Pittville Pump Room
Photo © sjdunphy (CC) |
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Cheltenham Races
Photo © Will Palmer (CC) |
The WINNER at Cheltenham Races
Photo © Will Palmer (CC) |
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