The Cotswolds

The Cotswolds is a range of hills, 25 miles across and 90 miles long, in west-central England, that has been designated an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  To the north of Cheltenham is Cleeve Hill, which at 1083 ft is the highest point in the Cotswolds range. The spine of the Cotswolds runs south west to north east through six counties, particularly Gloucestershire, west Oxfordshire and south western Warwickshire.  On the eastern boundary lies the city of Oxford and on the west, Stroud.  To the southeast the upper reaches of the Thames Valley and towns such as Lechlade, Tetbury and Fairford are often considered to mark the limit of this region.  To the south the Cotswolds reach as far south as Bath.

The area is characterized by attractive small towns and villages built of the honey coloured  Cotswold Stone.  In the Middle Ages, the wool trade made the Cotswolds prosperous; hence the Speaker of the British House of Lords sits on the Woolsack showing where the medieval wealth of the nation came from.

Today, the area remains affluent and has attracted wealthy people who own second homes or have chosen to retire here.  Typical Cotswold towns are Bourton-on-the-Water, Broadway, Burford, Chipping Campden, Chipping Norton, Cirencester, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold and Winchcombe.

Schools

There are numerous outstanding state schools in the Cotswolds region. Although the state system is mainly comprehensive there are still 3 selective secondary schools in south Warwickshire. There is also an excellent selection of independent schools in the area, including Westonbirt School in Tetbury, Cotswold Chine House School in Stroud, Kingham Hill School in Chipping Norton and the renowned Cheltenham Ladies College.

Transport

The Cotswolds is ringed by the M5, M40 and M4 motorways giving extremely easy access to the area. Other major roads are the A46 Bath-Cheltenham, A419 Swindon-Stroud, A429 Cirencester-Moreton-in-Marsh and the A40 Oxford-Cheltenham.  There are high speed rail services to London from Bath, Swindon, Oxford, Cheltenham and Worcester. There are also high speed rail services available from Kemble station (approximately 1 hour 40 minutes to London) near Cirencester, Kingham station near Stow-on-the-Wold and from Moreton-in-Marsh station.

Interesting Cotswolds facts

    • The town of Chipping Campden is notable for being the home of the Arts and Crafts movement founded by William Morris at the end of the 19th century. He lived occasionally in Broadway Tower, a folly now part of a country park.
    • Chipping Campden is also known for its annual Cotswold Games, a celebration of sports and games dating back to the early 17th century, held nearby at Dover's Hill.
    • South of Cirencester is the Cotswold Water Park. With over 140 lakes covering an area of 40 square miles it is Britain's largest water park. The park includes bathing beaches, a variety of water sports, camping and bird watching, as well as up market waterside residential developments, hotels and restaurants.