Cotswolds
United Kingdom · South West England · 152 m
Description
The Cotswolds are a picturesque landscape of rolling hills in western England, stretching across several counties and protected as a National Landscape. The region is known for its gently undulating limestone hills, green meadows, dry-stone walls and villages of distinctive honey-coloured Jurassic limestone. Places such as Bibury with its famous Arlington Row, Bourton-on-the-Water along the River Windrush, Castle Combe, and the twin villages of Upper and Lower Slaughter embody the quintessential English countryside. Historic inns, traditional tearooms, market towns and scenic walking trails add to its charm. The Cotswolds combine rural tranquillity with rich history and rank among England’s most distinctive cultural landscapes.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 4 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: April – October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Bibury & Arlington Row
- Blenheim Palace (UNESCO)(Day trip)
- Bath (UNESCO)(Day trip)
- Bourton-on-the-Water & River Windrush
- Castle Combe
- The Slaughters (Upper & Lower)
- Broadway village
- Broadway Tower & escarpment
- Chipping Campden High Street
- Stow-on-the-Wold market square
- Cotswold Way National Trail
- Sudeley Castle & Gardens
- Snowshill village
- Painswick village
- Hidcote Manor Garden
- Bourton Model Railway Exhibition
- Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens
- Westonbirt, The National Arboretum
- Batsford Arboretum
- Winchcombe & Sudeley Valley
- Hailes Abbey
- Belas Knap Neolithic long barrow
- Rollright Stones
- Cirencester & Corinium Museum
- Painswick Rococo Garden
- Tetbury & historic market town
- Cotswold stone villages & dry-stone landscape
- Thames Path in the Cotswolds
Getting there
- Train stations:
- Moreton-in-Marsh