The Cotswolds

© Lonely Planet 107 The Cotswolds Intimate and benign, the Cotswold Hills beckon you, in a polite, English sort of way, to their central ribbon of rolling countryside. North of Bath, east of Gloucester and west of Oxford, this is the land of afternoon tea, warm beer and bicycling vicars – it is quintessentially English. Neat fields, lush woodland, clear rivers and narrow, hedge-lined lanes crisscross a network of pretty villages. In them the houses, churches, cottages and farms are built of the famous warm, honey-coloured Cotswold stone. Walking here is a delight. The region is defined by that stone. It’s the golden building blocks of the villages, but it’s also the limestone bedrock of the hills, and peeps out beneath your feet where the topsoil has peeled away. The Cotswold Way traces the spine of these hills, often along the steep escarpment that slices down their western edge, offering exhilarating views over the River Severn and Wales beyond. The human landscape of the Cotswolds is down to wool. Sheep here produced a large portion of medieval England’s wealth, and some of that money was clearly spent locally, on still-fine buildings. In the 17th century the wool trade died but the massive physical changes of the Industrial Revolution bypassed the Cotswolds. Of course, the hills are not set in aspic and have, thankfully, engaged with the modern world, but today this is England at its most affluent. Villages exude a heady aroma of solid bank accounts and abound with expensive public schools, new cars and golf courses. But beneath the picture-postcard views, high property prices make it impossible for many locals to buy a home in their home town. THE COTSWOLDS HIGHLIGHTS The better-than-bird’s-eye view over Cheltenham and the River Severn, and towards the Brecon Beacons, from Leckhampton Hill ( p116 ) Wandering the Windrush Way to cross tiny bridge after tiny bridge in the ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’ – Bourton-on-the-Water ( p120 ) With only 30 miles of the Cotswold Way to go, being smoothed, stretched and soothed at a luxury spa in Cheltenham ( p117 ) The gorgeous golden buildings of Chipping Campden ( p111 ) – a fitting finish to a fantastic trail 108 THE COTSWOLDS •• Information lonelyplanet.com The Cotswolds 0 20 km 1:850,000 The Cotswolds 0 12 miles To Worcester To Stratford- 2 W A R W I C K S H I R E To Birmingham Avon (43mi) (9mi) r upon-Avon Evesham e (15mi) W O R C E S T E R S H I R E Riv Chipping Riv Campden er Banbury Severn Broadway A44 Blockley M50 Stanton Moreton- A435 Stanway The in-Marsh Wardens Tewkesbury Deddington Way s d Severn Winchcombe Hailes s w o l See Wessex Map (p73) o t A429 M40 C Upper To Wales River Chipping h Slaughter Norton (37mi) t Stow-on- Cheltenham r the-Wold o A44 3 N Bourton-on- Charlbury To Wales A40 the-Water (37mi) Gloucester The Woodstock Windrush Shipton-under- D Cowley A424 Wychwood O Birdlip Northleach Way O H W To A40 W Y C London G L O U C E S T E R S H I R E (57mi) Burford 1 Riv Painswick er A417 Bibury Witney Riv A361 er Duntisbourne Coln W Slimbridge Stroud in dr Oxford M5 Way Abbots Ampney u sh is d Cirencester Crucis l Fairford Is o Lechlade or w Kelmscott Berkeley Dursley ts Nailsworth Tha mes C o South River A420 The Cerney Uley s A433 A417 Abington Wotton- d O X F O R D S H I R E under-Edge l Tetbury o A34 w A419 To s Bristol t (15mi) A46 o Malmesbury C W I L T S H I R E Wantage h S o u t Swindon Chipping Badminton A429 Sodbury M4 Tormarton B E R K S H I R E To Reading (12mi); London (60mi) Chippenham The Cotswolds − Maps A4 To 1 The Cotswold Way (South) p112 Bristol (18mi) 2 The Cotswold Way (North) p116 3 Bourton & the Slaughters p120 Bath Bradford- on-Avon Devizes To the Throwbridge South-West INFORMATION and Pub Walks in the Cotswolds by Nigel Maps Vile. For a quieter atmosphere, Discovery Useful maps for walking include Ordnance Walks in the Cotswolds by Julie Meech avoids THE COTSWOLDS Survey (OS) Landranger 1:50,000 maps No the tourist honey pots. For a range of walks, 172 Bristol & Bath, 162 Gloucester & Forest with good maps and route descriptions, of Dean, 163 Cheltenham & Cirencester, 150 The Cotswold Pathfinder Guide (published Worcester & the Malverns and 151 Stratford- by Jarrold) is ideal. The AA’s 50 Walks in upon-Avon. The OS Explorer 1:25,000 map the Cotswolds by Christopher Knowles pro- No 45 The Cotswolds covers only the north- vides an excellent variety of clear, concise ern part of this area (north of Cirencester routes, while Jarrold’s The Cotswolds offers and east of Cheltenham). 20 routes of up to 5.5 miles. For maps covering individual walks, see For books specific to the Cotswold Way, the Planning sections for each walk. see p110 . Books Guided Walks There are shelves-full to choose from. Try The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Cotswold Teashop Walks by Jean Patefield, Beauty (%01451-862000; www.cotswoldsaonb.com) .

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