The Cotswolds
Come and fall in the love with the Cotswolds.
The Cotswolds are popular with both the English and visitors from all over the world. They are renowned for the gentle, picture puzzle; sleepy villages that are so typically English. There are just so many villages to explore. People that live here are proud to be living in such a beautiful part of the world and look after their properties well and often have very beautiful gardens. The towns have some incredible architecture and are steeped in history.
There are so many stunning views to take in on your daily exploratory journeys with the rolling hills and the interesting skylines.
You will see ‘Drystone walls’ everywhere in the fields. Many were built in the 18th and 19th centuries, a matter of considerable skill as there is no cement to hold the walls together. They represent an important historical landscape and a major conservation feature – and are of course still used by farmers to enclose sheep and cattle. To build a dry stone wall is still regarded as a wonderfully traditional skill.
During the 13-15th centuries, the medieval period, the native Cotswold sheep were famous throughout Europe for their heavy fleeces and high quality of wool. Cotswold wool commanded a high price and the wealth generated by the wool trade enabled wealthy traders to leave their mark by building fine houses and wonderful churches, known as “wool churches”. Even today, the sight of sheep on the hillside is still one of the classic Cotswold images.
Idyllic towns and villages like Bibury and Bourton-on-the Water hide in the steep wooded valleys or sit proud on high rolling wolds. The fine buildings created by great artisans, the magnificent churches built by the wealthy wool merchants from medieval times and their grand houses with wonderful gardens are waiting to be discovered by you.
There is just so much to see from the National Trust properties, gardens, towns, cathedrals, chocolate box cottages in pretty villages, streams, wildlife….. the list is endless!
A very useful website: http://www.escapetothecotswolds.org.uk/