Cotswolds Guide
THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN THE COTSWOLDS
Places to see
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Blenheim PalaceList Item 1
It is unique in its combined use as a family home, mausoleum and national monument. The palace is notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill.
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Sudeley CastleList Item 2
Sudeley is the only Castle in the Cotswolds and dates from the 15th century.
Famous for its beautiful gardens and St. Mary's Chapel; which is the burial place of Queen Catherine Parr (1512–1548), the sixth wife of King Henry VIII
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Chastleton HouseList Item 3
A beautiful Jacobean country house owned by the National Trust and a Grade I listed building. Unusual in its design and unique in the way it has been preserved using a policy of conservation rather than restoration.
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Hidcote Manor GardensList Item 4
This stunning garden in Gloucestershire is one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, with its linked "rooms" of hedges, rare trees, shrubs and herbaceous borders. Created by Lawrence Johnston, it is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public.
More places to see
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Cotswold FalconryList Item 1
Cotswold Falconry was opened in 1988 by Geoff & Naomi Dalton, with the aim of giving people a greater knowledge of birds of prey and an understanding of the ancient art of falconry.
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Chedworth Roman VillaList Item 2
One of the largest Roman villas in Britain; built in phases from the early 2nd century to the 4th century and eventually transforming the building into an elite dwelling arranged around three sides of a courtyard.
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Batsford ArboretumList Item 3
This 55-acre arboretum and botanical garden in Gloucestershire sits on the Cotswold scarp and contains around 2,900 trees, with a large collection of Japanese maples, magnolias and pines.
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Hook Norton BreweryList Item 4
Founded in 1849, the brewing plant is a traditional Victorian 'tower' brewery in which all the stages of the brewing process flow logically from floor to floor; mashing at the top, boiling in the middle, fermentation and racking at the bottom. Until 2006, the brewing process was powered by steam. Beer is still delivered in the village by horse-drawn dray
Even more places to see
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Snowshill Lavender FarmList Item 1
Snowshill lavender loves the free draining limestone soils 1000 feet above sea level, giving the best growing conditions Lavender has thrived here and more is planted every year. There are over 40 different varieties, 140 miles of rows and over 500,000 plants
At the peak of the summer sunshine the lavender is harvested and distilled by traditional methods and aged for a year before use.
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Teeny Tiny CotswoldsList Item 2
The Model Village is a one-ninth scale replica of the heart of the beautiful Cotswold village of Bourton-on-the-Water, containing all the buildings from the Old Water Mill (now the Car Museum) down to the Old New Inn and the ford, all built in Cotswold stone.
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GWR Steam TrainList Item 3
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a volunteer operated heritage railway in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire offering a round trip of 28 miles. It uses part of the route of the former Great Western Railway's main line from Birmingham to Cheltenham
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Stanway House and FountainList Item 4
Located in the heart of the Cotswolds, Stanway is an outstandingly beautiful example of a Jacobean manor house famous for its 300 feet single-jet fountain, the highest in Britain and the highest gravity fountain in the world.
Cotswold Accommodation
GETTING TO THE COTSWOLDS
WHEN TO GO TO THE COTSWOLDS
General Information
Geographical facts about the Cotswolds
- approx 100 miles west of London
- covers and area of approx 800 square miles
- Stratford Upon Avon to the north, Bath to the south, Oxford to the east, Cheltenham to the west
- Birmingham nearest international airport, then Heathrow
- includes six different counties: Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset
- the highest point is Cleeve Hill at 330m above sea level
- approx 80% of the Cotswolds is farmland
The Cotswolds in Numbers
- the population of the Cotswolds is approx 139,000
- the largest town is Cirencester with a population of 20,000
- tourism is the largest economy in the Cotswolds and supports approx 200,000 jobs
- it was estimated that last year, around 34 million day trips were made to the Cotswolds
- average house price in the Cotswolds during 2019 was £505,000
- a 2017 census reported that there were just 5 unemployed people in the Cotswolds; the lowest in the country
you might find these interesting
- there are over 4000 miles of dry stone wall in the Cotswolds - longer than the Great Wall of China
- the first and last battles in the English civil war were fought in the Cotswolds at Edgehill and Worcester respectively
- the tallest hedge in the country at 40ft is a 300 year old yew in Cirencester
- There are five European Special Areas of Conservation, three National Nature Reserves and more than eighty Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the Cotswolds
- celebrities living in the Cotswolds include Jamie Dornan, Jeremy Clarkson, Jilly Cooper, Princess Anne, Prince Charles, Kate Moss, Liz Hurley, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, JK Rowling, Johnny Depp, David and Victoria Beckham, Patrick Stewart and David Cameron