The Cotswolds is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), recognised as a unique environment, with some of England’s finest countryside. It is protected as a special landscape of national importance and lies between Gloucester, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Oxford and Bath.
The Cotswolds is the largest of 41 AONB’s in England and Wales, with a long tradition of hospitality. The area continues to offer manor house hotels, high-quality B&Bs, self-catering cottages and award-winning pubs.
It attracts visitors all year round and is a fascinating place to explore, with something for everyone to enjoy. There are charming villages, historic towns, impressive churches, rolling countryside and glorious gardens. Walking, cycling and horse riding are popular pursuits.
There are internationally important beech and yew woods, giving sensational seasonal colour. Cotswold stone buildings are known all over the world and the dry stone walls cover more than 6,000kms.
Must see and do
- Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe
- Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury
- Cotswold Farm Park, Guiting Power
- Hidcote Manor Gardens, near Chipping Campden
- Snowshill Manor, Snowshill
- Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge
- Berkeley Castle, Berkeley
- Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury
- Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railway, Toddington, near Winchcombe