Cotswolds

See also Cotswold

Template:Geobox Protected Area The Cotswolds is a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England", an area 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (145 km) long. The area has been designated as the CotswoldArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The highest point in the Cotswolds range is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 feet (330 m), 2.5 miles (4 km) to the north of Cheltenham.

Location

The Cotswolds lie mainly within the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, but extend into parts of Wiltshire, Somerset and Worcestershire.

Description

The spine of the Cotswolds runs south west to north east through six counties, particularly Gloucestershire, west Oxfordshire, and south western Warwickshire. The northern and western edges of the Cotswolds are marked by steep escarpments down to the Severn valley and the Warwickshire Avon. This escarpment or scarp feature, sometimes called the Cotswold Edge, is a result of the uplifting (tilting) of the limestone layer, exposing its broken edge. This is a cuesta, in geological terms. The dip slope is to the south east. On the eastern boundary lies the city of Oxford and on the west is Stroud. To the south the middle reaches the Thames Valley and towns such as Cirencester, Lechlade, Tetbury and Fairford are often considered to mark the southern limit of this region. However, key features of the area, especially the characteristic uplift of the Cotswold Edge, can be clearly seen as far south as Bath and towns such as Chipping Sodbury and Marshfield share elements of Cotswold character.

Corsham in the south western Cotswolds

The area is characterised by attractive small towns and villages built of the underlying Cotswold stone (a yellow oolitic limestone). This limestone is rich in fossils, in particular fossilised sea urchins. In the Middle Ages, the wool trade made the Cotswolds prosperous; hence the Speaker of the British House of Lords sits on the Woolsack showing where the Medieval wealth of the country came from. Some of this money was put into the building of churches so the area has a number of large, handsome Cotswold stone "wool churches". The area remains affluent and has attracted wealthy people who own second homes in the area or have chosen to retire to the Cotswolds.

Typical Cotswold towns are Bourton-on-the-Water, Broadway, Burford, Chipping Norton, Cirencester, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold and Winchcombe. The town of Chipping Campden is notable for being the home of the Arts and Crafts movement, founded by William Morris at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. William Morris lived occasionally in Broadway Tower a folly now part of a country park. Chipping Campden is also known for the annual Cotswold Games, a celebration of sports and games dating back to the early 17th century.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The Cotswolds were designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966, with an expansion on 21 December 1990 to 1,990 square kilometres (768 sq mi). In 1991 all AONBs were measured again using modern methods. The official area of the Cotswolds AONB increased to 2,038 square kilometres (787 sq mi). In 2000 the government confirmed that AONBs had the same landscape quality and status as National Parks.

A horse in a field of buttercups in the Cotswolds

The largest of 40 AONBs in England and Wales, the Cotswolds AONB stretches from the border regions of South Warwickshire and Worcestershire, through West Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire and takes in parts of West Wiltshire and Bath and North East Somerset in the South.

The Cotswold Way is a long-distance footpath, approximately 103 miles (166 km) long, running the length of the AONB, mainly on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment with good views over the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham.

The Cotswold Voluntary Wardens Service was established in 1968 to help conserve and enhance the area. There are now over 300 Wardens. In 2005 they gave over 36,000 hours of their time.

Principal Settlements

• Moreton-in-Marsh
• Chipping Norton
• Stow on the Wold
• Chipping Campden
• Burford
• Shipston on Stour
• Broadway

Noteworthy historical structures

• Beverston Castle
• Calcot Manor
• Chavenage House
• Chedworth Roman Villa
• Cirencester Abbey
• Malmesbury Abbey
• Owlpen Manor
• Sudeley Castle
• Tetbury Market House

Transport

Map of Cotswolds roads from 1933

The Cotswolds is ringed by the M5, M40 and M4 motorways, giving easy vehicular access to the area. The main non-motorway roads through the area are the A46: Bath — Stroud — Cheltenham; the A419: Swindon — Cirencester — Stroud; the A429: Cirencester — Stow on the Wold — Moreton-in-Marsh; and the A40: Oxford — Burford — Cheltenham. These all roughly follow the routes of ancient roads, some laid down by the Romans, such as Ermin Street and the Fosse Way.

The area is bounded by two major rail routes: in the south by the main Bristol-Bath-London High Speed line and in the west by the Bristol-Birmingham main line. In addition, the Golden Valley Line runs from Swindon to Gloucester, carrying high speed and local services.

Main line, high speed rail services to the big cities are reached via stations such as Bath, Swindon, Oxford, Cheltenham and Worcester. High speed services to London are also available from Kemble station near Cirencester, Kingham station near Stow on the Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh station.

Cheltenham is a hub for National Express coach services. Local bus services across the area do exist, but are infrequent. The best sources of information are local tourist information centres.

See also

• Cotswold disambiguation page
• Cloisters, Sheppey Corner, Stanton, Gloucestershire/ Worcestershire
• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England
• Geology of the United Kingdom

External links

• Cotswold Times - An information guide to the Cotswolds (places to see, background information etc)
• The Official Cotswolds Tourism website — Tourist guide
• Gloucester an ideal base to tour the Cotswolds
• The Cotswolds — Tourist guide
• Cotswolds — Guide to attractions, accommodation and events in the Cotswolds
• Cotswolds — Guide to accommodation, events and attractions in the Cotswolds
• Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Website (Countryside Agency)
• The Cotswold Hyperguide — A visitor's view of some Cotswold towns and villages
• Guide to the Cotswolds - Tourist guide
• Cotswold Journal - Website for the local newspaper
• Photos of Lower Slaughter in 3D (Anaglyphs)
• Cotswold AONB Magic interactive map (slow on first load)
• SoGlos.com — Online magazine for Gloucestershire including Cotswolds events, features, reviews and listings
• Genealogy researcher pages of the Cotswolds — includes 274 researcher pages for the Cotswolds & surrounds, 715 census pages and over 8000 images of 765 parish churches in the surrounding area
• Cotswold Village Walks — Photos of Bibury, Castle Combe, Lower Slaughter, Broadway, Chipping Campden, Broad Campden, Lacock, Upper Slaughter, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stanton, and Snowshill