The Cotswolds
 |
| Stanton |
‘Poshtershire,’ (at least the Gloucestershire part) as it has been christened, land of 'posh peasants' and celebrities like Liz
Hurley, the Blur cheese maker and Dom Joley. Green wellies, 4X4s and horsewomen oozing out of the landscape, the chipping Norton set, David
Cameron’s home constituency. Prince Charles, Highgrove, Badminton horse trials
and handcrafted biscuits, it’s all there. No region of the UK would be more
clichéd than this wedge of countryside bounded by three of England’s big
motorways, the M4 to the south, the M5 to the west and the M40 to the east. If
you’re travelling down any of those routes and get a bit bored, take a
diversion off the beaten track and hit some of the country lanes that will take
you into the heart of an area that the Japanese choose to visit only second to
London when they come to the UK (they like visiting Beatrix Potter land as well
in the Lake District!). If you want to see lots of people driving open top sports
cars, racehorse territory, classic English villages, rolling countryside, cosy
country pubs and architecture that seems to have almost grown out of the ground
to suit its surroundings, then go to the Cotswolds. If you come from abroad, England is like a
giant garden, with a landscape that has been tended for centuries, and there is
no better area to get a taste of the UK experience than deepest Gloucestershire
and Oxfordshire. For Lord of the Rings fans, there are also some interesting
Tolkien links with the Cotswolds. When you observe the cottages almost growing out of the hills and valleys you just have visions of ruddy faced peasants with waistcoats and breeches smoking impossibly long pipes and wearing green hats with bells on the end. If a staff wielding Gandalph descended from the sky you wouldn’t be surprised
The Cotswolds was built on the wealth of the wool industry
of the Middle Ages which has left a priceless heritage in its architecture of
glorious 'honey' coloured stone. Every village and town has its church, town
houses and cottages with the same weathered fawn tan almost without exception,
including new builds. Farms, stately homes and great houses cover the
countryside likewise. Driving through the endless winding country lanes up and
down over hill and dale there’s always another delight around every corner, a pristine
little village, a gated stately home, or a rambling farmstead. It is as if the
perfect symmetry of colour between settlement and landscape originated in the
heart of God himself to create a marvellous palette for our enjoyment.
Cotswolds landscape is principally gentle hills and rolling
countryside still with spashes of woodland, but at the extreme western edge of the
area, to the east of the M5 is the Cotswolds escarpment which stretches down
north-east south-west towards the Bristol Channel . This is as rugged as the
Cotswolds gets if you can use such a word, where the scarp slope yields
fabulous views westwards at windswept
spots such as Cleeve Hill near Cheltenham and Broadway Hill near Chipping
Campden. If you’re into walking, the Cotswolds Way traces this escarpment and runs 102 miles from Chipping
Campden in the north to Bath in the south . Now there’s a name that might
resonate, once you’ve done the Cotswolds, you can sink a glass of wine in the Regency
fleshpot which continues the Cotswolds
theme with its distinctive architecture.
I choose B & B when I visit the Cotswolds as it can be excellent value and homely and you are guaranteed the famous British breakfast to start the
day. I’ve ended up at Brymbo near Chipping Campden which is great and provides
a good base for the northern Cotswolds and the Cotswolds Way. Also they give
you a free tour of the Cotswolds if you stay three nights and the proprietor
will take you on a 4x4 circular into lesser known extremities which normal cars
can’t handle like the odd ford and cross country track. I also stayed at a
farmhouse, New Farm just north of Moreton in the Marsh and stumbled upon an
alcoholic beverages festival, as you do. There are any number of towns or
villages to base yourself, all of them beautiful, Stow on the Wold, Moreton in Marsh, Chipping Campden, Bourton on the Water, Broadway, Winchcombe are
ones I am more familiar with. Take your pick, you won't be disappointed.
Highlights
Snowshill http://www.cotswolds.info/places/snowshill.shtml–
if Bilbo Baggins lived in the Cotwolds he would live here in this impossibly ‘English’
English village. The village has been sculpted out of the sides of the
Cotswolds escarpment and has great views out west. The tiny triangle of green
with church is surrounded by clutches of cottages which hang off the main road
on the west side. Beware if you have a car because there’s not much space to
park here, it’s such a tiny village centre. Down the road is Snowshill Manor, a
Tudor mansion, for a culture visit. If you’re walking the Cotswolds Way
Snowshill would be a great diversion barely a mile to the east off the main
track. The main road leading into the village is bounded by lavender fields
which grow over 35 different varieties. http://www.cotswoldlavender.co.uk/
 |
| Stanton |
 |
| Stanton |
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/stanton.shtml
Stanway – another village that sits at the bottom of the Cotswolds
escarpment but this time in the bosom of a Jacobean stately home complete with
its own spectacular fountain. If you’re there on the right day you might get a
view of it working. Again the village sits on the Cotswolds Way and is ideal
for a lunch break, although not a place for shops. http://www.the-cotswolds.org/top/english/know/villages/stanway/index.html
 |
| Stanway House |
Chipping Campden – this is the main Cotswolds town at the
north end of the region and would make for a great base. It would definitely be
a contender for most seriously gorgeous and attractive Cotswolds town, although
it would have plenty of competitors! By the way the Lygon Arms Hotel does a
great steak and kidney pie and chips! The town is centred on a long spacious
central drag bounded by uniformly honey coloured and perfectly tailored
buildings. The Woolstaplers Hall, for
hundreds of years the Wool Exchange, sits
above the street in the centre. The beautiful church lies up a side road and
gives onto another very idiosyncratic street of cottages. If you are into
walking, the Cotswolds Way starts on the edge of town and heads up onto the top
of the scarp slope at Dover’s Hill. this makes for a good afternoon walk.
http://www.chippingcampden.co.uk/
http://www.chippingcampden.co.uk/
 |
| Main street Chipping Campden |
 |
| Quaint street in Chipping Campden |
 |
Main street Chipping Campden
|
 |
| Chipping Campden |
 | ||
| Church in Chipping Campden
|
Broadway – sits like a majestic maiden aunt at the bottom
of the Cotswolds scarp slope, virtually on the edge of the region but with everything
you could want for the Cotswolds experience, a wide central thoroughfare that
opens out at the bottom with tea shops, restaurants and a Budgens supermarket
(they seem to pop up in posh middle class areas), and a long straight road
climbing the hill bordered by old houses that look like they’ve been built for
a Downton Abbey spin off. A feast for the eyes as you envy living in such a
spot.http://www.broadway-cotswolds.co.uk/
. Broadway was described on a recent TV programe as pretty well too perfect, but visit yourself and decide.
At the top of the hill above Broadway sits Broadway Tower, a folly with connections to William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement of the nineteenth century. For a small fee you can climb up the levels in the tower to the top and enjoy the exhibitons. There is a shop at the bottom. It commands great views out towards Wales and is near a very welcome cafe atop the scarp slope with its own car park and viewing area. The cafe has plenty of outside seating with great views to enjoy as you have your lunch. It sits on the Cotswolds Way. There is also a nuclear bunker there which can be visited.http://www.aquiziam.com/broadway-tower-nuclear-bunker.html
 |
| Broadway Tower |
Moreton in Marsh – on the main A429 Roman road (the Fosse Way) and the
main line from London Paddington. A good
base for touring the Cotswolds. The market town straggles along the long
straight wide main street in typical Cotswold fashion. There’s a good fish and
chip shop on the right as you enter the town from the north. A bit further down
turn right and take the A44 road towards Broadway. A little way down this road on the left
is the Wellington Aviation Museum which provides an exhibition giving tribute
to Second World War bomber command that was based near here in the war. I
stayed at a B& B over the railway bridge to the north and left turn off the
main road.
Bourton on the Water – this is a mini Venice in the
Cotswolds with a stream running right through the centre of town with grassy
spaces and a perfect backdrop of local architecture. The stream, paths, grass
and road make for a nice wide thoroughfare in the centre and a large car park a
few minutes outside the centre within easy walking distance helps keeps things pedestrian
friendly. |
| Bourton in the Water centre |
Naunton – a little gem of a village off the main B4068 west
of Bourton on the Water
The Slaughters – you can easily do these in one afternoon by
walking from Bourton on the Water, a short amble through the countryside. Upper
and Lower Slaughter are a stone’s throw apart and are both a jumble of
manicured cottages, posh looking hotels and the odd stately home thrown in for
good measure. Definitely ‘go back in time’ territory, and take the words quaint, picturesque, gorgeous and typically English to a new level.
Lower Slaughter is the first village you reach from Bourton. It's the sort of place that celebrities would pick to have their wedding reception in the local hotel and then get the pictures into Hello magazine. The main street that winds down into the vilage shares space with a delightful stream that winds between peaceful Cotswolds cottages.
Lower Slaughter
Lower Slaughter is the first village you reach from Bourton. It's the sort of place that celebrities would pick to have their wedding reception in the local hotel and then get the pictures into Hello magazine. The main street that winds down into the vilage shares space with a delightful stream that winds between peaceful Cotswolds cottages.
Lower Slaughter
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/lower-slaughter.shtml
Head up the road and you soon get to Upper Slaughter which seems slightly more remote but no less gorgeous. It centres on a large mansion which seems to sit plonk in the middle of the village like an aged matriarch surrounded by a gaggle of cottages. Take a side road near the church that takes you down to a clutch of settlement hanging on to the coattails of the main village.
A good idea if you have the time is just to take a turn of a main road in the Cotswolds and follow the little country lanes that swarm over this mature piece of English landscape as the mood takes you, and just enjoy what you come across around every bend or or every hill.
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/upper-slaughter.shtml
Head up the road and you soon get to Upper Slaughter which seems slightly more remote but no less gorgeous. It centres on a large mansion which seems to sit plonk in the middle of the village like an aged matriarch surrounded by a gaggle of cottages. Take a side road near the church that takes you down to a clutch of settlement hanging on to the coattails of the main village.
A good idea if you have the time is just to take a turn of a main road in the Cotswolds and follow the little country lanes that swarm over this mature piece of English landscape as the mood takes you, and just enjoy what you come across around every bend or or every hill.
 |
| Lower Slaughter stream |
 |
| Lower Slaughter |
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/upper-slaughter.shtml
Stow on the Wold – with a name like somewhere Toad of Toad Hall should live (perhaps he does!), this market town on a hill is a good central transport hub with roads to Broadway, Moreton in Marsh, Chipping Norton, Bourton on the Water, Cheltenham and Burford. It has a very attractive central Market square, and is a great place for a wander to admire the architecture and general ambience. Get some grub as well. I went as far as getting soup for lunch on the main square but if you don't meet Toad of Toad Hall you migh find 'toad in the hole' for lunch as the next best thing! http://www.cotswolds.info/places/stow-on-the-wold.shtml
Winchcombe – this little town sits on the western edge of the
Cotswolds on the road to Cheltenham but is well worth a visit as a base to see
Hailes Abbey, Sudeley Castle, and access the Cotswolds Way and Belas Knap. It sits
comfortably in a beautiful Cotswolds valley between Cheltenham and Broadway. It
has a long sinuous main street that is bordered by classic Cotswolds buildings,
and dropping off the main street to the east is a little street that crosses a
river and leads up to the entrance to Sudeley Castle.
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/winchcombe.shtml
Belas Knap - this is an ancient site that sits on top of the hills above Winchcombe on the Cotswolds Way. It comprises a mound surrounded by a stone wall and with little gateways or doors on the side. There is woodland here that is suppose to have given inspiration to Tolkien for his writings, but I didn't bump into any hobbits myself up there!
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/belas-knap-long-barrow/
Hailes Abbey
Henry Viiith put the boot in here with the dissolution of the monasteries but the remains give you an idea of just how magnificent the original abbey must have been. a well worth it tour with audio guides to make your visit much more user friendly. The Cotswolds Way passes by this piece of heritage.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hailesabbey/
Winchcombe Station - press the button!
Belas Knap - this is an ancient site that sits on top of the hills above Winchcombe on the Cotswolds Way. It comprises a mound surrounded by a stone wall and with little gateways or doors on the side. There is woodland here that is suppose to have given inspiration to Tolkien for his writings, but I didn't bump into any hobbits myself up there!
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/belas-knap-long-barrow/
 |
| Belas Knap |
Hailes Abbey
Henry Viiith put the boot in here with the dissolution of the monasteries but the remains give you an idea of just how magnificent the original abbey must have been. a well worth it tour with audio guides to make your visit much more user friendly. The Cotswolds Way passes by this piece of heritage.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hailesabbey/
Painswick – another picture perfect Cotswolds town that nestles
in a valley on the main A46 north of Stroud. It has been referred to as the ‘Queen of the Cotswolds.’
It’s quite an up and down centre with little ascents and winding streets to add
to its charm, its settlement tumbling down the valley to the south east from
the centre. It is on the Cotswolds Way and has great walks around the hilly vicinity;
within minutes you are in peaceful rolling meadows, dappled woodland or high above
the town on grassy slopes. http://www.cotswolds.info/places/painswick.shtml. If you want to experience a classic English town srrounded by typical lush English coutryside you could do a lot worse than this.
 |
| Centre of Painswick |
 |
| Painswick - main street |
 |
| Painswick countryside |
 |
| Tractor in field - Painswick |
 |
| Painswick church |
Burford
Can be seen as the southern gateway to the Cotswolds. If you are an international visitor coming straight from Heathrow or Gatwick this might be the first genuine Cotswolds town you come across and it's a belter to boot. It was voted 6th best place to live in Europe in 2010 by Forbes magazine so that's got to be a recommendation. Coming into town you are quite high up, then descend down a marvellous main throughfare bordered by classic old Cotswolds architecture to the River Windrush. There are lots of little lanes, pubs, cafes and shop to explore. You could do a lot worse than start your Cotswolds experience here.
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/burford.shtml
Blenheim Palace, Woodstock
The is one of the biggest stately homes in the UK, a huge pile that dominates a large area of parkland on the edge of the attractive Cotswolds town of Woodstock. It's just about the nearest thing I've seen to Versailles in the UK, a great central core with two massive wings fanning out to either side. Take the road north out of Oxford for a few miles and Blenheim lies to the left of the main road as you enter Woodstock. Take the entrance gate, drive through the parkland, park up and enjoy a tour of the Palace and a walk in the extensive grounds which have a substantial lake and an obelisk. Blenheim is famous for its Churchill connections. Winston Churchill was born here and you can do the Churchill tour of the palace. There is a substantial restaurant where you can enjoy some traditional food like sausages and mash.
http://www.blenheimpalace.com/
Just down the road from Blenheim Palace is the village of Bladon where Winston Churchill was buried in 1965 in the village churchyard.
The Cotswolds Way – I have walked the stretch from Chipping Campden nearly to Stroud as it traces the Cotswolds escarpment through gorgeous countryside with fine views out over the Severn Valley and to Wales. It is 102 miles in length. Ideal for walking but be careful if you want to bike it as it is not set up for cycling along the whole route, there are only fragmented sections for two wheels. I did read of fines being imposed for illegal biking so be careful, it is a trail really set up for walkers. I met three Aussies on the trail last year who were scheduled to do a walk in Japan but had cancelled because of the earthquake and came to the Cotswolds instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment