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The Cotswolds

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You only need spend ten minutes in the very green and extremely pleasant Cotswolds, before you’ll be humming, then singing, then bellowing ‘Jerusalem’ louder than a lager-soaked rugby team. Rolling hills, church spires, miles of drystone walls, great pubs, stunning market towns, sleepy villages and more Range Rovers than you can shake a muddy stick at - if you’re looking for ‘extreme Englishness’, the Cotswolds is a very good place to start.

The area is named after the Cotswold hills, which lie on the west side of England, is a designated Area of Outstanding Beauty, covers about 200 square miles and takes in bits of six counties, although Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire make up the majority. As far as boundaries go, it’s pretty safe to count Bath as the Cotswolds’ most southern point, Cheltenham to the west, Oxford to the east and Stratford-upon-Avon to the north. Rather confusingly, almost all of these, plus several other places claim to be ‘The Gateway to the Cotswolds’, but I guess it just depends where you’re coming from...

Unsurprisingly, it’s all a bit of a hit with international visitors - the Japanese go mad for it (check out the brilliant tips for Japanese tourists on ‘the English way’ on www.the-cotswolds.org, eg “Don't allow the water from the bath to overflow onto the floor”). But that’s not to say you’ll never find a quiet corner to enjoy it all in peace - the very nature of this patchwork of hills, tiny villages and stunning estates, means there are plenty of boltholes far away from the madding crowd.

What to see?

The Cotswold is pretty much a microcosm of British weekending, so whatever you’re after, you’ll find it.

First and foremost, lovers of the outdoors will be in their element, with miles and miles of beautiful walking trails and cycle paths to explore. The stunning, 102-mile-long Cotswold Way (www.nationaltrail.co.uk/cotswold) is the most famous walk in the area, stretching from Chipping Campden in the north to Bath in the south. It might be a bit of a long-shot to cover the whole lot in one weekend, but there are plenty of doable-in-a-day sections that take in some of the areas best attractions and most gorgeous views. For more great Cotswolds walks, log on to the official Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Beauty website (www.cotswoldsaonb.com), where you’ll find detailed directions and maps.

If bicycling is more your bag, then you’ll find plenty of cycle hire facilities - Cotswold Country Cycles (www.cotswoldcountrycycles.com Tel: 01386 438706 in Chipping Campden are a good place to start, and also offer cycle tours if you’re really keen. Horsey types are also extremely well catered-for, with several riding centres offering hacks around the Cotswold countryside. Camp Riding Centre (www.ridingschoolgloucestershire.co.uk Tel: 01285 821219) in Stroud caters for beginners right through to hardened equestrians.

If you have no intention of rambling or cycling anywhere (it is the weekend after all...), there’s plenty of places to visit, things to see and top-quality pottering to be done. The Cotswolds are famous for the stunning, honey-coloured market towns and villages dotted about the place. Try and visit them all in a weekend and you’re likely to have a bit of a chocolate-box overload (and no time to eat, sleep or enjoy yourself in any way), but here are some of our favourites...

Broadway

The little town of Broadway is the stuff of fantasy – a broad sweep of a main street flanked by gorgeous, honey-coloured Cotswold stone houses and shops and red chestnut trees. Founded after the Norman conquest and home to the famous Lygon Arms – where both Charles I and Oliver Cromwell were known to have stayed during the Civil War – it’s steeped in history. Nestled at the foot of Fish Hill, the town is watched over by the pretty Broadway Tower (www.broadwaytower.co.uk Tel: 01386 852390) at its peak. Built in 1799 as a grand, gothic folly, this mini castle was a favourite hang-out for the many artists, writers and musicians inspired by Broadway (William Morris, JM Barrie, Elgar and Henry James to name but a few). It’s also one of the best viewing points in England – on a clear day you can (apparently) see 14 counties – and makes for a lovely walk on a sunny day. Broadway is crammed full of antique shops, specialist food shops and cafes, but it’s most famous for its plethora of art galleries. For an amazing selection of styles and disciplines of art – both contemporary and from as far back as the early 19th century, visit the three Broadway galleries belonging to John Noott (www.john-noott.com Tel: 01386 858969). The galleries are perfect for browsing, but if you’re itching to start your collection, they also offer a great “Own Art” scheme, where you can pay for a piece in monthly installments.


Chipping Campden

One of the best-preserved and historically important towns in the Cotswolds. Once a thriving market town, the market square is still central to this bustling tourist favourite, with foodie shops, antique emporiums and small boutiques-a-plenty. The town is a potterer’s paradise, but is also perfectly placed for those who take stretching their legs a bit more seriously. Dover’s Hill, above Chipping Campden, is the site of the Cotswold ‘Olimpick’ Games - a 400-year-old sporting fair that is widely seen as a forebear to the modern Olympic games (although ‘jumping in sacks’ and ‘shin-kicking’ have been cruelly dropped as modern-day events...). Visit on the Friday after Spring Bank Holiday to see bands march, cannon fire, rustic activities and wrestling take place, and the closing ceremony of fireworks and a torchlight procession into Campden followed by dancing in the square. See www.olimpickgames.co.uk for details of this year’s event.


Tetbury

This stunning market town, sitting at the southern end of the Cotswolds, is as pretty a town as any in the north end of the area, with a sweeping main street flanked by gorgeous shops, houses and historic curiosities in local stone, all built around the town’s regal, 17th century market hall. The lovely Chipping Steps and picturesque Gumstool Hill (used for Tetbury’s annual woolsack races in May – a brilliant time to visit and see this 17th century tradition. Check out www.tetburywoolsack.co.uk for details of this year’s event) are the stuff of old ladies’ postcards. The town is famous for its huge collection of antiques shops - from armour to clocks to ancient Asian artifacts – if it’s old, you can buy it in Tetbury. For the most diverse selection, pop into one of the Top Banana Antique malls (www.topbananaantiques.com Tel: 0871 2881102), home to an enthusiastic collective of experienced antiques experts who sell everything from top hats to tallboys. Tetbury is also famous for its royal connections – Prince Charles lives in ‘the Tetbury suburbs’ at Highgrove, while Princess Anne pops by for sugar from her home at Gatcombe Park, 4 miles away. Each owning acres and acres of land, it’s Highgrove that has become a mecca for organic farming, and is the centre of the organic Duchy Original empire (www.duchyoriginals.com). You’ll be able to stock up on all your Duchy Original oat biscuits, jams, showers gels and, most importantly, tangerine thins (a bit of a Weekenders addiction) at the brand-new Duchy Original shop, due to open in Tetbury in March 2008.


Lacock and Castle Combe

Once voted England’s prettiest village, Lacock (www.nationaltrust.org.uk Tel: 01249 730501) is owned, preserved and maintained by The National Trust and frankly, gets around a bit (filmicly-speaking). Harry Potter, Pride & Prejudice and, most recently, Cranford, have all been filmed here, thanks to the village’s cobbled streets and higgledy-piggledy, wisteria-strewn houses. Half-timbered, medieval buildings sit alongside cottages in Cotswold stone, while the village’s centrepiece, Lacock Abbey, a 13th-century manor house, lords it over all of them. Nearby Castle Combe is a little less showy, but no less beautiful, with its sweeping main street of Cotswold loveliness, packbridge and village pump. Surrounded by rolling countryside and woodland, it’s also perfect for a great day’s walking.


So, in short, the Cotswolds is the place to be for rural charm and honey-coloured prettiness. But anyone after something a bit more, well, substantial, won’t leave empty-handed. The titanic, jaw-dropping Blenheim Palace (www.blenheimpalace.com Tel: 01993 811091), just outside Woodstock, is a world away from the tearooms and antique shops. Set in 2100 acres of Capability Brown-designed gardens and parkland, the birthplace of Winston Churchill is certainly big and deserving enough for a good day’s wandering. Otherwise, the romantic grandeur of Sudeley Castle (www.sudeleycastle.co.uk Tel: 01242 602308) - aka Liz Hurley’s wedding venue - with its tumbling ruins and wander-able gardens, are a great place to visit. And don’t forget, the fantastic cities of Bath and Oxford, and the lovely regency spa town of Cheltenham are all on your doorstep if the need for people / shops / a skinny latte proves too much.

Or why not try?

Cotswold Gliding Club (www.cotswoldgliding.co.uk Tel: 01285 760415).

Ballooning in the Cotswolds (www.ballooninginthecotswolds.co.uk Tel: 01285 885848).

Westonbirt National Arboretum (www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt Tel: 01666 880220).

Cheltenham Racecourse (www.cheltenham.co.uk Tel: 01242 226 226).

Morgan Car Factory (tours and Morgan hire) (www.morgan-motor.co.uk Tel: 01684 573104)

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