Cotswolds

The Cotswolds are a range of hills in central England, sometimes called the "heart of England", a hilly area reaching over 300 m or 1000 feet. The area has been designated as the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Their highest point is Cleeve Hill at 330m/1083ft.

Description

The spine of the Cotswolds runs southwest to northeast through six counties (see note above), particularly Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and southern Warwickshire. The northern and western edges of the Cotswolds are marked by steep escarpments down to the Severn valley and the Avon, the eastern boundary by the city of Oxford (the city of dreaming spires), the west by Stroud, and the south by the middle reaches of the Thames Valley and towns such as Cirencester, Lechlade and Fairford. However, key features of the area, including the characteristic uplift of the 'Cotswold Edge' can be clearly seen as far south as Bath.

Related Topics:
Gloucestershire - Oxfordshire - Warwickshire - Severn valley - Avon - Oxford - Stroud - Thames Valley - Cirencester - Lechlade - Fairford - Bath

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The area is characterised by attractive small towns and villages built of the underlying rock, known as Cotswold stone (a yellow oolitic limestone). In the Middle Ages, the Cotswolds were prosperous from the wool trade, 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 Londoners and others who own second homes in the area or have chosen to retire to the Cotswolds.

Related Topics:
Town - Village - Cotswold stone - Oolitic - Limestone - Middle Ages - Wool - Church - Wool church - Second home

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Typical Cotswold towns are Broadway, Burford, Chipping Norton, Cirencester, Moreton-in-Marsh and Stow-on-the-Wold. The Cotswold village 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 in country park. Chipping Campden is also well known for the annual Cotswold Games, a celebration of sports and games dating back to the early 17th century.

Related Topics:
Broadway - Burford - Chipping Norton - Cirencester - Moreton-in-Marsh - Stow-on-the-Wold - Chipping Campden - Arts and Crafts movement - William Morris - Broadway Tower - Cotswold Games - 17th century

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