Cotswold Life - Countryside, Towns, Villages and People

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About Cotswold Life - Countryside, Towns, Villages and People

Photos of Cotswold villages, towns, countryside and it's people.



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotswolds

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 Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The highest point in the Cotswolds range is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m), 2.5 miles (4 km) to the north of Cheltenham.

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

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-east the upper reaches of the Thames Valley and towns such as Lechlade, Tetbury and Fairford are often considered to mark the limit of this region. To the south the Cotswolds, with the characteristic uplift of the Cotswold Edge, reach as far south as Bath and towns such as Chipping Sodbury and Marshfield share elements of Cotswold character.

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.

The Cotswolds were designated 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.

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 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.

Cotswold Links

www.cotswoldsaonb.com/ Cotswold Area of Natural Beauty Website
www.the-cotswolds.org/ Official Cotswold Website
www.cotswolds.info/ Tourist Guide
www.cotswolds.org/ Cotswold Guide
www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org/ Oxfordshire Cotswolds
www.cotswold.gov.uk/ Government Guide
www.visitcotswolds.co.uk/ Visit Cotswolds
www.cotswoldcanals.com/ Cotswold Canels
www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/ Cotswold Journal for Local News
www.visitcotswoldsandsevernvale.gov.uk/ Severnside Cotswolds
www.aboutbritain.com/ Checkout Cotswold Town on aboutbritain
www.places-to-go.org.uk/Cotswolds.htm Places to Go
www.bensonsapplejuice.co.uk/ The best apple juice - ever!
www.waterpark.org/ Cotswold Waterpark
www.cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk/ Cotswold Farm Park
www.cotswoldcountrycycles.com/ Cotswold Country Cycles

Places and Attractions

Bourton on the Water

www.bourtoninfo.com/
www.bourton-on-the-water.net/
www.birdland.co.uk/ Birdland Park and Gardens
www.theoldnewinn.co.uk/village.htm Model Village
www.cotswold-motor-museum.co.uk/ Cotswold Motor Museum
www.bourtonmodelrailway.co.uk/ Model Railway and Toy Shop

Stow on the Wold



Chipping Campden



Chipping Norton

www.chippingnorton.net/ Local Website
www.chippingnortontowncouncil.net/ Town Council
www.chippingnortontheatre.co.uk/ The Theatre
www.chippylido.co.uk/ Swimming at the Lido
www.chippingnortongolfclub.com/ Chipping Norton Gold Club
www.chippingnortonorganics.co.uk/ Chipping Norton Organic Food
www.cnrufc.co.uk/ Chipping Norton Rugby Club
www.cnmf.org.uk/ Chipping Norton Music Festival



Burford



Broadway

www.beautifulbroadway.com/ Beautiful Broadway
www.broadwaydeli.co.uk/ Broadway Deli - Order online
www.broadwaytower.co.uk/ Broadway Tower

Moreton in Marsh

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/... Chastleton House
www.moreton-in-marsh.co.uk/ Business Association Website
www.moretonshow.co.uk/ Moreton Country Show
www.cotswold-falconry.co.uk/ Cotswold Falconry

Cirencester



Gloucester