If you know anything about England, from movies, series or novels, you surely have your image of the English countryside: green, with rolling hills, stone houses, picturesque villages…
Well, that's all Cotswolds. The Costwolds are a series of English hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, that no one can miss if they love England, that's why today we are Exploring the picturesque villages of the Cotswolds.
The Cotswolds
As we said, the area is so beautiful that it has been declared Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The hills are between Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, but they get to Somerset, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire.
The area is made of limestone terrain, dating back to the Jurassic, so everything here built with that stone has a certain golden tone, something very characteristic of the rural architecture of the towns that concern us today.
The Cotswolds are the classic destination for a Weekend getawayBut among so many towns… which ones are the most picturesque?
The Slaughters
Slough means quagmire, swamp, in Old English. These little towns are on the banks of the River Eyre and they are beautiful. The villages are both in the lower and upper part of the river, surrounded by fields with sheep and if the weather is good you can always have a picnic.
Visitors are invited to take a half-hour stroll through the fields by the river and can always enjoy a cup of tea at Lower Sluaghter's Old Mill. If you go in spring you will see all the trees bursting with life.
castle combe
It is known as the prettiest village in england, and has been filming set several times: Stardust, Dr. Doolittle and War Horse, For example.
The village was built around the Market Cross in the XIV century and once knew how to be the heart of the wool trade route. Today it has a few small, brown, stone cottages, an old church (St. Andrew's Church), and the Castle Combe racing circuit nearby.
Bourton on the Water
It is one of the picturesque villages of the Costwolds most popular and visited. And it has reason to be, it is beautiful and it has also been known as the Little venice of the area. It is that the town is split in half by the Windrush River and It has several small bridges that connect it. Today there are cafes, small shops and other attractions (Dragonfly Maze, Birdland).
There is also a August Bank Holiday Monday here every August to watch football on the water. Two teams compete in a match lasting just half an hour. It is best to get there early as parking can be a hassle if you arrive later.
Chipping Campdem
It is a small town that was born a long time ago as "market town» (a town that was given the right to organise its own market in medieval times). It occupied a very important place among medieval towns dedicated to the production and trade of wool and for this reason it has been famous throughout Europe.
Its buildings are of the limestone local, so they have that golden honey hue so characteristic of the area. The old houses have been converted into hotels, specialty shops and restaurants.
If you like walking around the area then you can follow the Costwolds Way, a path of around 164 kilometers that ends, or begins, in this very little town.
Snowshill
This village is higher up in the ground than all the villages of Broadway, Laverton and Buckland, and for this reason if snow falls in winter, it falls here first. This is where it gets its name from.
It is a small and remote village, with charming little houses built around a green space. She owns an elegant residence, now protected by the state. Here one can really take a stroll and see the picturesque mix of Sir Charles Wade's private collection, consisting of samurai armour, bicycles, clocks, toys and so on.
Blockley
This picturesque village in the Costwolds was dedicated more to the silk processing to wool, and by 1884 it already had six mills in operation thanks to the impetus of the Blocley stream.
Today all that is behind us and the village is quiet and ideal for walking from head to toe.
Bradford on Avon
Although it is not a village but a city, it is still a small and little visited site. It is in the western corner of Wiltshire, close to the border with Somerset, just 13 kilometres from Bath.
With narrow streets and boutique shops in the centre, it is a great destination in February when the Pancake Race over the medieval bridge of the small town.
Stow on the Wold
The medieval streets of this village are full of cafes, furniture shops and art galleries.
The place is the highest Cotswolds village on Stow Hill. During the wool boom in the area, Stow on the Wold had fairs where up to 20 sheep were sold at a time. Incredible.
Minchinhampton
It is a small village on top of a small hill. It is in a very small area as well, located between the Golden Valley and the Nailsworth Valley.
To the classic postcard of the stone houses which seem taken from a Grimm brothers' tale, plus it has wonderful views of the Stroud Valleys, with its horses and cattle grazing in oceans of green.
Bibury
Bibury It is near BurfordIt is concentrated around the local church of Saxon origin, the Church of Saint Mary. It is a tiny church and if you have seen churches like this in the British Museum they are replicas of this one, which is the original.
The most popular and well-known thing in Bibury is the street Arlington Row with his collection of old houses from the 16th century looking at the river water.
Stanton
No one can deny that Stanton It's a postcard from the Costwolds: a perfect 17th century village next to the Cotswolds Hills, not far from Broadway. Almost the entirety of this small village is concentrated along the main street so it is just a short walk away.
Finally, we can continue Exploring the picturesque villages of the Wostcolds for hours. There are many and everyone can make lists and lists of why they should visit each one. Other beautiful towns are Winchcombe, Tetbury, Broadway, Guiting Power, Pianswick, Cirencester, Burford, Asthall and Kingham.