Cotswolds

South Central England, United Kingdom

---

The Cotswolds is a scenic region of gentle limestone hills in south-central England, spanning nearly 800 square miles across parts of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, and Worcestershire, and officially designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1966.

Known worldwide as the archetypal English landscape, it is famous for its honey-colored stone-built villages, historic market towns like Broadway, Burford, Cirencester, and Stow-on-the-Wold, elegant stately homes, and lush rolling pastures crisscrossed by rambling rivers and dry-stone walls.

The area's prosperity grew during the Middle Ages from the lucrative wool trade, which funded the construction of grand “wool churches” that remain prominent today, and its underlying Jurassic limestone has shaped everything from its architecture to its rich wildflower grasslands. Today, it attracts visitors and affluent Londoners for its picture-perfect countryside, opportunities to hike, cycle, or ride horseback on endless trails, and charming towns offering boutique shopping, traditional pubs, and fine dining, all within easy reach of London.