Traveller's World - Cotswolds, Gloucestershire

Cotswolds, Gloucestershire

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Cotswolds

Spreading gently between the upper Thames valley in the southeast and the Severn Vale in the west, the Cotswolds are the very quintessence of rural England. Its incomparable landscapes are the settings for some of the most beautiful country towns in the whole of Britain.

The region covers large parts of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire and is an important archeological site. Here were found the remains of many groups of prehistoric man, whose burial grounds abound, from the Neolithic right through to the Bronze Age.

It was between the 12th and the 15th century that the region gained European importance through the wool market - giving rise to a class of prosperous merchants who marked their presence with great "wool" churches which they built from the underlying oolitic limestone. Today these building stones, with their beautiful shades of silver, cream and gold, are an integral part of what the Cotswolds represent.

Its villages, each one of them with their special charms, offer a varied display of beatiful churches, city halls and parks together with a very tranquile life style. Amongst them all, Upper and Lower Slaughter, Broadway, Burford, Snowhill and Bourton-on-the-water are the most famous. Lesser known, but no less attractive, places include Painswick, Winchcombe, Fairford and Northleach - highly recommended for its museum/shop, Keith Hardings's World of Mechanical Music.

Gifted with a fabulous past and being far removed from the hurried life styles of bigger cities, the Cotswolds are a perfect place for relaxed exploration.