In this new, thoroughly updated edition of Bradt's The Cotswolds (Slow
Travel series), resident expert author Caroline Mills shares more of her
favorite places in a region that remains as popular as ever. The area
covered includes: the Cotswold AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty), the Cotswold escarpment, hills and valleys, the Wiltshire
Cotswolds and the area known as the Four Shires, along with the
lesser-known 'hidden' fringes of the Cotswolds. Also included are the
three Cotswold 'gateways': Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath and Oxford.
Caroline Mills has lived and worked in the region for over 40 years and
writes in an entertaining and engaging first-person narrative combined
with authoritative information. Organized into locales to encourage you
to slow down and make it easier to discover smaller areas in greater
depth, the guide includes features such as interviews with locals who
bring character to the region, activities to try with children,
personally selected places to eat, drink and stay, coverage of the Arts
and Crafts movement, and plenty of options for car-free travel: walking,
cycling, river boats and local buses and trains. Highlights of
particular note include Highgrove Gardens, the home of HRH The Prince of
Wales and Duchess of Cornwall; Oxford University; the Royal Shakespeare
Company/Theatre; the Roman Baths, Bath (a UNESCO World Heritage Site);
the American Museum in Britain (dedicated to colonial America and the
only museum of its kind outside the United States); Bibury, in
particular Arlington Row and villages such as The Slaughters, Snowshill
and Castle Combe; UNESCO World Heritage Site Blenheim Palace. Featured
within the guide are quirky events such as the Cheese-Rolling
competition and Tetbury's Woolsack Races; numerous and distinguished
breweries and micro-breweries, including the famous Hook Norton Brewery,
Bath Ales, Uley Brewery and Stroud Brewery; Oxford University, the
world's oldest, and the source of England's longest river, the Thames.
The Cotswolds rich and diverse man-made heritage includes many famous
castles and country houses: Blenheim Palace, Sudeley Castle, Chavenage
and Kelmscott; well-known abbeys such as Prinknash, Hailes; and gardens
and estates including Painswick Rococo Garden, Westonbirt Arboretum and
Highgrove. Roman history is covered, too, notably in Bath and
Cirencester, together with the Fosse Way, one of the most important
Roman roads in the country. The Cotswolds continues to endear itself to
anyone who visits - its harmonious combination of quintessentially
English villages, charming provincial market towns, interesting and
appealing countryside and a wealth of local food-and-drink producers
makes it an all-year-round destination, whether for a day trip, a quiet
weekend away or a multi-week holiday. The region offers an incredible
array of accommodation from unique country-house hotels to delightful
farmhouse B&Bs on working farms, luxurious self-catering cottages to
glamping and camping in secluded countryside. Visitors that have a
particular passion or interest for gardens, the Arts & Crafts Movement,
historic buildings, walking, horse riding or rural pursuits are well
provided for within the Cotswolds.