Publisher Description

In this new, thoroughly updated third edition of Bradt's The Cotswolds, part of Bradt's distinctive 'Slow travel' series of guides to UK regions, local resident and experienced travel writer Caroline Mills shares her favourite places in a region that remains as popular as ever. Drawing on more than 50 years' living in the Cotswolds, and combining engaging first-person narrative with authoritative advice, Mills slows readers down and helps them delve deeply into a range of regions: the Cotswolds National Landscape Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB); the Cotswold escarpment, hills and valleys; the Wiltshire Cotswolds and the area known as the Four Shires; three Cotswold 'gateways' (Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath and Oxford); the lesser-known 'hidden' fringes of the Cotswolds; and - new for this edition - the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, which follow much of the youthful Thames Valley, and the Cotswold Way National Trail. The Cotswolds' rich man-made heritage includes Oxford University (the world's oldest); many famous castles and country houses (including Blenheim Palace and Sudeley Castle), well-known abbeys such as Prinknash; and estates including Westonbirt Arboretum and Highgrove (the private home of King Charles III and the Queen Consort). Roman history is covered too, notably in Bath and Cirencester, together with the Fosse Way, one of the UK's most important Roman roads. The guide adds colour through interviews with local residents who bring character to the region; activities to try with children; handpicked places to eat, drink and stay (from glamping and country-house hotels to B&Bs on working farms); coverage of the Arts & Crafts movement; numerous options for car-free travel; and quirky events such Gloucestershire's annual cheese-rolling competition and Tetbury's Woolsack Races. With a harmonious combination of quintessentially English villages, charming provincial market towns, appealing countryside and a wealth of local food-and-drink producers makes the Cotswolds an all-year-round destination, whether for a day trip, a quiet weekend away or a multi-week holiday. Whether your interests comprise formal gardens or crafts, historic buildings or horseriding, walking or gastronomy, Bradt's Cotswolds (Slow Travel) is your perfect guide to facilitate in-depth exploration and intense enjoyment. AUTHOR: Although officially a freelance travel and guidebook writer with 35 years' experience in publishing, Caroline Mills () is essentially a country girl. While she loves to visit the towns and cities of Europe, she likes nothing better than to return to the farm where she lives with her husband and three children, on the edge of the Cotswolds. Having moved no more than five miles from where she grew up – also in the Cotswolds – she has been able to call the region home for more than 50 years. With a keen desire to see the area maintain its identity, keeping old traditions alive, and with a passionate love of the countryside in which she lives, she is well placed to paint a very personal picture of this special place. It is this vast in-depth knowledge of the region that led her to write Cotswolds (Slow Travel) for Bradt. 81 illustrations, 20 maps

Table of Contents

CONTENTSGOING SLOW IN THE COTSWOLDSA National Landscape of Outstanding Natural Beauty, A taste of the Cotswolds, How to use this book1 COTSWOLD GATEWAYSStratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Bath2 NORTH COTSWOLDSGetting there & around, South Warwickshire, Towards the Vale of Evesham, Chipping Campden & around, Broadway & its villages3 FOUR SHIRESGetting there & around, Southernmost Warwickshire & northernmost Oxfordshire, Feldon & the Stour Valley, Around the Four Shires Stone4 HIGH COTSWOLDSGetting there & around, Between Moreton & Stow - a triangle of villages, Hills & valleys - Stow & its western neighbours, The Guitings & Kineton - the quiet core, The seat of Mercia - Winchcombe & its villages, The Cotswolds' highest point - Cheltenham & its high commons, East from Cheltenham5 THE THAMES TRIBUTARIESGetting there & around, The Windrush Valley, The Leach Valley, The Coln Valley, The Churn Valley, The Evenlode Valley6 THAMES VALLEYGetting there & around, The source - Kemble & Ewen to Cricklade, North of the river - the Ampneys, Inglesham to Kelmscott, Radcot to the Windrush7 THE SOUTHERN COTSWOLD SCARP& FIVE VALLEYSGetting there & around, The Frome Valley (Golden Valley), The Painswick Valley & the Slad Valley, The Cotswold Scarp - the dry valley?, The Nailsworth Valley, The commons & skinny valleys8 WILTSHIRE COTSWOLDSGetting there & around, The young Avon Valley to Malmesbury, Dyrham & Marshfield, The By Brook Valley, Bradford-on-Avon & the Limpley Stoke ValleyINDEX

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Key sales 's Slow Travel guides are now the biggest-selling UK regional guidebook travel-writer author has lived in the region for over 50 first-person narrative, combining local colour with authoritative on car-free travelAbout Bradt Travel in 1974, Bradt is now the largest independent guidebook publisher in the UK with over 200 titles in winner of the Gold award for Best Guidebook Series in the Wanderlust Reader Travel guides are written by authors who really know their destinations. Many are resident there, or have been visiting regularly over a number of new Bradt guide is backed by a dedicated press and social media campaign

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