Luxury holidays in Cotswolds

Humpback hills, honey-hued villages and leafy rural lanes – the Cotswolds more than earns its place as Britain’s biggest designated area of natural beauty. The region is more typically English than a Victoria sponge, but in Cirencester layers of its Roman past survive. Be king and queen (or lord and lady) of a wealth of local castles and estates – choose from Sudeley, Warwick or Blenheim – or take a walk through time in 9,000 hectares of ancient woodland. Feeling the love? Bring your beau to the village of Lower Slaughter and stroll the street voted the most romantic in England.

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When to go

The Cotswolds is charming year-round, but summer is the best time to catch the classic green-meadow vistas. July and August might be a bit more crowded – especially during bank holiday weekends – so aim for May and June.

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Getting there

  • Planes

    Bristol and Birmingham are the nearest airports; fly there from UK cities including Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Newcastle, as well as from Jersey. For international flights, London Heathrow and Gatwick are both under a three-hour drive away.
  • Trains

    Direct trains from London Paddington run regularly to stations in the Cotswolds, including Chippenham, Gloucester, Kemble, Kingham, Moreton-in-Marsh and Stroud. Most journeys will only take an hour or two.
  • Automobiles

    From London, the Cotswolds is only a couple of hours away along the M4; the M5 offers access from Bristol and Birmingham. It’s worth taking a car to the region – there’s no better place for country-lane cruising.