The Cotswolds are an area in south central and south west England comprising the Cotswold Hills, a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment, known as the Cotswold Edge, above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat rare in the UK and that is quarried for the golden-coloured Cotswold stone. It contains unique features derived from the use of this mineral; the predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, historical towns and stately homes and gardens.
Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top an 800-foot hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman origin. The town was founded by Norman lords to take advantage of trade on the roads converging there. Fairs have been held by royal charter since 1330; an annual horse fair is still held on the edge of the town.
The Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter in the southwest and Lincoln to the northeast, via Ilchester, Bath, Cirencester and Leicester.
Moreton-in-Marsh is a small market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England.
Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District and is the main settlement of the southern corner (projection) of Warwickshire, England. The compactly formed town and its associated land occupy the left bank of the River Stour 9.3 miles (15 km) SSE of Stratford-upon-Avon and 12.4 miles (20 km) south of Warwick.
Blockley is a village, civil parish and ecclesiastical parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh. Until 1931 Blockley was an exclave of Worcestershire.
Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village had a population of 3,296 at the 2011 census. Much of the village centre is a designated Conservation Area.
Broadway is a large village and civil parish within the Cotswolds, located in the county of Worcestershire, England. Its population was 2,540 in the 2011 census, a small increase on the 2,496 in the 2001 census. It is situated in the far southeast of Worcestershire and very close to the Gloucestershire border, midway between the towns of Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh. It is sometimes referred to as the "Jewel of the Cotswolds".
Northleach is a market town in Northleach with Eastington civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. The town is in the valley of the River Leach in the Cotswolds, about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Cirencester and 11 miles (18 km) east-southeast of Cheltenham. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,854.
Batsford is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. The village is about 1½ miles north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh. There is a falconry centre close to the village and Batsford Arboretum is nearby, situated on the Cotswold escarpment.
Bourton-on-the-Hill is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, and about 2 miles (3 km) west of Moreton-in-Marsh. In 2010 it had an estimated population of 288. The village overlooks the surrounding hills of the Cotswolds and lies on the Heart of England Way, which heads southwards to Bourton-on-the-Water and northwards to Cannock Chase. The village is also connected by a footpath to the Cotswold Way, via Blockley and Chipping Campden.
Aston Magna is a hamlet located off Fosse Way in north Gloucestershire, England, between Moreton-in-Marsh and Shipston-on-Stour. It forms part of the civil parish of Blockley and the Church of England parish of Blockley with Aston Magna in the diocese of Gloucester. Aston Magna church itself is closed and now forms a private house.
Upper Ditchford is an abandoned village to the west of the Fosse Way between Moreton-in-Marsh and Stretton on Fosse, now in the county of Gloucestershire in England but formerly located in Warwickshire. It has been scheduled as an ancient monument.
Moreton Morrell is a village and civil parish in the county of Warwickshire, England. It is part of the historic hundred of Kington and is located about three and a half miles north west of the village of Kineton. The settlement was first mentioned in the Domesday Book as Moreton. From at least Norman times, it has consisted of the village of Moreton and the hamlet of Morrell. The parish of Moreton Morrell is bounded on the east and south east by the Fosse Way, and consists of Little Morrell in the north, the village of Moreton Morrell, and Moreton Paddox in the south.
Cold Aston is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, approximately 30 km (19 mi) to the east of Gloucester. It lies in the Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Campden was, from 1894 to 1935, a rural district in the administrative county of Gloucestershire, England. The district lay on the north-eastern boundary of Gloucestershire, and consisted of three separate areas nearly surrounded by the counties of Warwickshire and Worcestershire. The county and district boundaries were simplified in 1931 and the district was abolished in 1935.
Stretton-on-Fosse is a small village and civil parish with fewer than 200 houses, most built of Cotswold stone or locally-made red brick, situated on the Warwickshire-Gloucestershire border on the fringe of the Cotswold Hills. It is governed by the Stratford-on-Avon District council. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 439. By comparison, the 1931 population was 282. The village has about 200 buildings, made of Cotswold stone or locally made red bricks. Of these, 18 are Grade II Listed by Historic England. At one time, the village was known as Stretton upon Fosse.
The Four Shire Stone is a boundary marker that marks the place where the four historic English counties of Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire once met. Since 1931, with a change to the boundaries of Worcestershire, only three counties have met at the stone.
Evenlode is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold District of eastern Gloucestershire in England. Until 1931 it was a detached part of Worcestershire, in the hundred of Oswaldslow, southeast of the main body of the county. The River Evenlode, which shares its name, forms the parish's western boundary.
Todenham is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. The village is significant for its Grade I listed 14th-century parish church.
