Global InformationCotswolds information
| Cotswolds | |
|---|---|
 Castle Combe, a Cotswolds village with buildings made of Cotswold stone | |
 Location of the Cotswolds within England | |
| Location | England |
| Coordinates | 51°48′N 2°2′W / 51.800°N 2.033°W |
| Area | 2,038 km2 (787 sq mi) |
| Established | 1966 |
| Named for | cot + wold, 'sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides' |
| Website | www |
The Cotswolds (/ˈkɒtswoʊldz, ˈkɒtswəldz/ KOTS-wohldz, KOTS-wəldz)[1] is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat that is quarried for the golden-coloured Cotswold stone.[2] The predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, towns, stately homes and gardens featuring the local stone.
Designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966,[3] the Cotswolds covers 787 square miles (2,038 km2), making it the largest AONB.[4] It is England's third-largest protected landscape, after the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national parks.[5] Its boundaries are roughly 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (140 km) long, stretching south-west from just south of Stratford-upon-Avon to just south of Bath, near Radstock. It lies across the boundaries of several English counties; mainly Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, and parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire. The highest point is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m),[6] just east of Cheltenham.
The Cotswold local government district is within Gloucestershire. Its main town is Cirencester.[7] In 2021, the population of the 450-square-mile (1,200 km2) district was 91,000.[8][9] The much larger area referred to as the Cotswolds encompasses nearly 800 square miles (2,100 km2).[10][11] The population of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was 139,000 in 2016.[12]
- ^ "Cotswolds". Dictionary.com. Random House. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ "Cotswolds – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". cotswoldsaonb.org.uk. Cotswolds Conservation Board. Archived from the original on 4 August 2014.
- ^ "Cotswold District Council – Cotswolds AONB". www.cotswold.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
- ^ "Moves made for The Cotswolds to become a National Park – Stratford Herald". 17 May 2018. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ^ "Where is the Cotswolds – Visitors Guide Fact Sheet". www.cotswolds.info. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ "Hill Bagging: Cleeve Hill". Hill Bagging: the online version of the Database of British and Irish Hills. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ^ "Cotswold District Council – About the Council". www.cotswold.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Cotswold District Council – Cotswold factfile". www.cotswold.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ "Cotswolds.com – The Official Cotswolds Tourist Information Site". www.cotswolds.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ "In Deep: Idyllic England in the Cotswolds – Butterfield & Robinson". 14 August 2017. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ "Fact sheet" (PDF). www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 August 2021.