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The Cotswolds
For many people the Cotswolds epitomise a vision of
rural England. Here are pretty golden-stone villages,
huddled in tranquil wooded valleys, bisected by
sparkling brooks and surrounded by ever green farmland.
The whole region is protected by the Cotswolds Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty, at 790square miles (2038sq
km) the largest area in the country to be designated in
this way. In the East these 'official' Cotswolds reach
surprisingly deep into Oxfordshire, to the North they
point green fingers into both Warwickshire and
Worcestershire, in the South, Wiltshire and North East
Somerset claim their portions, but the lion's share of
this beautiful landscape falls in Gloucestershire.
Changing Scenery
Approaching the Cotswolds from the north east,
you'll notice the scenery begins to change in subtle
ways. The half-timber and thatch of 'Shakespeare
Country' begins to give way to a honey-coloured stone
which defines the borders of the region. This is the
oolitic limestone that tilts down from west to east. In
the east the gradually rising profile is virtually
indistinguishable. One is only vaguely aware that the
surrounding countryside is gaining in altitude. This is
open, arable farming country punctuated by dark stands
of trees and rivers flanked by water-meadows. Here you
will find the source of the mighty Thames. Although the
watershed is hardly apparent, the presence of two great
east-west canals hints that it may have once presented a
formidable obstacle to transport. These waterways - the
Thames and Severn and the Kennet and Avon canals -
provide some of the best level walking in the southern
Cotswolds and cut through the very heart of the suddenly
dramatic valleys that emerge on the western side. |