Cotswolds

The Cotswolds is an area in south central England containing the Cotswold Hills, a range of rolling hills which 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 U.K. and that is quarried for the golden coloured Cotswold stone. The area, designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1966, is considered to have unique features derived from the local Cotswold stone; the predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, historical towns, and stately homes and gardens. There is evidence of Neolithic settlement from burial chambers on Cotswold Edge, and there are remains of Bronze and Iron Age forts. During the Middle Ages, the area became prosperous from the wool trade--indeed the name is usually attributed the meaning, sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides, and large "wool churches" were built. The area remains affluent. Typical Cotswold towns are Burford, Chipping Norton, Cirencester, Moreton-in-Marsh and Stow-on-the-Wold.