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...Marlborough Downs to the east.
The Cotswold Hills have a unique landscape complemented by the distinctive, honey-coloured, Cotswold stone in which most of the older houses are built. In fact, a large part of the Cotswolds has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; it’s an area that’s world famous for the special beauty and distinctiveness of its landscape as well as its towns and villages.
Cotswold stone has been used for many centuries for the building of houses, walls, floors and roofs, in the towns and villages nestling in the folds of the Cotswolds hills. Cotswold stone is also used in the old drystone walls that still form the boundaries of fields and estates, many having been built 300 years ago. They still keep the sheep in but need constant attention to keep them in good condition.
In medieval times, the native Cotswold sheep were in great demand throughout Europe for their heavy fleeces and high quality of wool. A great many of the fine houses to be seen in the Cotswolds were the homes of wealthy wool traders.
Nowadays, many famous celebrities own houses in the Cotswolds, drawn there by the area’s beauty and the pretty market towns such as Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Norton, Bourton-on-the-Water, Burford and Tetbury, as well as the wonderful home grown produce to be found in the farmers’ markets.
If you’re looking to visit the south west but would also like to include the Cotswolds and Bath in your itinerary, then a lovely country house hotel near the Cotswolds, Beechfield House, is just the ticket.
Other places to visit in Wiltshire:
Bath
Lacock
Chippenham
Bradford-on-Avon
Longleat Safari Park
Castle Combe
Cheddar Caves
Wookey Hole
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