There’s plenty to do on a Cotswolds cottage break

With soft green hills, meadows and honeypot villages, there is nothing so typically English as the Cotswolds.

It’s little wonder this enchanting region – comprising Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and North East Somerset – is the country’s largest official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty!

If you love the great outdoors, this is the place for you. There are plenty of trails, so pack your walking boots – just don’t forget your camera to capture some breathtaking scenery along the way.

The Cotswolds are also famous for its myriad magnificent gardens, stately homes and castles, so culture and heritage lovers will have a full itinerary, too. Neo-classical mansion Buscot Park, medieval Warwick Castle, and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace, are all in the vicinity.

And if you think you recognise Gloucester Cathedral, it’s probably because it doubles as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter movies.

In fact, the landmark is one many featured in a variety of TV programmes and films – Bridget Jones’s Diary was shot on location in the Gloucestershire village of Snowshill, while the television period drama Downton Abbey was filmed in Bampton, Oxfordshire.

Renting a Cotswold cottage is the perfect, leisurely way to enjoy all the area has to offer. We found three excellent websites listing available holiday homes. Cottageguide.co.uk is an easy to use site with handy tabs to filter according to required size of cottage, while Premiercottages.co.uk lists a range of homes which have received tourism quality awards. Cottageinthecountry.co.uk has a fantastic virtual tour feature so you can preview a selection of cottages.