COTSWOLDS HOTELS

THE COTSWOLDS – WHY GO?

Timewarp Cotswold villages are almost too-good-to-be-true clusters of thatched roofs and honey-coloured stone, set in rolling countryside. Towns are elegant, pubs are mellow, while teashops are second to none.

Come here to see some of Britain’s finest stately homes – Blenheim Palace, with its gilded state rooms and gardens laid out by Capability Brown, is the ultimate in British Baroque and one of the biggest private houses in Britain.  And exotic Sezincote House, near the market town of Moreton-in-Marsh, is just one of the Cotswolds’ many richly historic manor houses.

With its handsome Georgian terraces, leafy streets, relaxed pavement cafes and wrought-iron balconies, Cheltenham makes an excellent base for exploring the Cotswolds. The town comes alive on race days (book months ahead if you're hoping to be here for the Cheltenham Gold Cup), while the lakes and showpiece Pump Room in Pitville Park are well worth seeing.

Burford has a fine main street peppered with tea houses and antique shops, leading down to the River  Windrush. The town has some even finer watering-holes and a nicely laidback air. Chipping Campden is another gorgeously sleepy Cotswold towns packed with charm, while Bibury has its trout stream and pretty riverside houses. Broadway is a great place for afternoon tea, Rodborough has its sweeping common, while Thornbury has its own castle-hotel where King Henry Vlll and Ann Boleyn once slept.

Closer to tetbury, Westonbirt Arboretum’s flame-coloured trees are a treat in autumn. And on the fringe of the Cotswolds are the dreaming spires of Oxford – just the place to go punting on the river.