Cotswolds AONB

Cotswolds
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Castle Combe, a typical Cotswolds village made with Cotswold stone
Country	England
Counties	Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire
Coordinates	52°00′N 1°42′W / 52.000°N 1.700°W / 52.000; -1.700Coordinates: 52°00′N 1°42′W / 52.000°N 1.700°W / 52.000; -1.700
Highest point
- location	Cleeve Hill
- elevation	330 m (1,083 ft)
Geology	Jurassic, Oolitic, Limestone
Plants	Hawkweed, pasque flower, woolly thistle, yellow archangel
Animals	Badger, goldfinch, grey wagtail, treecreeper
Founded	1966
Management	Cotswolds Conservation Board
Location of the Cotswolds in the UK
Website: www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk

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 UK and that is quarried for the golden coloured Cotswold stone. It contains unique features derived from the use of this mineral; the predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, historical towns and stately homes and gardens.

The well-established boundaries of the Cotswolds have expanded considerably since moving out of the cities and into the countryside gained popularity. Now the Cotswolds boundaries are roughly 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (145 km) long, stretching south-west from just south of Stratford-upon-Avon to just south of Bath. It lies across the boundaries of several English counties; mainly Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, and parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The hills give their name to the Cotswold local-government district in Gloucestershire, which administers a large part of the area. The highest point of the region is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m), just to the north of Cheltenham.

There is evidence of Neolithic settlement from burial chambers on Cotswold Edge, and there are remains of Bronze and Iron Age forts. Later the Romans built villas, such as at Chedworth, settlements such as Gloucester, and paved the Celtic path later known as Fosse Way.

During the Middle Ages, thanks to the breed of sheep known as the Cotswold Lion, the Cotswolds became prosperous from the wool trade with the continent, with much of the money made from wool directed towards the building of churches. The area still preserves numerous large, handsome Cotswold Stone "wool churches". The affluent area in the 21st century has attracted wealthy Londoners and others who own second homes there or have chosen to retire to the Cotswolds.