Three Men On Tour: 5

The Cotswolds are situated in Central England and are reckoned by many to be the epitome of picturesque English countryside. Certainly, its rolling fields and stone cottages evoke a simpler time and one that many visitors to our shores still believe to be the general state of Englishness.

Defined geologically rather than by county boundary, the region spans Oxfordshire, Gloucester, Wiltshire, Somerset, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Small wonder it is hard to fully define its character beyond ‘pretty and full of sheep’.

It is the sheep and stone cottages that truly define it however. Its history is tied to the wool industry. The very name of the region comes from a combination of sheepcote, a medieval enclosure in which sheep were kept, and wold, a term for uncultivated moorland. In the Middle Ages, Cotswolds wool became renowned throughout Europe for its quality and colour, supplying the clothing for a continent.

Meanwhile, the quality and variety of colour led to the stone being used in building projects far and wide. Many of the most famous British monuments are built from this worthy stock, including Windsor Castle and St Paul’s Cathedral.

Nowadays, the lack of development and untarnished glimpses into the old ways of living have led to it mainly benefiting from tourism. The industry has gone, leaving an beautiful, yet empty idyll, perhaps lacking in excitement but ideal for peace and contentment.

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For those wishing more excitement, Bristol lies to the west and is a short distance from the main attractions.