Cotswolds
Protected area mostly in South West England / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Cotswolds (/ˈkɒtswoʊldz, ˈkɒtswəldz/ KOTS-wohldz, KOTS-wəldz)[1] is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat that is quarried for the golden-coloured Cotswold stone.[2] The predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, towns, stately homes and gardens featuring the local stone.
Cotswolds | |
---|---|
Location | England |
Coordinates | 51°48′N 2°2′W |
Area | 2,038 km2 (787 sq mi) |
Established | 1966 |
Named for | cot + wold, 'sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides' |
Website | www |
Designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966,[3] the Cotswolds covers 787 square miles (2,038 km2), making it the largest AONB.[4] It is England's third-largest protected landscape, after the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national parks.[5] Its boundaries are roughly 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (140 km) long, stretching south-west from just south of Stratford-upon-Avon to just south of Bath, near Radstock. It lies across the boundaries of several English counties; mainly Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, and parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire. The highest point is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m),[6] just east of Cheltenham.
The Cotswold local government district is within Gloucestershire. Its main town is Cirencester.[7] In 2021, the population of the 450-square-mile (1,200 km2) district was 91,000.[8][9] The much larger area referred to as the Cotswolds encompasses nearly 800 square miles (2,100 km2).[10][11] The population of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was 139,000 in 2016.[12]