HOTELS
Compare over 30 top hotel booking sites to instantly find the best hotels deals in Warwickshire...and beyond
GOLF
What could be better than a round of golf in the Cotswolds?
A free round of golf!

950+ COURSES
WHERE 2 CAN PLAY
FOR THE PRICE OF 1
golfalot discounted golf and equipment
OUTDOOR GEAR
Walking in the Cotswolds? It makes sense to choose the best outdoor clothing
GARDEN BIRDS
The UK's largest specialist supplier of wild bird-related products by mail order.
SCOTTS OF STOW
Whether you’re looking for practical ideas or decorative inspiration, you’ll find all you need at Scotts of Stow 
GOLF BREAKS
Book golf breaks, golf holidays, golf weekends and much more...


CAR HIRE
A leader in car rental for over 50 years, with over 7000 car rental locations worldwide 



GARDENING
Experts in the garden
since 1855.


TRAVEL
SHOPPING

LUXURY INCLUDED
If you can't be in Warwickshire, you should be in the Caribbean.

Self Catering Holiday Accommodation
Use the drop-down menus above to find and book some of the finest self-catering holiday and short-term rental properties in the Cotswolds and adjoining Shakespeare Country.

As well as holiday cottages and apartments which can be booked directly with the owners via our sister sites, Warwickshire Tourist Guide.com and Take a Cotswolf Break.co.uk, you can also check the availability calendar  and securely book many of the holiday cottages directly online using the secure booking services of our booking partners, including Stilwells, Blakes and Hoseasons.
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the inspectors house alcester
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heronview oversley green
Little Haven Bidford-on-Avon
hidden cottages henley in arden
irelands farm henley in arden












Self Catering Holiday Accommodation
in the Cotswolds 
The Cotswolds is a unique and unspoilt region of England, stretching over six English counties. The three main Cotswold counties are Warwickshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, with incursions into Wiltshire, Somerset & Worcestershire.

The Cotswolds
 covers an area of 2,038 square kilometres and is the largest designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales. With
sheep-strewn pastures & enclosures (cots), gentle hillsides (wolds), honey-coloured stone buildings, unhurrried villages, cathedral-sized 'wool' churches and mile after mile of golden dry stone walling (oolitic limestone), it is no wonder the Cotswolds is thought of as the quintessential English countryside -- and this being so, it is the perfect place for afternoon tea and a trawl through the many antique and ephemera shops.
Self Catering Holiday Accommodation
in Shakespeare Country
Shakespeare Country is the area of Warwickshire centred around Stratford-upon-Avon and the villages, buildings and history associated with the Bard of Avon. Local places associated with Shakespeare include Aston Cantlow, Bidford-on-Avon, Broom, Charlecote Park, Compton Wynyates, Hampton Lucy, Luddington, Shottery, Snitterfield, Temple Grafton, Wilmcote and Welford-on-Avon.

Other places which are well worth a visit include: Henley-in-Arden with many fine Tudor buildings; the old coaching town of Southam with its restored Holy Well and mediaeval mint; Coughton and Dunchurch with their connections to Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder plot;
the magnificent Abbey at Stoneleigh, with its Jane Austen associations, part of the grounds of which are now home to the Royal Showground
Some Cotswold  Footnotes
Lions in the Cotswolds
It is thought that the Romans introduced sheep to the Cotswolds over 2,000 years ago, when they settled the important Roman stronghold of Corinium, modern-day Cirencester. During the medieval period of 13th to 15th centuries, the Cotswold sheep were famous throughout Europe for their heavy fleeces and high quality of wool -- they were known as 'Cotswold Lions', probably because of the golden colour of their fleece. The flocks of sheep on the hillside is still a classic Cotswold image.

Cotswold wool is what generated the wealth of the Cotswolds in the Middle Ages and resulted in wealthy landowners and traders vying to outdo each other in the splendour of their houses and their endowments to the Church. The wonderful churches all over the Cotswolds are known as “wool churches”, and some are the size of cathedrals. 
As old as the Pyramids
Built around 3000BC, Belas Knap is a neolithic long barrows located on the limestone uplands of the Cotswolds.  Further down the slope below Belas Knap are the remains of a Roman villa, with another located due west across the valley on Cole's Hill. The Romans themselves evidently visited Belas Knap; the remains of Romano-British pottery have been found at the north end of the barrow. It has been suggested that Belas is derived from the name Baal", an ancient storm god ("Belus", in Latin). Knap is thought by some to be a variant form of "Cneph", the Egyptian sacred winged disk, but is simply Old English for the top, crest, or summit of a hill. Belas may be a corruption of the Latin word for "beautiful" -- bellus-- and may describe either the hill itself or the view from it.
Walking in the Cotswolds
The Cotswold Way National Trail offers 102 miles of quintessentially English countryside, following the Cotswold escarpement from the World Heritage City of bath in the soutn to the beautiful Cotswold market town of Chipping Campden in the north.
Now there are also a series of circular walks based around the Cotswold Way, with a total set of 26 walks by 2010. Detailed route cards with maps, written directions and other useful information are free to download from  www.nationaltrail.co.uk...
Cycling in the Cotswolds
Parts of the National Cycle Network pass through the Cotswolds AONB. 
Cotswold and Feldon Cycle Route – a 25 mile route that runs from Shipston-on-Stour to Brailes in South Warwickshire.
 
Bristol and Bath Railway path – a cycling route that links the cities of Bristol and Bath and runs through the AONB near Swineford.
 
Short stretches of the Avon Cycleway and the Kennet and Avon Canal tow path pass through the southern part of the AONB.

The Colliers Way incorporating National Cycle Network routes 24 runs through the most southerly part of the AONB from the Dundas Aqueduct to Wellow. National Cycle Network route 4 runs from the Dundas Aqueduct to Bradford-on-Avon.

The sustainable transport charity, Sustrans, has an online shop which offers a number of maps and guides for cycling around the Cotswolds.
Cycling maps are available for South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset and can be downloaded free of charge from the Lifecycle Resource Centre.  

More route guides are available: Gloucestershire Rural Community Council has produced a series of five circular cycling routes in Bourton-on-the-Water, Moreton-In-Marsh, Kingham, Bibury and Kemble. Click here further information.

Riding in the Cotswolds
The Cotswolds is a great place to ride and whether you bring your own horse or go pony trekking, there are plenty of places to stay and routes to follow.

Over 44 miles or 70 kms of the long distance riding route the Sabrina way runs through the Cotswolds, from Forthampton to Great Barrington. Click here to find out more and see stages of the route, parts of which take in the Cotswolds Escarpment

Another riding route in the east of the AONB is the Claude Duvall route, named after a notorious highwayman who used to frequent Hopcrofts Holt near Steeple Aston. The route links the Swan Way at Quainton (Buckinghamshire) with the Sabrina Way at Great Barrington just across the Oxfordshire / Gloucestershire border. Click here to find out more

You can request a booklet about this route and the Sabrina Way from the British Horse Society.
Click here for BHS contact details
Download information on Stables and Equipment providers in the area
Download information on Horse Riding in the Cotswolds AONB
Be a green visitor to the Cotswolds
The Cotswolds area has been a tourist destination for as long as we can remember, with visitors coming for the beautiful rural setting, high quality accommodation and wide range of events. To keep the Cotswolds this way, we need to conserve and enhance the area by making tourism sustainable.

Why does tourism in the Cotswolds need to be sustainable?
The Cotswolds is among Britain's most beautiful areas - and we want to keep it that way. As the largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England Wales it is extremely important to conserve and enhance the natural beauty so that future visitors can enjoy the Cotswolds in the same way.

Your impact on the Cotswolds
Have you ever thought about the impact that your stay in the Cotswolds may be having on the environment?
Be a responsible tourist and consider the carbon footprint of your stay. There are a number of ways to do this:
  • Consider your method of transport to, from and around the Cotswolds
  • Choose an accommodation provider accredited by the Green Tourism Business Scheme
  • Have a day out with a difference - leave the car behind and stretch your legs on one of the Cotswolds' beautiful walking or cycling trails
  • Buy local produce to cut down on 'food miles'
  • Ensure you are reducing and recycling your rubbish

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Shakespeare Country self catering  North Cotswolds self catering holiday cottages 
Alcester self catering holiday cottages Banbury self catering holiday cottages 
Bidford-on-Avon self catering holiday cottages Bourton-on-the-Water self catering 
Henley-in-Arden self catering holiday cottages Broadway self catering holiday cottages
Stratford-upon-Avon self catering Cheltenham self catering holiday cottages 
Tanworth-in-Arden self catering holiday cottages Chipping Campden self catering holiday cottages
Welford-on-Avon self catering holiday cottages Chipping Norton self catering holiday cottages 
Cirencester self catering holiday cottages 
Central & Southern Cotswolds self catering holiday cottages  Evesham self catering holiday cottages 
Abingdon self catering holiday cottages  Ilmington self catering holiday cottages 
Bath self catering holiday cottages  Moreton-in-Marsh self catering holiday cottages
Burford self catering holiday cottages  Shipston-on-Stour self catering holiday cottages
Tetbury self catering holiday cottages  Shipton under Wychwood self catering cottages 
Stow on the Wold self catering holiday cottages 























































© Self Catering in Warwickshire 2009