Gloucestershire stretches all the way from the edge of the beautiful Cotswold Hills, across the Severn Vale, to the Forest of Dean and onto the Wye Valley, where south west England becomes Wales. This is a county that has witnessed Roman rule and the regal high society of the Georgians, even managing to resist the mass industrialisation of the Victorians, with its vast and expansive rural landscapes remaining unchanged for centuries. Its position and status as a great seat of religious and financial power in the country is represented in suitably grand ways, with Gloucester Cathedral and Tewkesbury Abbey telling glorious stories that begin almost a thousand years ago.
The wonderful spa and market towns that became a retreat here for artists and writers in the 19th and 20th centuries are now the perfect haven for families that want access to all the advantages of modernity in a timeless and awe-inspiring location.
Here is our guide to a collection of the most impressive amongst them.
Cheltenham
Cheltenham is often referred to as the UK’s most complete Regency town. Its plots of grand crescents and stately villas in Battledown and the prestigious neighbourhood of Montpellier evoke an elegance of times past, with properties well attired to match. This place is just an hour from Oxford and 2 and a half hours from the capital, yet it feels like a world away with the Cotswolds, Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon on its doorstep.
Boutique shops, cafes, and Michelin-starred restaurants, such as Le Champignon Sauvage, Lumiere, and Purslane, ensure that the finest tastes and palates are sincerely looked after, with scenery that provides a suitably picturesque backdrop too. Culturally, Cheltenham is home to the world’s oldest literary festival, and the Avant-Garde Jazz festival also draws in artists and fans from around the globe every year. It is perhaps the education provision however, that would represent the biggest draw for young families with a wealth of independent and grammar options that include Cheltenham College, Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Pate’s Grammar. This incredible town does have all boxes ticked for southwest England living.
Moreton-in-Marsh
The ancient Roman Fosse Way delivers unique Cotswold stone manor houses and stunning Barnhouses, renovated in sympathetic style, for the historic market town of Moreton-in-Marsh. Direct trains to London will see one to the capital in around 90 minutes and as a result, this place remains one of the most accessible Cotswolds options as a commuter town. The townhouses along the High Street and the rather more discreet country residences of neighbourhoods such as Batsford, Todenham and Longborough mean that this relatively compact area has such diverse architecture in a small space. It is something that makes this sophisticated community all the more special.
There is no escaping the landscape in Moreton-in-Marsh and residents and visitors simply would not want to. For walks and rambles, runs, rides and routes for classic car enthusiasts, there is surely no finer location in all of the southwest. With independent shops, picture-perfect pubs such as The Redesdale Arms and The Manor House Hotel and one of the largest weekly street markets in the Cotswolds, this is the countryside without compromise.
Stow-on-the-Wold
It would be tempting to suggest that the market town of Stow-on-the-Wold occupies the high ground for the Cotswolds in more ways than one. Set 800 feet above sea level on a limestone plateau in north Gloucestershire, this market town full of honey-stone Georgian homes delivers an elevated lifestyle and connected community like no other. The converted coaching inns and equestrian estates of Maugersbury and Lower Oddington share the same energy as the immaculate detached family homes and lawns of Church Street and Park Street, in a rural idyll that is as relaxed as it is refined.
Travel times of under 2 hours to London and just 30 minutes to Oxford and Cheltenham ensure that connections are always considered too. Although with such emphasis on quality over quantity in the gourmet pubs and bistros like The Old Butcher’s and The Stag Porch House, it may prove difficult to leave at all unless completely necessary. The Porch House in Stow even holds the status as the oldest Inn in all of England, making it worth a visit for the history alone.
Painswick
This place is what locals refer to as the Queen of the Cotswolds, sitting with elegance and grace from her throne on the hilltop between Gloucester and Stroud. Here you will find some of the finest period properties in all of Gloucestershire that have made the area a huge draw for generations. Tight conservation controls have been in place that prioritise the upkeep and redevelopment of the 17th and 28th century limestone townhouses, detached villas and coaching buildings that made the town great in the first place. This kind of integrity is evident everywhere in Painswick, from the art galleries, boutique retail and quaint tea rooms to the nearby fine dining of The Falcon Inn and St Michael's Bistro.
With a short 90-minute connection to the City of London, via Stroud, Painswick has found itself home to a population of international intellectuals and academics who no doubt were enamoured by such fabulously unspoiled landscape to reflect upon. The walking ways and riding routes that traverse the Cotswold Way, Painswick Beacon and the breathtaking nearby Slad Valley are among the best examples of how this can be accessed. This is clearly a soul-stirring place for those fortunate enough to call it home.
Tetbury
When King Charles III purchased his residence at Highgrove House, just a mile from the town of Tetbury, in 1980, he added a level of regal status here that was built on centuries of style. Tetbury very quickly became a quiet magnet for a new and discerning population of creatives, collectors and philanthropists that saw the same potential and picturesque qualities as the Prince of Wales did at the time. It is easy to see how the King’s own enthusiasm for traditional crafts, architecture and sustainable credentials has informed and shaped this beautiful area over the last 40 years.
Among the exceptional Grade II-listed townhouses in addresses such as Long St and the timber-faced, Doric columns of Chipping St are a whole host of wonderful shops that make Tetbury the home of Cotswolds period pieces, objects and artefacts. A supporting cast of wonderful places to stay and gourmet restaurants like The Close Hotel, The Trouble House and The Priory Inn ensure that visitors leave with experiences as interesting and rewarding as the gifts and trinkets they buy.
Although the striking environment, landscapes and vistas that Gloucestershire provides will undoubtedly take the headlines, these towns and the communities they foster are equally impressive. They build on the foundations that are a feast for the senses, with everything required for modern living in the highest quality manner possible. Taking the time to wander through them at one’s leisure is simply the only way to appreciate this philosophy with your own eyes and heart wide open.
