The Cotswolds
Famous for its honey-coloured stone cottages, meandering rivers and rich history, this charming corner of Britain is worth a look - if you can see past all the other tourists.
1. Burford
Known as the gateway to the Cotswolds, Burford is the first Cotswold town encountered by travellers coming from London. The following nine entries form a rough circle that will bring you back to this former centre of the English wool trade. A few buildings in Burford date back to the 1400s but all the shops and houses lining the High Street (below left), which slopes steeply down to the River Windrush, are of significant age. This is a town of antiques shops, antiquarian book shops and tea rooms, and its market-town atmosphere makes for a pleasant introduction to this part of southwest Britain.
2. Bibury
A few kilometres to the southwest, Bibury was described by artist and designer William Morris as 'the most beautiful village in England'. Attractions here include a trout farm and Arlington Row (below centre), a terrace of weavers' cottages built from the famous honey-coloured Cotswold stone and converted from a storehouse in the 17th century. It's said to be one of the most photographed places in Britain. The Catherine Wheel pub is one of the best in the area, with log fires, fine ales and exposed beams made from the timbers of shipwrecks.
3. Cirencester
4. North Woodchester
Some way off the tourist trail, North Woodchester is worth a detour for its tumbledown Norman church and graveyard and adjacent Roman villa site. This is Laurie Lee country, and his autobiographical Cider With Rosie was set just across the Stroud Valley in Slad. Head up Selsley Hill to Selsley Common and walk towards the horizon. After 10 minutes the common drops off precipitously to reveal broad views of the Severn Valley, with South Wales far in the distance. At sunset, the snaking River Severn in the middle distance sometimes turns red, providing a breathtaking vista.
5. Cheltenham
Famous for its Gold Cup steeplechase and exclusive Ladies' College (below right) - a year's boarding at which costs close to HK$350,000 - the spa town of Cheltenham is seen by Cotswold residents as the smartest place in the area. And it certainly looks it: an abundance of early 19th-century buildings has left Cheltenham with the unofficial title of 'the most complete Regency town in England'. You can reach it by train from London's Paddington station on the Cheltenham Spa Express, as visitors have done since the 1920s when the train was said to be the fastest in the world.
6. Broadway
'There is something about that golden Cotswold stone,' says Bill Bryson in his book, Notes from a Small Island, 'the way it absorbs sunlight and then feeds it back, so that even on the dullest days villages like Broadway seem to be basking in a perennial soft glow.' Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie once lived here, as did Sir Edward Elgar, William Morris and - perhaps appropriately - American stage actress Mary Anderson. Broadway is one of the most visited places in the Cotswolds and can be extremely crowded at weekends.
7. Chipping Campden
8. Moreton-in-Marsh
9. Stow-on-the-Wold
The people of Stow-on-the-Wold are proud of their village's historical association with the English Civil War. During the decisive Battle of Naseby, King Charles I stayed at the now 500-year-old Kings Arms, which still takes guests and serves locally caught river trout and apple-fed Gloucester Old Spot Pork. The Royalist, built here in AD947, is officially the oldest inn in Britain.
10. Bourton-on-the-Water