Gloucestershire - Hotels - Cottages - England

The Cotswolds country roads lead off to tranquil river valleys and county towns and villages that have manor houses, traditional pubs, churches and a forest.

In Gloucestershire you’ll find cottage gardens, churches, village greens and your quirky pubs. There is a pub at Westbourne that has been run by the same family since 1743. The Ragged Cot at Hyde has two log fires and at Newland The Ostrich even have squeaky floors and candles on tables.

To find out about information the locals are happy to help you. They will el you about the customs like Cheese Rolling. This is the ancient art, where you chase a Double Gloucester cheese down a hill. They will also tell about Forest Freeminers, Stroud Water Scarlet, and The Severn Bore. Also tell you about the Tetbury woolsack Races.

New traditions of this county consist of The Three Choirs festival which takes place at Gloucester Cathedral and at Cheltenham you have literature, horseracing and jazz festivals.

For your shopping, flower displays, horse racing, parks, literature and music festivals then this Regency Spa town is the place to come.

To discover the Cotswolds then the place to start from is Cheltenham Spa as is has good hotels and accommodation and all types of cuisine to suit all tastes.

If you are keen on shopping and antiques there are specialist shops in Stow-on-the-Wold, Tewkesbury and Tetbury. And if you are keen to hunt down a bargain you can find interesting shops all over the county and at Gloucester’s dock-side Antiques Centre.

If you like gardens then Gloucestershire has lots of great gardens, like the National Trust garden at Hidcote Manor, the Dutch Influenced water garden at Westbury Court, or Painswick Rococo Garden or the rose and knott garden at Sudeley Castle. And there is the beauty of the Forest of Dean or Wye Valley for you to discover.

To accompany this there are walks and cycle routes, hotels, B&Bs, farmhouse or inn accommodation for you to stay in while you explore Gloucestershire.

Stroud, Cirencester and Gloucester are the other major towns and cities.