In Shakespeare's day the Cotswold villages and small towns were bustling - this was sheep country and the hub of England's wool industry for several centuries.
Cotswolds - Chipping Camden
Sleepy Cotswold hamlets are renowned for their quaint names and none more so than Chipping Camden, a beautifully preserved town with buildings dating from as early as the 14th-century. (Chipping means market). The high street has been called "the most beautiful in England" and its finest building is the 16th-century open-sided market hall. It was built by Sir Baptist Hicks, a fabulously wealthy wool merchant who was so rich he frequently lent huge sums to King James I. And don't miss Grevel's house, one of the oldest houses in the town, dating from 1380. It has most unusual two-storied bay windows and once belonged to William Grevel, a prosperous wool merchant.
The rich wool merchants competed with each other to build and decorate churches and there are many 'wool' churches throughout the Cotswolds. St. James', at Chipping Camden, is considered the finest in the region.
Cotswolds - Stow on the Wold
Fine market squares are a feature of many Cotswold towns. When the region was in the throes of the wool boom these squares were the scene of huge fairs where sheep and horses were sold. The one at Stow-on-the-Wold has some ancient stocks - a favourite 'photo opportunity' for visitors, who stick their legs through the holes.
Stow-on-the-Wold is the highest town in the Cotswolds and there's a local saying, 'Stow-on-the-Wold, where the wind blows cold', which may be the reason for its houses and inns being cozily bunched together. Although famous for its chocolate box prettiness, a lesser known fact about Stow-in-the-Wold is that a colourful horse fair is held here in May and October of each year. Gypsies come from all over Britain, as they have done since the 15th-century, to trade their horses in a meadow just outside Stow. It's a colourful sight, with gaily painted traditional caravans and people greeting old friends, seen perhaps only once a year, arguing and bargaining.
Cotswolds - Burton-on-the-Water
Just a few miles south of Stow is Bourton-on-the-Water, often called the Venice of the Cotswolds because of the many pretty little bridges over the Windrush River which flows through the centre of the town. The banks of the river are lined with willow trees and it is a favourite spot to rest and watch the world go by
As well as these popular places, the the Cotswolds are full of small, quiet villages which you can explore. Turn off any country lane and discover them for yourself.
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