Museums that transport you back to the Domesday Book, yellow-stone Cotswold villages straight from a chocolate box and manors perched on rolling, emerald hills. If you like the great outdoors, you'll love The Cotswolds, a region that spans central England and the south west. If you’re looking for things to do in the Cotswolds – well, there’s plenty. Potter around Broadway or Bilbury, spot buzzards sweeping across the hilltops, raid farmers markets for local culinary delights like single Gloucester cheese or treat the kids to a day out at Cotswold farm park. After trekking escarpments, you can even swap hiking boots for top hat and tails at race days in elegant regency Cheltenham. Top that off with a stay at a choice of cosy Cotswolds cottages and hotels, and you’ve got a staycation to remember.
Places to visit in The Cotswolds
May events: The Norfolk & Norwich Festival
Norwich becomes a hotbed of international art and performance every May.
Location: Norwich, Norfolk
May events: Feel inspired at The Bath Festival
Enjoy music and literature from around the world with an incredible programme of arts and events.
Location: Bath, Somerset
Go to Liverpool Sound City, an innovative music, film and art festival
Get a ticket for one of the UK’s largest international music, digital and film festivals.
Location: Liverpool, Merseyside
May events: Watch the Tetbury Woolsack Race
This is undoubtedly one of England's strangest things to do in May, but this unique race dates back to the 17th-century.
Location: Tetbury, Gloucestershire
May events: Visit the 1940s in West Yorkshire
Head to Haworth in West Yorkshire and get a glimpse into life in the 1940s.
Location: Haworth, West Yorkshire
May events: Step back in time at East Lancashire Railway
Join the East Lancashire Railway to party like its 1949 in Rawtenstall, Lancashire where the blitz spirit is still going strong.
Location: Rawtenstall, Lancashire
May events: Tuck into a three day food festival in Exeter
Celebrate the best food and drink from the South West at this event in May.
Location: Exeter, Devon
May events: Put your best foot forward at WalkFest
Put a spring in your step over the spring bank holiday weekend at the North York Moors National Park’s annual walking festival.
Location: North York Moors, North Yorkshire
See musical legends at Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Swing into springtime in style at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, one of the leading Jazz events in England.
Location: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
May events: Don your tweeds for the Nottinghamshire County Show
May is usually your first chance to enjoy the spring sunshine, so spend it wisely with an action-packed day at the Nottinghamshire County Show.
Location: Newark, Nottinghamshire
May events: Get down to The Suffolk Show
Take your family on a weekend break to Suffolk’s biggest and barmiest event near Ipswich and see the Shetland Pony Grand National.
Location: Ipswich, Suffolk
May events: Cheer on the cyclists at Lincoln Grand Prix
Take to the streets of Lincoln’s Cathedral Quarter to show your support for some of England’s top cyclists during a two-day festival of cycling.
Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
May events: See Salisbury's amazing Art Festival
Take part in the Salisbury International Arts Festival, and immerse yourself in music, art, dance, and theatre of the highest caliber.
Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire
May events: Learn from food experts at Salcombe Crab Festival
Love seafood? Salcombe’s delicious crab celebration should be right at the top of your things to do in Devon list.
Location: Salcombe, Devon
Get away at The Great Escape
The Great Escape brings hundreds of up-and-coming artists to 35 venues over three days in Brighton and Hove.
Location: Brighton, Sussex
Connect with Dot to Dot Festival
This festival of indie, pop, electronic and alternative music is a travelling show, moving between two cities over two consecutive days.
Location: Bristol and Nottingham