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
Release your inner Wordsworth with Words by the Water Festival
Don’t miss this exciting literature event, a festival of words and ideas, set by the lake surrounded by the Lake District fells.
Location: Keswick, Cumbria
Experience York's Literature Festival
Rub shoulders with best-selling authors as York gets all bookish.
Location: York, North Yorkshire
Spread the joy at the World’s Original Marmalade Festival
Unleash your inner Paddington Bear on a visit to the World’s Original Marmalade Festival, which will be held on the historic Dalemain estate in Penrith.
Location: Penrith, Cumbria
Watch a kick about like no other in Derbyshire
Witness a 16-hour football match in the streets of Ashbourne, an eccentric sporting event that’s been played since the 17th century.
Location: Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Tuck into the World Pasty Championships at the Eden Project
What better way to celebrate St Piran’s Day, the National Day of Cornwall, than by chomping on a pasty or two at one of Cornwall’s most famous attractions.
Location: Eden Project, Cornwall
Get a fix at the London Coffee Festival
Master your latte art and sample some of the best small batch and specialist coffee at the city’s annual Coffee Festival in March.
Location: Brick Lane, London
