The Cotswolds is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat that is quarried for the golden-coloured Cotswold stone. The predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, towns, stately homes and gardens featuring the local stone.
Castle Combe, a Cotswolds village with buildings made of Cotswold stone
Bibury, a characteristic Cotswold village
Row houses of Cotswold stone in Broadway, Worcestershire. The quaint buildings of the village attract numerous tourists.
Broadway row houses of Cotswold stone
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England in the United Kingdom. It consists of the counties of Cornwall, Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and large towns in the region include Bath, Bristol, Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Exeter, Gloucester, Plymouth and Swindon. It is geographically the largest of the nine regions of England with a land area of 9,203 square miles (23,836 km2), but the third-least populous, with approximately 5.7 million residents.
Image: Clifton Suspension Bridge 2
Image: Castle combe river
Image: Stonehenge 2007 07 30
Image: Newquay Cornwall IMG 7747
