Cotswolds..is it safe?

Are the Cotswolds safe? Yes.

Is luggage in a parked car at any tourist site (or anywhere!) an attraction for thieves? Yes.

Unfortunately that's the case these days.

I'm sorry that that happened to you in Roussillon, don't let it happen again in England!

You will see this sign occasionally in England at crime hotspots, or course it doesn't necessarily mean that it won't happen where you don't see this type of sign, as said don't leave anything on show in the car, I never do and I live in the countryside:
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/B08HD7/police-sign-warning-of-car-thieves-in-the-area-B08HD7.jpg

Wow - so sorry that happened. We visited Roussillon and you would think being such a small village with so many people around, that this crime wouldn't go unnoticed - but criminals wait for their opportunity and they only need a window of a minute for no one to be around and they pounce.

We were in Nimes last year and walked up the big hill for the view over the city and there was a car at the top with the driver's window busted out - all I could think was - oh my, someone left something in view and they aren't going to be happy when they get back. It's a shame and a hard lesson to learn.

From what I have read! the greatest danger in the Cotswolds is being attacked by a bull while you are crossing a field where one is pastured.

Crime is everywhere. Number one rule even in your own backyard is to never leave anything in the car where it is visible to thieves. We travel with one small carryon suitcase even in Europe so it always fits in the trunk of the car.

I don't think you need to worry to much in the Cotswolds. But you need to be aware at all times. Or you can stay at home.

The first thing to consider is the size of the car you rent. Will it be large enough to hold luggage in the trunk ( boot)? If not, if you cannot hide your stuff away properly, then (a) forego the walkabouts in small villages OR (b). Do the walkabouts and take your chances. What other recourse have you other than staying home?

According to Bill Bryson, you need to worry more about the cows than the bulls.

Lola and Ruth did you both read "The Road to Little Dribbling"?

Yes folks crime can occur anywhere. We humans can be gypsies, tramps and thieves. Hide your luggage in the boot of your car. Or find a village to stay in, leave the luggage in your room and do your walk abouts.

Unfortunate occurrence in France but let it go. Move forward and enjoy the lovely hills, dales, villages and walks found in the Cotswolds

I did read the Bryson book but I knew about the danger from cattle ( actually more often cows than bulls) long before I read the book. As someone who loves walking the footpaths in the UK, I stay aware of the hazards.

I did encounter a bull in a pasture while walking part of the Cotswold Way nearly 20 years ago---I don't know if they had the regulations then limiting the posturing of dairy breed bulls on public rights-of-way as they do now, but he was not a dairy breed and did have cows for company, so he was not particularly ornery. We gave him a wide berth and he ignored us.

Jen,

The Cotswolds is probably a bit safer than larger cities, but nowhere is absolutely 100% free of crime. I stayed in Stow-On-The-Wold on my last visit, and left the car in the car park behind the hotel with no problems at all. I felt it was a good idea to leave my luggage in the hotel room, so there was nothing of value in the car.

Try to rent a car with a proper trunk / boot so that luggage or other items is not visible (as with a hatchback). There are no firm guarantees, but that should help.

You shouldn't have any racial trouble in the Cotswolds as tourists.

If you were moving in as permanent residents, you might have some trouble...

Hi All,

thanks so much for all your inputs. Some of your comments about the cow and the bull cracks me up :D
I believe that the thief in Roussillon did not follow us for any racism reason but perhaps for something else that makes Asian tourists easier and well off targets. I realize when I use the term 'Asian' it might imply as a racism impression but that's not what I mean at all. In fact, we are always treated with warm welcome even by the locals in small villages. As Phillips posted we are only tourists after all, we bring money to the country, spread the greatness of that country and not even staying for long.

After the incident, lots of our friends came up with their stories as well including the recent 2 bus tours of tourists from my country that got hijacked. yup hijacked! all the luggages are taken even the coats BUT only the branded ones, the thieves left the non branded untouched! one incident happened in France (not sure which city but definitely big cities as normally tour buses do) and one happened in Norway. yup, Norway which we all thought the crime rate is one of the lowest in the world.

before the incident, the rule of thumb is do not leave anything insight which worked perfectly everytime we did that. but since the incident happened in a very small village, i do question that due to our physical look makes us an easier target too (as our friends also thought that the thief might see us first before what's in our car). we do want to believe what emma says that it's just an opportunistic act. honestly it's impossible not to travel without luggages in the car for some of the days.

i remembered last time we went to Berchtesgaden, Germany and I left my handbag in the car for 3 hours. we came back with the parking lot was at the fullest and everything's fine. now looking back i couldn't feel but think how crazy i was. living in a third world country with very high criminal rate does make us let our guards down but that won't stop us from travelling (bad luck could still happen everywhere) . this incident just make us the wiser and learn more about people :)

Hi Lola, Ruth G. and Norma
in regards to the bull and cows..that's actually my next concern. we definitely want to enjoy the pastures of Cotswolds (something that we rarely see and non existent in my city). we're thinking of pulling over the car (if possible) and enjoying the pasture but worried about any animals that we might need to be more cautious of (talking about watching too many Nat Geo channel :D). Is there any other animals that we need to be alerted of like foxes perhaps? what should we do if we encounter bulls and cows? what is the sign if they do not want us to be around?

We are just back from our England trip, and two weeks ago, we were in the Cotswolds.

Most crowded village we went to was Bourton-On-The-Water. But it was also the most beautiful, in my opinion. Other villages we went to included Snowshill, Chipping Campden, Broadway, and several others.

At no time did I feel that we were in any danger of being robbed. It's just not a feeling you get in the Cotswolds. The Cotswolds are so peaceful. But I still wouldn't leave valuables or luggage visible in the back seat of a vehicle. Just not a good idea.

You can forget any notion that you will be singled out as a target of crime because of your ethnic background. Most Cotswold towns are so quiet, any "shady" characters lurking about on the streets would be investigated immediately, it seems to me. An item stolen from a car is unfortunate, but it's not a violent crime. Mostly a crime of opportunity, when no one's looking.

Count me as one of the posters here who thinks the "Is it safe?" question all the time is getting out of hand.

Hi Rebecca,

that's the exact feel we had when we got robbed in Roussillon. Roussillon is a very small, quaint village in Provence, France. not any single suspicious looking person around. everyone seems either tourists or locals doing their local business. and even other tourists are very friendly too. we were having a blast within 1 hour time circling the village. after the incident, we went back to the dining place where we had lunch because we felt this mustn't be the first case, they might be aware who's at the back of this and could at least help us get our clothes and amenities back (there're only few valuables in the luggage such as laptops but no money). the thief could get things that they deem valuable to them but please not the whole luggages (i live in a developing country and there's no one here would think of robbing the whole suitcase, handbags yes). to cut it short, the owner of the restaurant seemed reluctant and even the lady in the back counter told the waitresses who could speak a bit English to get back to work immediately. very different hospitality shown. a good Samaritan who helped us was another tourist who could speak fluent English and French and he even helped us talking to the police. that is why since that incident, i would never take lightly any kind of place i visit regardless how quaint it is. in fact when we were in big cities such as Milan, we were much more aware that it's made us safer. we were followed by a guy in Milan and my hubby was bumped into by a guy (definitely pickpocket) but since we were cautious, we could dodge them. we were prepared of what to do. that's why i'd rather not taking lightly any info regardless it's a village or a big city now. learnt my lesson quite hard...

Jen, so sorry to hear about what happened to you! As you said, there are no guarantees anywhere that you will not be robbed. All I can say is, keep your valuables out of sight in the car if its in a car park. I hope you have a good experience in the Cotswolds, and a lot of fun.

There are one group of of people you do have to be wary of. I don't know if you want to call them a religion or a cult. They will be carrying these blue and gold books and they follow what is said in them to the letter. If you can get your hands on one of these books, it will tell you in what towns you will probably find them in. They tend to congregate in restaurants and pubs mentioned in this book but only those. The same goes for hotels.

Some will have bags with wheels and some will have convertible bags. The ones without the wheels tend to preach more to the ones with wheels about their choice in luggage.

You can tell the true diehard believers because they will start most sentences with "Rick says....."

They will not rob you or hurt you as long as you don't mention "Lonely Planet." or, heaven forbid, "Fodors."