cotswolds

The cotswolds are very popular with both local and foreign tourists. there is no part of the Cotswolds without tourists- thats how they make their money. Probably the smaller the village the fewer tourists, but thats just a gamble. The chances are that wherever you choose you will be among tourists, however, i have found that the majority will tend to be from England

I went to the Cotswolds in late May of 2008 and there were very few tourists in any of the towns. It may depend on the time of year that you go.....or it may be that I went at a time when everyone's economies were beginning to tank and no one was traveling anyway.

Thanks but by circular walks I mean walks of no less than 6 miles out into the courntry from a town and back.

While in the Cotswolds in 2007, we stayed in Chipping Campden. It was a beautiful village, and not drowning in tourists (at least in comparison to Stratford upon Avon, for example). Since the Cotswolds region is pretty small, you can pretty much pick your town to stay in as long as you have access to a car and/or public transport.

We were in the Cotswolds yesterday and I can say without hesitation to avoid Bourton on the Water at any cost. Totally overrun with coach traffic and not enjoyable at all. On the other hand, we thoroughly enjoyed Chipping Campden and Bibury. While in Bibury we met a local couple who recommended the Slaughters (Upper and Lower) too. We weren't able to get there so I can't say from personal experience.

If you are in the area of Stow, both Upper and lower Swell and Upper and Lower Slaughter are worth the visit- no shops, so they get below average tourist traffic; Stow itself is extremely popular and its tough finding parking on weekends- the hotels have good rputation. Bourton on the water (as mentioned above) is very cutesy so gets lots of tourists

My favorite memory of the Cotswolds last year was in Lower Slaughter...a mother and daughter on horseback stopping in the stream to allow their horses a drink of water. No tourists, quiet and peaceful, a true Kodak moment.

Just stayed in a small Cotswold town called Birdlip, at the Royal George Inn. Delightful small town and inn. Seemed to be mostly locals in the pub. Priceless glimpses of everyday life as you walked around, or even just sitting at breakfast looking out on the passersby. Beautiful area!

Thanks to all. Very helpful.

And let me add Naunton, where there is a terrific pub called the Black Horse. Good food and the best beer in England, Donnington's SBA. (Donnington's was CAMRA's brewer of the year last year, so don't just take my word for it.) They have a few rooms, too, for ramblers doing walking tours of the Cotswolds.

On second thought, forget the Black Horse. I don't want to have to fight the tourist crowds to get my usual pint there. (OK Mary, just for you, go there. But don't tell anyone else...)

If you want to visit Bourton on the Water, I'd agree with skipping it during the day. But if you're staying in a nearby town, I'd recommend taking a walk there in the evening after all the day trippers and tour buses have left. It's a very pretty town - once it's emptied out at night. I love the walk from Stow through the Slaughters to Bourton - about 4 miles one-way, so it might be a big further than you're looking for, but it's a lovely area.

What time of year are you going? We were there in September, got great hotel rates (show them your RS book for a discount), and saw very few tourists. This is the cotswolds, however, so they will be there. We stayed in Chipping Campden, and visited tons of surrounding hamlets. A local cheese shop suggested that I must visit Bourton on the Water, because it's so quaint! In the cotswolds, where everything is quaint! It cracked me up, so we had to visit (we did, it was exceedingly quaint, and relatively uncrowded in September). Broadway was a bit crowded, but there were a lot of shops to explain it. Most of the hamlets are adorable, and you can ignore the tourists if you're not in peak season. If you are, ignore them anyway because the cotswolds are worth exploring.

Last week we were in Bourton. We went to Bourton-on-the-water after 5 PM and there was absolutely no crowd. We loved the place. We also liked Stow-on-the-vold.