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Original poster

AIBU to think the Cotswolds are over-rated?

93 replies

Shoezembagsforever · 30/03/2025 18:02

We went for a lovely long lunch with friends yesterday near Little Tew in the Cotswolds and then walked/drove around Great Tew and Woodstock before going home. I live in a town in East Sussex and go regularly to the countryside there. I’d actually never been to the Cotswolds though and was really excited as it’s become so popular.

I was actually disappointed though - the countryside seemed bleaker and flatter than East Sussex, but what bothered me most is that almost all the old houses we passed had been cleaned up so much that they looked a bit like dull beige new builds. In contrast the lovely old villages in East Sussex like Firle, Ditchling and Alfriston still look old and have character - it makes a huge difference.

OP posts:
ImAChangeling · 30/03/2025 23:10

It’s just English countryside on the prettier end of the scale, with jaw droppingly expensive farm shops. Pretty and undramatic landscapes. Some nice gastro pubs. If you already live in the English countryside, it probably isn’t going to move your heart, compared to a city dweller.

HeySnoodie · 30/03/2025 23:07

You were near Woodstock which isn’t what I consider the Cotswolds.

Traceysgoingtobelivid · 30/03/2025 23:04

I absolutely love the Cotswolds, particularly the north, I always spend a week around Christmas there, you have visited the wrong villages I don’t recognise them as the Cotswolds at all, Broadway is stunning, straight out of a picture book, would love to buy a little cottage in Chipping Campden when I retire.

Squirrelsnut · 30/03/2025 23:02

I live on the fringe of the Cotswolds and I think much of it is incomparably pretty. But I don't much like treeless, rugged landscapes.

uncomfortablydumb60 · 30/03/2025 22:56

I was just going to add the places you mentioned aren’t the quintessential villages of the Cotswolds everyone thinks of.
For me, it’s Chipping Campden, with its honey coloured stone. Lovely
i was born and bred in Bath, and exh was from Malmesbury which is on the borders
i I wouldn’t want to live in the Cotswolds, being a non driver but nice for a day trip.

Lemons1571 · 30/03/2025 22:45

Great Tew is not in the Cotswolds.

The three towns / villages mentioned are not representative of the picturesque Cotswolds. The landscape around the Tews is gently sloping hills, and the villages are not that aesthetically pleasing or stand out gorgeous. They are handily located for the motorway though, so referred to as a Cotswold getaway even though they are officially outside of the AONB.

Titasaducksarse · 30/03/2025 22:11

Shoezembagsforever · 30/03/2025 22:08

Ah. I see now. Everyone (from London anyway lol) talks about SohoFH being in the Cotswolds. I guess it’s not!

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It is in the Cotswolds I'd argue...right by Great Tew

Original poster
Shoezembagsforever · 30/03/2025 22:08

MarioLink · 30/03/2025 21:54

You weren't in the right bit. The Slaughters, Bourton, Stanway, Broadway, Bibury etc are straight out a storybook or a Christmas jigsaw.

Ah. I see now. Everyone (from London anyway lol) talks about SohoFH being in the Cotswolds. I guess it’s not!

OP posts:
Redpeach · 30/03/2025 22:06

Shoezembagsforever · 30/03/2025 21:05

Yes we went to Soho Farmhouse! Our friends are really lovely but, well, SohoFH is like all other Soho’s - 95% shallow posers. But at least the city based clubs are generally gorgeous spaces - this one had a lovely central restaurant and bar area, but the accommodation huts were looking tired, and our friends said it’s actually cheaper and far nicer to stay in a nearby Airbnb and just use all the amenities at Soho.

Show quote history

So you are a regular at these places full of 'shallow' people 🤔

MarioLink · 30/03/2025 21:54

You weren't in the right bit. The Slaughters, Bourton, Stanway, Broadway, Bibury etc are straight out a storybook or a Christmas jigsaw.

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2025 21:35

Shoezembagsforever · 30/03/2025 21:24

Erm yes, sadly Brighton is in decline, but Hove is gorgeous!

Show quote history

Hove actually. But it’s not as pretty as the Cotswolds, no matter how you spin it.

Original poster
Shoezembagsforever · 30/03/2025 21:24

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2025 21:16

I never say this on mn but do bore off. I recently spent a time on Brighton. It was a shot hole. So…

Erm yes, sadly Brighton is in decline, but Hove is gorgeous!

OP posts:
JazzyBBBG · 30/03/2025 21:24

I go to the Cotswolds and East Sussex fairly regularly due to family. Much prefer the Cotswolds. Prettier, better pubs, better roads. East Sussex has some pretty areas but trying to find a pub/hotel that's not insane price or alternatively pretty grim is hard and the roads literally terrify me.

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2025 21:16

I never say this on mn but do bore off. I recently spent a time on Brighton. It was a shot hole. So…

MissSookieStackhouse · 30/03/2025 21:10

The Cotswolds is a huge area! It stretches from the Midlands almost as far south as Bath and from Gloucestershire to Oxfordshire! Seeing one little tiny little bit of it and saying it’s over rated is bonkers. If you went to say, Bexhill, would that sum up literally everything that East Sussex has to offer?

Ilovelurchers · 30/03/2025 21:07

I agree - I used to live near there and found it over priced and a bit twee to be honest.

I'd rather go to the Lake District myself. Or somewhere in Wales. And a lot of places in Worcestershire are nicer I think too.

However, everyone's tastes are different - I know many people love it.

Sorry your day was a bit of a let down though.....

Titasaducksarse · 30/03/2025 21:07

It is a pretty area but the people who live there are incredibly unfriendly if you move from outside the area (personal experience).
Also unless you're dressed in pastel corduroy trousers you'll never fit in😂

Original poster
Shoezembagsforever · 30/03/2025 21:05

Nourishinghandcream · 30/03/2025 20:50

If you were in The Tews, did you go to Soho?
Seems to be the "go to" place to be seen in but is actually a bit of a dump and as PP's have pointed out, not in the Cotswolds at all.

Love the Cotswolds, was born nearby and now live there although the area is vast so a simple generalisation based on places close to the edge of (but not actually in) the Cotswolds is a bit thin.

Yes we went to Soho Farmhouse! Our friends are really lovely but, well, SohoFH is like all other Soho’s - 95% shallow posers. But at least the city based clubs are generally gorgeous spaces - this one had a lovely central restaurant and bar area, but the accommodation huts were looking tired, and our friends said it’s actually cheaper and far nicer to stay in a nearby Airbnb and just use all the amenities at Soho.

OP posts:
MidnightPatrol · 30/03/2025 21:00

I think what it’s really known for isn’t the scenery per se (I agree it’s like much of the UK), but it’s many ‘chocolate box’ villages - and that so many ‘naice’ places have opened up there.

Onafp · 30/03/2025 20:56

Blimey

BitOutOfPractice · 30/03/2025 20:51

You know that’s the colour of the stone there right? I mean I realise you’re from the Sussex tourist board but even so…

Nourishinghandcream · 30/03/2025 20:50

If you were in The Tews, did you go to Soho?
Seems to be the "go to" place to be seen in but is actually a bit of a dump and as PP's have pointed out, not in the Cotswolds at all.

Love the Cotswolds, was born nearby and now live there although the area is vast so a simple generalisation based on places close to the edge of (but not actually in) the Cotswolds is a bit thin.

billysboy · 30/03/2025 20:50

Off to Burford at the weekend so will let you know then

DrCoconut · 30/03/2025 20:43

Overtheatlantic · 30/03/2025 20:19

Woodstock is Oxford which isn’t the Cotswolds.

I found Oxford itself very bleak with a really weird, slightly creepy vibe that I didn't like at all. I rarely want to leave a place and not go back but Oxford had that effect on me.

Bichette · 30/03/2025 20:39

I dont think Gloucester and Forest of Dean are in the Cotswolds AONB.