to wonder why the bloody hell people go on holiday to the Cotswolds?

[GatOwfMarLaaaandInnitBabe]

Or dream of moving there from London.

There is nothing special about it.

I can think of loads of places of the top of my head which have far more stunning scenery - vast majority of nothern Devon, the Quantocks, Peak district, north wales, yorkshire dales, dorset coast.

What's so good about the Cotswolds? Yes the houses are a lovely golden stone colour, and look at the lovely walls , but the towns are nondescript and TWEE and it costs a fortune for not very much.

It's just really mediocre imo. And I live here. Was driving round the Cotswolds today feeling like Victor Meldrew in my muttering complaints.

We are not far off cotswolds. The buildings are very pretty but I'm so bored... [cries]

We move from the Cotswolds this Friday!

Down to Dorset, so excited, just sick of being surrounded by boxes!

Mind you having said that it may be a place to escape to when I need a break. I have two of my own (10 and 6) and two foster children (12 and 5) at the mo. The Cotswold all on my own (With a litre of vod and a bed I can stay in for a weekend) seems a pretty good place to be right now. Roll on school on Wed!

I can shamefully admit I have no idea where the Cotswolds are

Yes I admit it, I live in the pleb end of Gloucesterhire. In a map of the Cotswolds we are very much OUTSIDE the strict Cotswold area. But am only 3 miles from the Cotswolds, is such a small poxy area you can drive across it in a day.

There are pretty places - Withington, Lechlade, Broadway, Swinbrook. But nice for an HOUR. Not a week, or a life.

Top of the commons are nice - Leckhampton, Rodborough etc. But look at the view and think where is the fucking SEA. Just fields. What a load of bollocks.

I just want to move, move, move.

Funnily enough I was driving past TGI's in Cheltenham yesterday and mentioned to my dh whether he thought people still went there (no-one I know has ever mentioned going to TGI's). So now I know who does.

Yep we live here. We're miserable fuckers. It's because we constantly have tourists staring in at our windows and can't buy a paper without tripping over weekenders with the Cath Kidson holdalls full of sandwiches and bon homie.

Well, I would go on holiday to the Cotswolds. I also live in a stunning part of Scotland, and l do like pretty English vlllages, with cream teas.
Don't know what it would be like to live there but I live in a village and I think most villages are the same.

I have been to Burford that's it. I believe that is the Cotswolds.

Even though I live in Chav Cotswold at the mo, I used to live in the nice bit (Cheltenham end). I hated that as well.

perhaps I am just a miserable moaning bastard

So why do you lot live here?

DHs job comes with free international flights. We've never been on holiday. I'm clinging to this fact grimly.

Fishtank, property porn = the sort of houses that you lust after and just stand outside mentally knocking down walls and arranging your bespoke furniture.

I miss Dorset and N Wales, can't beat them for scenery. But you can't beat the Cotswolds for unaffordable property. Would be significantly improved with a beach nearby.

sound like it. i love cheltenham and have lived in plenty other places, including the Caribbean, to compare it to.

We're at the other end, though 7 miles from the official 'gateway to the cotswolds' so close enough to Oxford that we can easily escape.

Burford's full of absolute bastards... Handy for the wildlife park though

Plus have got hay fever really bad now I live here.

It's all that yellow shit they grow in the fields.

Never had hay fever in Devon. The gale force winds blew all the pollen away.

I want to move to LONDON. NOW.

I got hayfever when we moved here too! It's not the rape-seed though (yellow shit) it's something else. I blame the trees.

sort of between stratford upon avon and stroud tetbury, think gloucestershire, a bit of oxfordshire and north wilts

Is it jareth? , I was amazed at the driver's accent. Really west country. I kept asking him if we moved to the cotswolds would my children have his accent? (not that we are thinking of moving there)

He drove particularly fast, LUCKILY he had grown up in the town so knew all the corners.

Bumper you are so right re property porn, there are some wonderful houses. Saw a house in Caudle Green which is the most perfect thing ever, if only it was 100 miles away.

Stranded - lol at the caribbean well I stand corrected

Yeah. Bastards. They're probably really really pissed off with all the tourists

Ah yes Bumper. I get where you are coming from. I think we spent a week doing just that because we couldn't find anything else to do. Kids were screaming not to go for a walk AGAIN. We decided to take them horse riding one day. It cost us over a hundred quid! And that was a few years ago.

But as I said a weekend in Bourton on The Water - on my own - at this moment seems about as idyllic as I can come up with. I cant afford the Seychelles see.

I went to burford and had a drink or two one night - got talking to a couple of lovely americans and then we brought a round of drinks between us. As the barmaid handed the change back she told us to drink up and then fuck off out of the pub well she could hav said before the round of drinks was purchased..

Wed di the americans asked if if that always happens in the uk?

We explained that no burford was just odd and the people are odd , that was the second time we had been asked to leave - the first was at coffee in the morning the cafe asked us to move on as they wanted to serve lunches - this was at 11.45am and we had only got in there at 11.30 - drink up and go

I have never been back

Like Mrs Keiths in Cirencester though

Cheltenham is the worst of both worlds.

Not a decent town, mediocre, parochial people, casual racism, laughable snobbery

But not really anywhere near decent coiuntryside to escape to.