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AIBU?

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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:
Fluffyholeysocks · 30/03/2025 18:19

The cotswolds cover a large area - did you go to Bibury, the Slaughters, Snowshill, Bourton or Broadway?

BrokenLine · 30/03/2025 18:21

Fluffyholeysocks · 30/03/2025 18:19

The cotswolds cover a large area - did you go to Bibury, the Slaughters, Snowshill, Bourton or Broadway?

This. I used to do a lot of poking around Cotswold churches when I had a mild obsession with medieval wall paintings. One of the Slaighters had a lovely fragment, I think.

I walked the Cotswold Way years ago, too, and have a lovely time.

Pancakeflipper · 30/03/2025 18:22

I think it's pretty (we were based near Bourton) but I'm not itching to go back.

It's the Peaks/Dales/Lakes/Lochs for me

Lemons1571 · 30/03/2025 18:23

None of those towns are in the Cotswolds AONB.

mysecretshame · 30/03/2025 18:24

I love the Cotswolds.
So many pretty villages.
I've never been to Great Tew, never even heard of it in fact.
I have been to Woodstock, I didn't even think that was in the Cotswolds.
Other places in the UK are also lovely, but I think you need to spend a bit more time in Cotswolds before writing it off as over-rated.

XWKD · 30/03/2025 18:26

When you describe it as bleak, it makes me want to go. I love those landscapes.

Suzuki76 · 30/03/2025 18:28

I thought it was more hyped up as a place to live rather than visit. Most of the towns on the A429 are very similar. Pretty, but you've seen it in an hour. I live just on the edge and it's a nice place to raise kids.

mysecretshame · 30/03/2025 18:32

Suzuki76 · 30/03/2025 18:28

I thought it was more hyped up as a place to live rather than visit. Most of the towns on the A429 are very similar. Pretty, but you've seen it in an hour. I live just on the edge and it's a nice place to raise kids.

Edited

Unlikely to see it in an hour in the summer. It takes that long to find a parking space!

Thwart · 30/03/2025 19:32

Yes, it’s awful. Stay away. Grin

I’m not very familiar with the places you mention but I have lived in the Cotswolds all my life and I find the touristy places like Bibury and B on the W frankly a bit grim and tawdry. You don’t have to go far off the beaten path to find some lovely gems though.

Having said that, even my out-of-the-way village has lost a lot of its character and charm. Houses get bought and “modernised” with an eye to the best possible taste, all box balls and festoon lights. It’s not the fault of the people who buy them, it’s just the way it is. Rural life as we like to imagine it has been in terminal decline since the Industrial Revolution.

Lemoneytrousers · 30/03/2025 19:38

None of those are in the Cotswolds. Perfectly nice villages/town but not the Cotswolds.

Biffbaff · 30/03/2025 19:55

Woodstock is hardly the Cotswolds.

weshallovercomeaswevedonebefore · 30/03/2025 19:57

I agree - it’s ok, but that’s about it. Overrated.

IntermittentFarting · 30/03/2025 20:05

I don’t recognise those place names, MIL lived in the Cotswolds and her little village was stunning. As was the larger village her DB lived in, picture perfect. I really loved the area.

Serpentstooth · 30/03/2025 20:06

Flatter? Did you lose your way? Some of the most beautiful countryside, and extensive panoramic views, to be found. YABU

Vye1988 · 30/03/2025 20:13

Not overrated but maybe just not for you, or you went to the wrong places. I love pottering about quaint, quirky villages and towns, going in and out of local shops and nice walks so enjoy the Cotswolds. It is absolutely fine that you did not enjoy it, but that does not make it overrated (I also live in the countryside and am blessed with lovely local places to visit)

Overtheatlantic · 30/03/2025 20:19

Woodstock is Oxford which isn’t the Cotswolds.

Els1e · 30/03/2025 20:28

I agree. Really like the Cotswolds. I've got family in Bath, Forest of Dean and Gloucester, so know it reasonably well. Would I want to move there? No..I've visited other parts of UK which are more interesting

Bichette · 30/03/2025 20:34

Some parts of Oxfordshire are definitely in the Cotswolds. It’s a very big area.

Bichette · 30/03/2025 20:39

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

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.

billysboy · 30/03/2025 20:50

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

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.

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…

Onafp · 30/03/2025 20:56

Blimey

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.