Golden Hills, Golden Stone: The Story of The Cotswolds

Today, the Cotswolds are famous around the world, as can be seen from the number of celebrities making their homes here.  They are a brand which commands instant recognition.  This, however, is a recent phenomenon, and visitors from past centuries – such as the journalist and contrarian William Cobbett – did not take anything like such a favourable view.  The change came with the Arts and Crafts Movement, many of whose leading lights loved the round-shouldered hills, villages of honey-coloured stone and old-fashioned rural ways.  

In this episode, Clive and John discuss the combination of history, architecture and geology that make the Cotswolds so special.   And they look at some of the individuals whose passion for an unchanging English countryside led them to preserve and enhance the area.  The Cotswolds that are now so widely loved were in many ways their creation – we see them through their eyes.