The Cotswolds is the quintessence of rural England, stretching about 100 miles between Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon and marked on its western side by a steep slope called the Cotswold Edge. Sheep graze in the fields, as they have for centuries; wool was the key commodity here in the Middle Ages, and almost every once-prosperous town in the region has a Sheep Street and an impressive church or cathedral built with the industry's profits. Most of the villages are constructed from the local honey-colored stone and have preserved their character despite being unabashedly devoted to tourism.

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Location: Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Oxfordshire, England