About the Cotswolds
The Cotswolds is a large, beautiful and rural constituency, 65 miles long by 45 miles at the widest point.
Towns include Cirencester, the largest town, as well as Andoversford, Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden, Fairford, Lechdale, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold, Tetbury and Wotton-under-Edge.
Within this big constituency is the largest of Britain’s 41 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a distinction which reflects the imagery most commonly associated with the Cotswolds: lovely countryside characterised by rolling hills and unique towns and villages. The area is enormously popular with tourists, who enjoy the market towns constructed of beautiful Cotswold stone. Tourism overtook agriculture as the largest single employer several years ago.
The Cotswolds has the highest number of listed buildings of any constituency in the UK. It also contains eight of the 20 most popular attractions within Gloucestershire, including the Westonbirt Arboretum, Hidcote Manor and the Chedworth Roman Villa.
Agriculture remains an important industry in the Cotswolds, and Cirencester is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, one of the most widely respected agricultural colleges in the world.
Other important insitutions include the Campden Food & Research Centre, and the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh.
