Celebrating 60 years in style

The Cotswolds National Landscape team was thrilled to share the celebrations for 60 years of official designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on 15th August 2026.

Throwing open the doors to the spectacular Parabola Arts Centre, the team welcomed around 200 guests, for a sunny afternoon of conversation, exhibition, creative mark-making, and a film screening and hosted panel Q&A session.

The summer celebration event was to champion the Cotswolds National Landscape and the voices of people who work most closely with it: farmers and
land managers, rural communities, ecologists, and others. It explored the hard work, knowledge, and resilience interwoven with one of the country’s most iconic landscapes.

Over 80% of the Cotswolds is counted as agricultural land, and it’s easy to see how this place has been shaped over thousands of years by farming and people.
But the celebration wasn’t about nostalgia. It was about connection; about a place adapting, questioning, and quietly reshaping itself. It explored what it means to learn from the past while preparing for the future.

Many different versions of the Cotswolds exist at the same time. The summer celebration event invited people to look beyond the ‘postcard’ version – and to understand the people and practices that keep our countryside alive – over the last 60 years, into the next six decades, and beyond.

A bustling drinks reception was accompanied by delicious canapes freshly prepared by Anna Arnell of The Travelling Kitchen. Anna placed an emphasis on using nutritious, high quality produce sourced from within the Cotswolds. Ingredients were ordered from farmers supplying organically or regeneratively grown produce. Almost all the ingredients used came from within a 30 mile radius of Cheltenham – many of them produced by people who feature in the Cotswolds: Field & Folk film.

The photographic exhibition shone a light on the work of the Cotswolds National Landscape team, much of it in partnership with others, as well as sharing some of the iconic special qualities of the Cotswolds and showcasing the wonderful people who feature in the Cotswolds: Field & Folk film.

The creative mark-making project invited all guests to be inspired by what was around them and explore their own creativity. With no right or wrong approach, people were invited to leave their own mark on the afternoon – having reflected on themes relating to the landscape, the work of the CNL team, and the documentary film.

The film screening itself, and the following Q&A session hosted by broadcaster Jo Durrant, were very well received. The film prompted a number of questions from the audience, and well as compliments about its production values, its showcasing of the Cotswolds National Landscape, and its celebration of the people who feature in it. Much was discussed during the Q&A including climate, water retention and drought, the hot and dry summer of 2026, and the many pressures facing our local national landscape.

Our tremendous thanks to everyone who attended the afternoon, and to all those involved in the behind the scenes planning and running of the event.

2026 isn’t over yet, but here’s to the next 60 years of the Cotswolds National Landscape!