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The Cotswolds Conservation Board has developed an online survey to find out what you think makes the Cotswolds special and what you would like to see happen in the future to manage inevitable change in the Cotswold landscape.

Click here to take part in the online survey.

Sheep & Wool Day, the woolly family event is returning to the Cotswolds Discovery Centre in Northleach this Bank Holiday Monday (1 May) from 10:30am to 4pm.

Organisers have planned another action packed family day celebrating all things woolly!

Meet the Cotswold Lion sheep in the grassy courtyard and see how their wool is spun and made into beautiful fabrics. Their wool known as the ‘Golden Fleece’ was an important export. It not only played a major role in the development of many Cotswold towns and villages, but also in the finances of the nation. Sadly times have changed, and they are now classified as a rare breed, but a great treat to see!

The Cotswold Lions will be joined by a herd Huacaya alpacas from the Cotswold Alpacas Farm at Cowley. There will be wool themed demonstrations throughout the day by the Northleach Spinners and Weavers and Cotswold Handweaver Rebecca Connelly who will be loom weaving. The forge will be open to watch our blacksmith in action and learn about the essential role blacksmithing played in the Cotswolds.

Lechlade Craft Barn will have plenty of craft activities for children to do and make and take home.

Seven Mile Cookery & Events will be on site with their trendy horse box with locally source burgers and chips, and the team at the Cotswold Lion Café will be serving tasty lunches, cream teas and cakes.

Stalls include: The Cotswold Wool Company, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Cirencester & District Beekeepers, Wooden Heart Designs, Pie & Mighty Pies, Beverly Todd Glass, Lazystorm.com, and the Chipping Norton Amateur Astronomy Group.

Entertainment will be provided by the Wychwayz Border Morris Dancers and Chipping Campden’s very own folk group ‘Brimstone’ with performances throughout the day!

For more information please click here or visit the Cotswolds Discovery Centre on Facebook.
 

To crown the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) the Cotswolds Conservation Board is hosting a public art exhibition at the Corinium Museum, Cirencester from 13 January to 5 February 2017.

Open to amateur and professional artists from within and beyond the Cotswolds, the exhibition showcases works in a variety of medium and genres inspired by the Cotswold landscape.

We welcome paintings, sculpture, photography, textiles, ceramics, glass, mosaics and digital art.

You can submit your work by going to the following website www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk/inspired

Deadline for submissions is 18 November 2016 at 5pm.

Following the submission deadline a panel of art professionals will look at each submission and will select a mix of works that capture all that is inspired by the Cotswold landscape.

The art professionals are: Beth Alden, CEO of New Brewery Arts Centre, Steven Parissien, Director of Compton Verney, Liz Eyre, Chairman of the Cotswolds Conservation Board and Cotswold artist Alexandra Woods.

You can submit a maximum of two works, for a supporting fee of £25.00. There is no charge for those who are currently studying on a full or part time course. Please include details of your course and your college or training provider in your submission details.

For more information about submitting works or about the exhibition please contact Chris Brant on 01451 862003 or visit www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk/inspired.

The Cotswolds Conservation Board’s Chairman Liz Eyre has completed walking the 102 mile Cotswold Way National Trail marking the 50^th anniversary of the Cotswolds as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Liz, began the golden anniversary walk in March from outside Bath Abbey and completed the walk in ten stages over seven months along the Cotswold escarpment, through picturesque villages and past famous ancient sites, reaching Chipping Campden in early October.  She was joined by members and staff from the Cotswolds Conservation Board, walking groups, local residents and the Board’s own Cotswold Voluntary Wardens.

Liz says that the anniversary walk has enabled her to rediscover the variety of landscapes that make up parts of the AONB: “In addition to celebrating all that our designation means, especially in this the 50th anniversary year, the walk offered me many other opportunities. I was able to meet and thank those that are our voluntary arm working tirelessly in many ways for the accessibility of the Cotswolds. I reconnected with the variety of landscapes that make up the area. I fell in love with many of our views.

I was surprised at the extent of the variety of people from other countries, drawn to what we hold so dear. I learnt even more about our individual landscapes The flora and fauna, wild flowers – woodland and meadow, bird life and butterflies seemed to be out in great numbers as I passed by.

Most surprisingly the landscape came alive, through interpretation and features left behind, as I clambered over hill forts and encampments, passed burial grounds, great houses, ecclesiastical and civil features. The whole journey was physically and mentally enriching a lesson I hope passed on to others via the BBC Radio Gloucestershire coverage.”

Liz is raising funds for caring for the Cotswolds AONB and there is still time to do your bit by donating.

If you would like to donate £5 to help support the Cotswolds Conservation Board in caring for the Cotswolds simply text ‘COTS 01 £5’ to 70070.

You can find out more about the Cotswolds AONB and other 50^th anniversary events and projects by visiting www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk/50

New book on the landscapes of the Cotswolds, its architecture, customs and culture. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of Britain’s largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Photographed by Nick Turner, written by Siân Ellis and designed by Nick Darien-Jones, it breaks new boundaries in creative photographic art, writing and design. There has been no other book on the Cotswolds quite like this one.

Here is quintessential rural England at its most idyllic, from the thrilling western escarpment and beech woods to historic estates and golden-stone villages built in the famous limestone that gives the area its unique harmony.

Captured in a feast of images, the landscape slowly reveals its stories: etched on rolling hills and in fields and hidden valleys by those whose presence lingers in Neolithic long barrows and Roman villas, grand churches and manor houses that echo the wealth of the medieval wool trade.

Designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1966, the Cotswolds is among the country’s most cherished places to live, work and visit: alive with colourful and rare flora and fauna, inspiring artists and writers, and bursting with eccentric traditions. Innovation is intrinsic to its character just as much as enchanting, timeless scenes.

This book – captivatingly photographed, exquisitely designed and sensitively written – celebrates what makes the Cotswolds so special, coaxing out its secrets and inviting you to look again and again at this muchloved, precious landscape.

Specifications:

96-page, 238mm (deep) x 247mm (wide) case bound hardback. 169 full-colour photographs, 3 black and white photographs, 7 monochrome illustrations and 3 maps.

ISBN 978-1-902487-08-3
Retail price: £14.99

The book can be purchased for £14.99 from the Cotswolds Discovery Centre in Northleach and all good book shops across the Cotswolds.

You can also purchase the book online by clicking here.