The Cotswolds is a range of hills in central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England", a hilly area reaching over 300 m or 1000 feet. The area has been designated as the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The highest point in the Cotswolds is Cleeve Hill at 330m/1083ft.
The Cotswolds lie within the current ceremonial counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. The county of Gloucestershire forms the largest area of the Cotswolds.

• Transport The Cotswolds is ringed by the M5, M40 and M4 motorways, giving easy car access to the area. The main non-motorway roads through the area are the A46: Bath - Stroud - Cheltenham; the A419: Swindon - Cirencester - Stroud; the A429: Cirencester - Stow on the Wold - Moreton-in-Marsh; and the A40: Oxford - Burford - Cheltenham. These all roughly follow the routes of ancient roads, some laid down by the Romans, such as Ermin Street and the Fosse Way.
• The Cotswold Way is a long-distance footpath (approx 103 miles) running the length of the AONB, mainly on the edge of the Cotswold escarpement with good views over the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham.
• The Cotswolds were designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1966, with an expansion on 21 December 1990 to 1,990 square kilometres. In 1991 all AONBs were measured again using modern methods. The official area of the Cotswolds AONB increased to 2,038 square kilometres. In 2000 the government confirmed that AONBs had the same landscape quality and status as National Parks. 2006 is the 40th anniversary of The AONB.