The Cotswolds are hilly rather than mountainous - the highest point being little more than 1,000 feet above sea level. Officially designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Cotswold landscape is an entrancing mixture of parkland, cultivated fields with dry-stone walls of jurassic limestone, and patches of unspoiled woodland. Stone-built also are almost all of the cottages, farmhouses, villages, and small towns that the route passes. The Cotswold Way is also a walk through English history, passing prehistoric hill forts, ancient burial barrows, Saxon and Civil War battle sites, as well as fine stately homes.

The Cotswolds became wealthy during the 17th century, due to the wool trade, and the fine stone houses and churches are a symbol of that era.  The industrial revolution seemed to bypass the region, and the Cotswolds today are still a very affluent part of Britain.