The Cotswolds Black Book

The Cotswolds are, of course, synonymous with English country charm—the sheep-dotted rolling hills, the butterscotch-colored stone cottages and historic houses inhabited by the same families for centuries, the pubs where you can eat roast pork and crackling with a pint beside a roaring fire. But what we didn’t expect when we reached out to our friends and network who live there—many of whom uprooted themselves and their families from London after falling in love with the region—were their endorsements of the thriving creative energy and community that has formed around food, craft, hospitality and retail that more than equals the caught-in-time vibes. In short, old and new mix easily here—a “Designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty” spanning 800 sq. miles across six counties, mainly Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. And summertime sounds especially magical: swimming in a freezing river at golden hour; village life humming with dog shows, pony clubs, and circus tents; estates opening their gates for garden tours; and villages bustling with farmers and antiques markets. 

Since it’s a region where the best discoveries are strictly word of mouth, we tapped several friends and contacts who live in different parts of the Cotswolds, and asked them to lean into their greatest interests. A big thank you to Team Cotswolds, below! 

Amanda Brooks is a writer, creative director, and the former fashion director of Barneys NY, who traded New York City for life on a farm in Oxfordshire with her husband and their two kids more than a decade ago. The author of books I Love Your Style, Always Pack a Party Dress, and Farm From Home, she also helmed the country lifestyle shop and brand Cutter Brooks from 2018 to 2025. She is currently plotting her next chapter. (Hear about it by signing up for her newsletter!)

Carole Bamford, the founder of Daylesford Organic, has been a champion of sustainable, mindful living for over 40 years, driven by her profound belief that we need to work in harmony with nature. As the founder of Daylesford Organic, she is recognised as a visionary in organic farming and food retail. What began as a collection of empty barns and fields has grown to become one of the UK’s most sustainable organic farms, and an extensive collection of pubs and cottages in the Cotswolds. 

Duncan Campbell is the co-founder of art and design atelier Campbell-Rey. Working fluently between residential and commercial interiors, furniture design and artistic projects, his work is a celebration of conviviality, colour, and exceptional craftsmanship. Luke Edward Hall is an artist, designer and columnist whose philosophy is shaped by his love of storytelling, nature and fantasy. He’s also the creative director of Chateau Orlando, a clothing and homewares brand, the author of three books, and a weekly columnist for FT Weekend. They began renting a cottage on the edge of an estate bordering Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire in 2019 after many years in London, having fallen in love with its views across fields and a valley.

Fiona Howden, is a committed steward of sustainable rural living and co-manager of Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire, where she and her husband, David Howden, have practiced regenerative agriculture since moving to the Cotswolds in 2017. Under her guidance, the estate has grown from a small kitchen garden into a thriving enterprise producing high-quality beef, lamb, pork, and vegetables—all rooted in biodiversity and soil health.

Lily Atherton Hanbury, the co-founder & creative director of Le Monde Béryl, is based in West Oxfordshire, where she creates some of our favorite shoes inspired by classic shapes, from gondolier slippers to riding boots. She says, “Fifteen years ago, when I was pregnant with my second child, Birdie, we rented a cottage in the Cotswolds through the Gifford family of Giffords Circus. What started as a temporary escape from London reminiscent of Withnail and I has become our life.”

James Priestley, the proprietor of William Crabtree & Sons, is the great-great-great-grandson of the original William Crabtree, who started his eponymous Yorkshire mill in 1835, and oversees the menswear and tailoring house, originally from its flagship in Marylebone. Seven years ago, he moved from London to a village near Burford in the Cotswolds, where he lives with his wife, two young sons and black labrador, and just opened a second store last month. 

Katharine Sohn, is a travel and lifestyle journalist who began her career at Condé Nast Traveller, where she honed her eye for detail and love of under-the-radar places. She now contributes to AD, British Vogue, House & Garden and Monocle, among others, while creatively collaborating with brands in the travel and design space. Once London-based, she now lives in a tiny village in the Cotswolds, in a charming stone cottage where tractors and combine harvesters often pass by her window.

Harry Llewellyn and his brother Edge are the proprietors of Stancombe Park, a private late-Georgian estate unchanged for 200+ years and famed for its lakes, tunnels, grotto and ice-house. Their grandparents bought the property—with 300 acres of rolling parkland and woodlands—and they have been restoring houses and barns on it to rent. We learned of it from our friend Gael Towey, who wrote about her stay, and noted that in addition to opening their own grounds (which include a Doric Temple that inspired “Brideshead Revisited”), the brothers organize guided tours to the very best of Cotswolds’ heritage and hidden gardens, rich in architectural variety and hosted by their owners. 

Tim Yates moved to Charlbury in the North Cotswolds from London in 2019 with his wife, Anstice, an art consultant, and their one-year-old daughter. Now a father of three (two daughters and a son), he commutes to London, where he is a buyer and retail director at Trunk Clothiers.