Cotswolds village of Snowshill, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

© Gavin Hellier/robertharding/Getty Image

'Cot' in this town's charms. Cotswolds village of Snowshill, Gloucestershire, England

Honey-coloured buildings surrounded by lush greenery—this landscape has a rustic elegance to it. Nestled in central-southwest England, the Cotswolds are home to picturesque villages and towns like the one pictured here, Snowshill. The region, covering 787 square miles, is the largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From Beatrix Potter to Edward Thomas, many writers and poets have immortalised its pastoral setting over the centuries.

When dinosaurs roamed the Earth, this region was under a warm sea and now, it is known for the oolitic limestone that formed during the Jurassic period. Cotswold stones are rich in fossils and their colour varies in the shade of brown according to where it was quarried.