Countryside

Almost every house outside the big cities is in walking distance of green fields and woods.

Farming and forestry are important industries

Horseriding and walking are also important to the local economy

Conservation groups are vigorously supported throughout the area

The Cotswolds are an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty. They are not strictly a range of hills, but the broken edge of a plateau.

The Cotswold Way, one of the first and most well-known long distance footpaths in England, runs through the full length of the area, from Winchcombe in the far North to Wotton-under-Edge in the far South.

Several other long-distance footpaths cross the area.

Despite its natural beauty, the area has been allowed to be disfigured by the erection of a wind turbine.

But the Cotswold Way is not the only footpath - they are everywhere, and rightly so. The River Severn even has its own footpath, the Severn Way. But the other magnet for hikers, walkers and casual strollers is the Forest Of Dean.

The Forest Of Dean is a National Forest Park. This designation does no justice to the incredible variety of landscape, both natural, industrial and post-industrial. You never know what is round the next corner: a sombre wood, a breathtaking view, a hidden village, a Roman iron mine... The Forest is impossible to summarise.

Yet it has no monopoly on trees: woodland is found throughout the area. The woods are very varied: you can walk from oakwoods, through beech, into ash or birch, past a carpet of wild daffodils, and back to oak, all within a quarter of an hour. Consequently, much of it is protected in some way.

Although many woods are privately owned, especially east of the Severn, access is generous. Footpaths and bridle paths are everywhere

The woods are not just valued for their beauty; they are also an important local crop and their maintenance provides some employment.

The conifer woods are mostly harvested for timber. Deciduous woods are harvested for timber, but also some are coppiced for poles. As traditional methods of building and craftsmanship are coming back into fashion, so once neglected coppices are beginning to return to traditional methods of harvesting.