Читать книгу Cycling in the Cotswolds. 21 half and full-day cycle routes, and a 4-day 200km Tour of the Cotswolds онлайн

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Birdwatchers may get frequent sightings of the red kite, or a more commonplace buzzard circling overhead. Skylarks warble high in the sky, with swallows performing acrobatic displays at a lower altitude, and herons can sometimes be seen on the banks of canals and rivers.

Ancient beech woodland can be found along the scarp slopes near Winchcombe; other common trees throughout the Cotswolds include oak, ash, hawthorn, willow, maple and hazel. Traditionally these (willow in particular) were coppiced or pollarded.

The fields near Snowshill (Route 22) are transformed when the lavender comes out in late summer

In spring, pungent white flowers of wild garlic or a blue-purple carpet of bluebells (often both together) cover the floors of limestone woodlands. Come summer, prolific wildflowers such as blue meadow cranesbill (wild geraniums) and orchids, and common buttercups and daisies, adorn the grassy verges. In fields, green or golden cereals and the bright yellow of oil-seed rape are commonplace, with two less-common crops being the purple flowers of flax and lavender. If you’re lucky you may see bright splashes of red where poppies have grown among the crops.