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Discover the lush, rolling hills, pretty villages and rich history of the northern Cotswolds on this private, full-day tour with time to stop for lunch at a place of your choosing. With the help of an expert local guide you'll discover what makes the region so special and just why it was one of the wealthiest parts of the country in medieval times.

Discover a place seeming lost in time where thatched cottages, higgledy-piggledy almshouses and graceful old mansions and churches line narrow, winding streets. Learn about local history and customs, building methods and how the region has been influenced by the surrounding landscape and its livestock.

On the morning of your tour your driver-guide picks you up at your hotel and you set off to begin exploring the northern Cotswolds. As you drive your guide will expand on this region’s history, from Roman roads and ruins to its ancient wool trade, which accounted for half of England’s economy by the 15th century, to the various clashes of Parliamentarians and Royalists during the English Civil War.

The tour includes many of the well-known, quintessential Cotswold locations such as Burford, a village set along a steep hill that slopes down to the River Windrush in a flurry of wonky, half-timbered and stone buildings. You'll also visit Stow-on-the-Wold, an old market town filled with antique and souvenir shops, and Broadway, a handsome little place set at the foot of a steep escarpment.

After wandering around the main towns, continue on to a number of smaller villages and viewpoints, which are often only accessible by single-track roads. The tour explores these storybook villages full of tidy cottages, handsome churches and elaborate mansions. You will get a more complete overview of the region, from larger towns that cater to modern-day visitors to smaller villages that are seemingly untouched by the passage of time

If there's time, visit Broadway Tower, an ornate folly set on the second highest hill in the Cotswolds, which offers sweeping views over the Vale of Evesham and Chipping Campden, one of the more prosperous wool towns.

Chipping Campden has an arc of terraced houses dating from between the 14th and 17th centuries as well as a historic Market Hall and church. The town is also closely associated with the Arts and Crafts movement and the Court Barn near the church has a museum celebrating this legacy.

Your day ends with a drink at a 16th-century thatched pub in an archetypal English village, before being driven back to your hotel.