Long time Primrose Hill resident Mary “Queen of Shops” Portas has recently swapped London life for a country house in the lovely Slad Valley.
She has been anxious to point out that the house, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, is “not in the posho part” of the Cotswolds.
Without wishing to contradict the retail consultant and broadcaster, the social media clips she has shared of her Jacobean manor surrounded by glorious countryside does look exceedingly posh. But the underlying point she makes is fair.
When most people talk about the Cotswolds they mean its tiny northern tip, home to Victoria and David Beckham, Ellen DeGeneris and Portia De Rossi, Jeremy Clarkson, and a community of mostly ex-Londoners who hang out at private members clubs Soho Farmhouse or Estelle Manor and buy their groceries at Daylesford Organic.
But the Cotswolds extends for almost 800 sq miles, from just south of Oxford to just north of Bath. And life south of the A40 motorway is a pleasantly authentic, rustic experience compared to the high glamour north.
“The South Cotswolds is quieter, more rural and feels less like an extension of West London”
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“The South Cotswolds is quieter, more rural and feels less like an extension of west London,” says Sebastian Hipwood, co-founder of estate agent Blue Book Agency.
“You are not bumping into the same friends you saw midweek. You actually get a sense of escape. Villages feel lived-in rather than curated.”
The south is also far better value for buyers looking for a life changing move. According to exclusive research by estate agent Hamptons an average home in the North Cotswolds will set you back £627,000. South of the A40 prices drop to £519,000, a discount of almost 20 per cent.
Even though she was born and raised in the North Cotswolds, in villages around Shipston-on-Stour, when it came to buying a family house Jen Monk, 36, headed south, buying a six-bedroom farmhouse in the village of Coates, some four miles west of Cirencester, in 2024.
Part of the reason was practical. Monk is a PR consultant, her husband works in the City, and both need fast train links to London.
Services from Kemble, three miles away, to London Paddington take from an hour and ten minutes.
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They did also look at houses in the north but, whilst beautiful, none of the cute Cotswold stone cottages they saw were the right fit.
“My husband is 6ft 6ins and we couldn’t find anything he could stand up in,” says Monk. “You do also get a bit more for your money in the south.”
Monk was heavily pregnant when she, her husband, and their two labradors moved to the £1.25m farmhouse – she now has an 18-month old daughter – and having a child in tow has helped with making local friends.
“The south is different from the north in lots of ways,” she says. “There is less traffic, it is more relaxed, and it feels more spacious. But Cirencester is a really great little market town and there is loads going on there.”
Celebrity south Cotswolds residents
Kate Moss owns a ten bedroom Grade II listed mansion in Little Faringdon, 15 miles east of Cirencester
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She bought the property more than ten years ago, but only made the move full-time during the pandemic. Today she raves about a wholesome lifestyle involving morning transcendental meditation sessions, growing vegetables, and regular wild swimming.
Harris, who has an infant son, Mica with his partner, the Radio 1 host Vick Hope, also owns two other houses on the same street meaning he is well on his way to creating an Ed Sheeran-style private compound.
Handbag designer Lulu Guinness and actress Daisy May Cooper are also locals, and royals are thick on the ground.
Gatcombe is a multigenerational home with the Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Lawrence in the big house, Zara and Mike Tindall in a farmhouse with their children, and Peter Phillips occupying a cottage with his daughters.
The region is also beloved of location scouts thanks to its rolling countryside and gorgeous period homes. Twee picture postcard Castle Combe, for example, stands in for the fictional village of Upshott in the hit MI5 thriller Slow Horses.
The gorgeous Chavenage House, Tetbury, has featured in both Poldark and Rivals. The stately home is owned by James Lowsley-Williams, 33, a former professional cyclist turned YouTuber, and has been in his family for close to 150 years.
According to buying agent Adam Lock, of Stacks Property Search, the attraction of the South Cotswolds is its laid back vibe compared to the more show-offy north.
“South Cotswolds is less flamboyant, a little less showy, and feels more like a genuine rural community,” he says.
“There are plenty of excellent pubs, eateries, villages, and market towns, but it doesn’t have the sheer abundance of clubs and high-profile social spots that the North Cotswolds is known for.
David and Victoria Beckham at King Charles’s Gloucestershire estate, Highgrove House in Tetbury, Gloucestershire (Finnbarr Webster/PA)
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Sophie Lane, a partner at Butler Sherborn, agrees. “There are still excellent pubs, farmers markets, and local shops, but the feel is more low-key and community-centred, with a stronger year-round resident base,” she says.
“Many describe this part of the Cotswolds as feeling a little more relaxed and “settled””.
Another difference is that while the streets of posh North Cotswolds villages are thronged with tourists, including Kourteney Kardashian and JD Vance over the summer, and the roads around Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm shop can become gridlocked, the south is less afflicted by what estate agent Percy Clarke of Chartwell Noble describes as “visible tourism”.
The best villages and towns in the South Cotswolds
Key locations to get to know include the market town of Cirencester, said Lock. It is one of the few commuter-friendly options, thanks to proximity to Kemble Station. It also has a twice weekly market, a good range of cafes, restaurants, and shops, and some gorgeous period property.
Charlie Wells, managing director of buying agency Prime Purchase, tends to steer his buyers towards Tetbury.
“It’s got a really good balance: plenty of independent shops, cafés and antiques stores, a proper market-town feel, and enough going on year-round without feeling touristy,” he explains.
“The architecture is very pretty and you’re surrounded by some of the best countryside in the region.”
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For buyers looking for a dreamy village lifestyle, Lane suggests house hunting in the triangle between Coln St Aldwyns, Quenington, and Hatherop.
Amenities are good – between them the villages have two schools, a shop, a couple of pubs, and a café, and the local countryside is lovely.
“The villages retain a strong sense of community and character, supported by local amenities and protected by conservation measures,” she says.
Wells adds the “exceptionally pretty” Bisley, with its two pubs, village shop, and unspoiled feel, to the village shopping list, as well as Sapperton, which has a great pub and is close to Cirencester so doesn’t feel too out-in-the-sticks.
But while this swathe of country is cheap by comparison to the north Cotswolds, its also not bargain basement territory and you will need to pay £1m-plus for a four bedroom house with traditional Cotswold looks.
For something smaller Guy Tabony, senior head of sales at Hamptons in Painswick, said you could pick up a two- to three-bedroom cottage around Stroud from about £250,000, or forfeit Instagram appeal and choose a post-war family house somewhere like Painswick for around £600,000.
Wherever you chose in South Cotswolds, your neighbours are more likely to be a mix of locals plus incomers keen to make the Cotswolds their forever home.
“The North Cotswolds predominantly attract second home buyers working in finance,” said Craig Fuller, founder of Craig Fuller Property. “Many Americans also gravitate to the north because that is what they have seen on social media.
“By contrast, the South Cotswolds tends to attract more creatives — actors, writers, musicians — who want to live full time rather than use a house primarily at weekends.”
The best restaurants, shops and pubs in the South Cotswolds
The hottest dinner table in town is Juliet in Stroud (julietrestaurant.co.uk), which has won rave reviews and its first Michelin star after only a year in operation.
Too far to travel to Daylesford Organic for your weekly shop? The Jolly Nice farm shop (jollynicefarmshop.com) near Cirencester has an almost-equally fabulous range of locally produced food. While it lacks a spa you can meet its two super cute resident miniature donkeys, Felix and Ellie.
If seafood is your thing, Williams in Nailsworth (williamsfoodhall.co.uk) is a restaurant, fishmonger, deli and caterer all in one, with a vast range of produce, from dressed crab to chalk stream trout.
For a super-cool version of a park café try Roots + Seeds Kitchen Garden (rootsandseedskitchengarden.co.uk) in Cirencester Park. Its menu is made of locally sourced and seasonal produce and if its warm enough to leave the vaulted dining room the courtyard garden has tables amidst the edible flower and herb-filled beds.
If a traditional country pub is more your vibe than a private member’s club, The Bell at Sapperton (bellsapperton.co.uk) is the definition of cosiness and just the place to end up in after a long bracing walk.
The Potting Shed in Crudwell and The Woolpack in Slad, where Laurie Lee, author of quintessential Cotswolds novel Cider with Rosie, used to prop up the bar are also well worth checking out.
There is nowhere better for a spot of tree hugging than the 600 acre Westonbirt Arboretum (forestryengland.uk), and its kitchen, pantry and smokehouse serving wood-fired pizzas, homemade cakes, grab-and-go food and freshly ground coffee comes highly recommended.
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