Britain’s most scenic drives: A meander through the North Cotswolds
On a quest to explore the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes takes the wheel in the North Cotswolds.


If you're looking for Britain's most scene drives, it’s hard to go wrong in an idyllic AONB where honey-coloured stone enhances rolling hills wherever you turn.
Chipping Campden’s ‘most perfect high street in England’ is a good place to start; perhaps follow the Cotswold Way towards Willersey and Broadway, stopping at Broadway Tower for a glimpse of 16 counties, before humming down the A44 to Moreton-in-Marsh at the crossroads of Roman Fosse Way or forking south to Stow-on-the-Wold, the Slaughters with their sweet footbridges on the Eye, and Bourton-on-the-Water, known for straddling the Windrush and its museum’s vintage cars.
The little lanes through sheep-speckled fields here are in no hurry, but creep lazily south to Northleach and Cirencester, or east via Daylesford to join the A44 and Chipping Norton, home to a very good literary festival, plus bucolic-chic Soho Farmhouse.
This is mellow land and drivers should go where the breeze takes them — there’s usually a good pub lunch to be had along the way; the 16th-century The King’s Head Inn at Bledington, for example, or The Swan at Ascott-under-Wychwood, with its whitewashed beams and many bell jars filled with wildflowers.
Credit: Toyota
Toyota Hilux: The vehicle built for farmers' fields, school runs and surviving the end of the world
Between lockdowns last year, James Fisher took a Toyota Hilux fishing. He was impressed.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Annunciata is director of contemporary art gallery TIN MAN ART and an award-winning journalist specialising in art, culture and property. Previously, she was Country Life’s News & Property Editor. Before that, she worked at The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, researched for a historical biographer and co-founded a literary, art and music festival in Oxfordshire. Lancashire-born, she lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and a mischievous pug.
-
A spectacular tower for sale that's a blend of Victorian folly, architectural marvel and 21st century family home
Hadlow Tower has space, and a back story of love, jealousy and intrigue.
-
Some Like (to quiz when) It Hot: Country Life Quiz of the Day heatwave special, July 11, 2025
If you're struggling to keep cool — and who isn't? — our Quiz of the Day will at least take your mind off the soaring temperatures.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Black Mountain Pass, Brecon Beacons
On a quest to find the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes explores The Black Mountain Pass on the Brecon Beacons.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Atlantic Highway linking Somerset, Devon and Cornwall
On a quest to find the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes is wowed by The Atlantic Highway.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Road to the Isles, Scotland
On a quest to discover the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes drives along Scotland's Road to the Isles.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Snake Pass, Peak District
On a quest to discover the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes explores The Snake Pass in the Peak District.
-
Britain's most scenic drives: The Cheddar Gorge, Somerset
On a quest to find the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes explores Somerset's Cheddar Gorge.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Causeway Coastal Route, Northern Ireland
On a quest to find the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes explores Northern Ireland's Causeway Coastal Route.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Hardknott and Wrynose Passes, Cumbria
On a quest to find the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes explores Cumbria's Hardknott and Wrynose Passes.