The eight places touted as the 'New Cotswolds' — and how they match up to the real thing

What's the collective noun for a group of men on a stag do in the Cotswolds? A brace of red trousers, or maybe a bevy of Barbours? Anyway, a bachelor of ruddy-faced stags was spotted this summer being transported from Michelin guide-pub to Michelin guide-pub hanging off the sides and back of a tractor. Only in the Cotswolds.

Or maybe not. There is a growing number of Cotswolds contenders — or pretenders — across England, places that have been crowned the 'new Cotswolds' . They range from entire counties, as in the case of the nearby 'Notswolds '(aka Northamptonshire), to tiny villages: Fittleworth, a few miles from Petworth in West Sussex, is one of the names being put forward.

The list is extensive; the research behind each claim less so. Various media outlets have announced that the villages lining the River Great Ouse in Bedfordshire are challenging for the title, along with parts of south Warwickshire (Shipston-on-Stour for example). The upmarket towns along both the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts are in the mix, as well as the foodie hotspot of Bruton in Somerset.

The articles are basically saying that there are places in England that are better at being the Cotswolds than the Cotswolds itself. Do they have a point?

The Cotswolds has been the jewel in the crown of rural England for centuries. New money may have settled there now, but old industrial wealth founded it. The area became rich in the Middle Ages off the wool trade, which led to the building of the manor houses, churches and mills that create the idyll today.

It was, however, the advent of the car and the construction of new roads that drove rich Londoners to the Cotswolds on the weekend. ‘There has always been a natural rhythm between West London and the Cotswolds,’ says Harry Gladwin, buying agent at The Buying Solution.

‘In the Post-War decades, London's financial and professional heartland moved west from the City. At the same time, the Westway and the M40 were built, creating a direct link from W8 and W11 to Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire,’ he explains.

‘Suddenly what had felt like a slightly inaccessible part of England became an easy weekend destination for those working in London's financial sector, but living in Notting Hill and Kensington.’

With the financiers came the 'it' crowd. Oxfordshire started becoming cool the moment the Rolling Stones played at Magdalen College; the flow of celebrities has been relentless ever since, from supermodels to musicians to politicians. And where they trod, the crowds followed. Now, holidaymakers driving along the winding lanes, who in other parts of the country might turn to the children in the back to chirp, 'first one to see the sea, gets an ice cream,' are more likely to say, 'first one to spot a celebrity gets an organic apricot nectar juice from Daylesford Organic.'

Tourism in the Cotswolds is big business, generating an economic impact of £1 billion — not a claim that could ever be made in Fittleworth or Oundle. It is that combination of tourism and the number of high net worth individuals in part- or full-time residence that has led to the more recent luxe ‘amenitisation’ of the Cotswolds.

There are seven Michelin-star restaurants across the area and, of course, Soho Farmhouse. Estelle Manor, the rival rural members' club, was the venue for Apple heiress Eve Jobs' £5m wedding to Team GB equestrian Harry Charles in July.

Just to the south of the Cotswolds is Lakes by Yoo, the luxurious lakeside holiday home resort where David Gandy and Kate Moss have attended breathwork sessions. Even cars get pampered in the Cotswolds, as owners can check them into one of the many of the supercar hotels in the area. And the festivals are a far cry from the mania of Glastonbury: Wilderness is a luxurious haven sponsored by Audi and Raymond Blanc was one of the headline attractions at the Big Feastival.

Lindsay Cuthill, former head of country for Savills and now founder of the Blue Book Agency, argues that there is also a quieter opulence behind the scenes which truly characterise the Cotswolds National Landscape, a world of alfresco dinners held in private woodlands carpeted by bluebells. ‘This approach is often preferred to restaurants as the hosts can create exclusivity and select their crowd,’ he explains.

Katrina Whittaker, private chef (and recipe writer for Dame Prue Leith), caters for customers with their own extensive vegetable gardens. ‘Many of my clients ask me to design menus for private events around what is growing in their garden and what's in season,’ she says.

Alex James — of Blur and Big Feastival fame — has owned his farm in Kingham since 2003 and produces artisan cheese and sparkling wine. Of course, Jeremy Clarkson has a farm too (in case you missed that), and Sir David Beckham makes his own honey in Burford. Arguably, there is nowhere else in the UK where rural agricultural authenticity and newcomers to this world co-habit so happily.

The pretenders to the Cotswolds Crown are charming in their own right, too. The Norfolk towns have their own collection of celebrities — Olivia Coleman and Stephen Fry are top of the list — and Burnham Market is considered the chi-chi place to be seen near the coast. Picture postcard villages with a Warwickshire or Coventry postcodes are becoming more popular, mixing proximity to the Cotswolds with significantly more affordable house prices.

Ahh, house prices. Therein lies the cause of all the fuss, as for the most part the places dubbed the 'New Cotswolds' are simply more affordable rural alternatives. The average house price in Northamptonshire, according to Savills, is £309,859 versus £382,104 in the Cotswolds, some 19% lower. It's the same story in Suffolk, where comparable houses are 16 per cent cheaper than the Cotswods. As for the Notswolds, a pretty, four-bedroom cottage in Oundle is currently on the market for £795,000. In Chipping Campden, a slightly smaller terraced townhouse is currently on the market at £1.3 million.

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There are other motivations driving homebuyers to areas such as south Bedfordshire. These are not house buyers trying to judge the rise of the new Cotswolds, but families fanning out from the Home Counties in search of more space for their money, beautiful scenery and great schools, whether established independent schools or outstanding state schools. In short, they're simply seeking a better life.

All that really leaves the Cotswolds in its own league. Lucinda Eaton, a buyer at Property Vision, explains just why the Cotswolds cannot be imitated. ‘It is not just the honey stone cottages or the rolling valleys, it is the theatre of the Cotswolds,’ she says. ‘Here countryside eccentricity collides with international polish.’ Beautifully put.

The pretenders might be popular, but the Cotswolds brand just keeps on getting bigger, judging by the arrival of Kim Kardashian this summer. And if JD Vance goes on vacation near Milton Keynes next year I'll eat my tweed cap. Although maybe there is such a thing as becoming too popular.