The Cotswolds is the name given to an exquisitely beautiful area in the heartland of Britain, comprising parts of the counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.
   The Cotswolds are made up of dozens of little villages nestling in the folds of the Cotswold hills. The most famous feature is the stone of the area which is extremely easy to quarry and much of it lies on the surface. In order to plough a field for arable crops, the farmer first had to remove the surface stones, and the easiest place to put them was on the side of the field. But being neat-minded people, they made walls out of the stone which to this day can be seen the length and breadth of the Cotswolds. These are known as dry-stone walls, for there is no bonding material used. They are supported entirely by the skill of placing one stone so that it locks together with another. The stone is of a golden colour, and the villages on a sunny day have a glorious aura of colour that makes them cheerful, bright and happy. The roofs of all the houses are tiled in stone which has been split into thin slices. The largest pieces are used at the bottom of the roof nearest the gutter, the slices getting progressively smaller until the very smallest pieces lay at the ridge. This means that the greatest weight of the roof is held nearest the outside walls and that every piece of stone can be used, but these Cotswold stone roofs add to the overal colour of the villages. At the centre of the village stands the church, seemingly protecting the terraces of little houses around.