The best destination to visit in autumn has been crowned and it just so happens it's not too far from Worcestershire.
Visitors have deemed the Cotswolds town Stow-in-the-Wold on TikTok to be the best autumnal spot and people have been going crazy for it.
The Cotswolds covers a huge area – almost 800 square miles – and runs through five counties (Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire). Stow-on-the-Wold is a neighbour of Oxfordshire's in Gloucestershire.
Travel specialist @the wanderlust.blonde - who divulges travel tips to an audience of 181,300 followers every week - listed the most idyllic towns and villages in a since-deleted post.
Stow on the Wold pic.twitter.com/Vz9HvZU40y
— Lisa P 🏴 (@evanslis456) October 9, 2023
The TikTok clip showed the entrance of Stow’s St Edward’s church, which dates back to the Middle Ages, housing elements from the 11th century to the Victorian period.
“The north entrance has become one of the top things to do in Stow-on-the-Wold,” according to Explore the Cotswold, and is rumoured to have inspired the Door of Durin in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Experts at Explore the Cotswolds say: “Spring and autumn are quiet with good weather for walking, though pack a coat and umbrella in case of rain showers.”
16th-century golden stone buildings
Stow-on-the-Wold is a delightful market town (population circa. 2000) and along with Moreton in Marsh, perhaps the best-known of the small towns in this region.
At nearly 800ft, Stow-on-the-Wold is the highest of the Cotswold towns, approached uphill from all directions.
At the height of the Cotswold wool industry, the town was famous for its huge annual fairs where as many as 20,000 sheep were sold at one time.
The Market Square is fringed with 16th-century golden stone buildings which now serve as house antique and interior shops and art galleries.
Its location, at the intersection of several roads in the north Cotswolds, means that there is easy access to hotels in Stow in the Wold.
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