Cotswolds, England Photos

Photograph by David McLain

Iwao Miyawaki has tea with his daughter, Juri, at their Olde Bakery Tea Shoppe in the village of Winchcombe. Miyawaki, formerly a real estate developer in New York, opened the tea shop in 2003. "Winchcombe was the place of our dreams," he says. Daughter Juri prepares the pastries and other desserts served in the shop.

Photograph by David McLain

Ivy surrounds a post box in the village of Chipping Campden. Chipping Campden, notably, is a terminus of the Cotswold Way national hiking trail, evidence that the Cotswolds are good not only for driving but also for rambling.

Photograph by David McLain

Pubs with colorful names, such as the Horse and Hound in Broadway, add life to Cotswolds villages. Many of them have rooms to rent and are ideal for mingling with the locals.

Photograph by David McLain

Snowshill Manor, in Snowshill, is a trove of quirky memorabilia collected by wealthy eccentric Charles Wade. He bought the home in 1919 and spent the next 32 years filling it with curios, antiques, relics, and costumes. The property, now owned by the National Trust, is open to the public.

Photograph by David McLain

Chickens raised on the Lowerfield Farm, shown here with a son of proprietors Sue and Gareth Atkinson tending the flock, supply breakfast eggs for guests who overnight at the mostly 17th-century property near the village of Willersey.

Photograph by David McLain

The Broadway Tower, a decorative "folly" built in 1799, sits atop the Cotswold escarpment near the village of Broadway and is a popular vantage point for getting an overview of the region.

Photograph by David McLain

A 1974 Triumph TR6, a sleek, homegrown convertible painted a yellow as bright as flower-show daffodils, was the author's rental car of choice for his drive through the Cotswolds along country lanes like this one leading to Upper Slaughter.

Photograph by David McLain

The local butcher in Winchcombe offers rabbit meat displayed for sale with a sense of humor. Winchcombe is among the many villages along the Romantic Road, a suggested driving route through the Cotswolds with a northern and southern loop.

Photograph by David McLain

A typical stone building in the Cotswolds village of Guiting Power evokes an England of timeless calm and comfortable wealth in a region originally built on the wool trade. Nowadays, tourism is a mainstay of the local economy.