It’s no secret that the Cotswolds is a celebrity hotspot. From the Beckhams to Ellen DeGeneres, they don’t come merely to stay and play, they live here. They are part of this bucolic region’s well-heeled, immaculately dressed fabric and it’s been this way for decades.
With the hit TV version of Jilly Cooper’s raunchy novel Rivals hitting Disney+ this month for its second season, and with Clarkson’s Farm returning to Prime Video in June, all eyes will be back on the handsome mansions, hunky (and not-so-hunky) farmers and the haute cuisine on offer in this posh part of Britain.
© InstagramWhether you want to go celebrity-spotting or just holiday like you’re a high-flying actor, singer or television presenter (even Claudia Winkleman has a rental pad here), here’s what you need to know about visiting the Cotswolds this summer.
The towns and villages attracting the A-listers
One of the greatest pleasures of visiting the Cotswolds is simply ambling around its many chocolate-box villages – think heavy, thatched rooftops hunkered over sepia-tinted stone and crooked, leadlight windows glowing by the light of log fires after dark. It’s a picture-perfect setting for a romantic weekend away.
The big hitters like Bourton-on-the-Water, Castle Combe and Burford get the most attention from visitors, but it’s the lesser-known locations that draw the celebrities. The Beckhams have their estate in Great Tew, an impossibly cute village with an excellent traditional country pub, The Falkland Arms.
© Getty ImagesA ten-minute drive from here is Chipping Norton, a busy, buzzy little town at the heart of the north Cotswolds packed with independent coffee shops and a handful of cracking pubs and delis, where David Cameron, the former prime minister and now Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton, has lived for more than two decades and where Clarkson has his sprawling, world-famous farm on the outskirts.
If you’re heading south, the village of Bibury is much-loved for its row of exceedingly charming cottages that draw hundreds of visitors to take selfies in front of their golden Cotswold stone façades, including the likes of Kourtney Kardashian during her trip here in 2025. Countryside walks abound here and there’s fabulous smoked trout to be scoffed at the oldest trout farm in England.
© Getty ImagesFar less busy and only a 15-minute drive from Bibury, Cirencester is a relatively sleepy town with an arresting Gothic church and a vast country estate, with leafy parkland and lush green lawns on its fringes. It’s here that actor Ben Miller has made his countryside home, while Oasis star Liam Gallagher purchased a five-acre estate and mansion in early 2026. Enjoy gorgeous walks in the Bathurst Estate and shopping in the town’s indie boutiques on Black Jack Street and Swan Yard, or the weekly farmers’ markets in the town centre and inside Corn Hall.
Eat out like an icon
Good food is not hard to come by in the Cotswolds and much of it is grown here, too. At Daylesford Organic, just outside Chipping Norton, farm-to-fork is a genuine claim: this 2,500-acre estate of gently rolling crop fields, grazing pasture and woodland produces most of the food that’s plated in their restaurants and cafés at the upscale farm shop. Their flagship venue, The Trough, even has a green Michelin star for its exceptional cooking and close provenance.
© Lottie GrossOn the outskirts of Cheltenham, don’t miss a visit to The Cotswold Guy in Guiting Power: not only is this small deli packed with excellent local produce, but it’s run by Sir David Beckham’s own private chef. David himself declared the sausage rolls to be the best he’s ever had – and if they’re good enough for him, they’re certainly good enough for the rest of us.
Sleep like a celebrity
A-listers are well catered for when it comes to sublime places to sleep. You can’t go more than a country mile without seeing signage for an upscale hotel or historic coaching inn, but the celebs all flock to a handful of beloved properties.
© nicksmithphotography.comThe likes of the country chic Soho Farmhouse and the sprawling, secretive Estelle Manor – both associated with private members’ clubs – draw the London creative set out to the country for padel games, clay pigeon shooting or a simple spa break, while the newly renovated Dumbleton Hall has been attracting luminaries for centuries, including the Mitford sisters and writers including Elizabeth Gaskell and John Betjeman.
For something marginally more modest, Bull Burford is an 18th-century coaching inn set on the pretty high street, harbouring an art collection to rival that of the National Gallery. Corridors are lined with Damien Hirst prints, there’s a Banksy in the window and a Grayson Perry in the dining room. Oh, and if you fancy a game of poker, you can chuck your chips down on the felt of Idris Elba’s own table in the wine cellar.
© christina leahyHow to do it: Rooms at Soho Farmhouse are for members only, but anyone can book into Estelle Manor from £450 per night. Dumbleton Manor is £380 per night; Bull Burford costs from £300 per night.
